The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1888-01-21
BUSINESS ON THE WIRES.
DIR. GREEN ARGUES AGAINST GOV
ERNMBNT CONTROL

Country.
WASHINGTON, Jan. 2O.-The Senate Com
mittee on Post Offices to-day heard argu-
ments upon the government telegraph ques-
ton by Norvin Green, President of the
Western Union Company, and G. G. Hub
bard, who has devoted some years to ad-
vocating the postal telegraph scheme, Dr.
Green was first heard in opposition to gov
ernmental telegraph bills, which have come
before both houses of Congress. He de
voted himself first, though briefly, to the
questions to which the meas
ure gave rise. He quoted the decision of
the Supreme Court in effect that the
telegraph is necessary to commerce, and
that the telegraph business is in itself
commerce. Was the government, he
asked, empowered by the constitution
to enter into interstate commerce. He
touched upon this constitutional point, he
said, merely because he did not wish the
committee to understand that the company
raised the point, but without attempting to
elaborate it as lawyers would. No people
on EARTH he maintained, enjoyed as perfect
a system of telegraph as the Americans, as
any person who has had experience with
telegraphs abroad would testify, nor as
cheap when account is taken of distance.
RATES N ENGLAND.
He showed that the English rate of l2c
for twelve words, including date, address
and signature would in a very large number
of cases. if applied to mes ages sent in the
United States, amount TO more than the
current 25c. rate charged by his company.
the address and signature in English mes
SageS being very much shorter, as a rule.
The British system had %, 500 miles of line,
carrying l13,O00 miles OF wire and cable.
covering an entire area in the United King
dom of 12l 900 square miles, and the most
distant offices We're separated from each
other by less than 600 miles. 1t had 6.5l4
public telegraph Offices The salaries of Op-
orators and other employees averaged about
one half those paid in Tins country. This
system does a business of 50 243, ,639 MESA
gcs per annum. Now, to handle business of
about 1900, 900 more messages in a year, the
telegraph lines in the United States have
116OeO miles of line, carrying 63O,Ol0 miles
of wire and cables, maintaing 1900 offices
and covering an area twenty-five times as
great as that Of the British system.
LONG DISTANCE RATES.
As to long distance rates there was no
part of the world in which messages were
handled so cheaply as here. The maximum
rete of 81 for maximum distance of from
1850 to 4 500 miles is cheaper than any
ether long distance rate, except from France
to Algiers which is over the French govern
ment lines It was insisted he said, that
the Western Union Telegraph Company is
a monopoly. What, he asked, is a monop-
oily The Western Union had no exclusive
franchises or legislative grants. The ele-
mentary patents Of the telegraph had ex-
pired, and the field was open to anybody
who might choose to enter it. The Western
Union was no more a monopoly than any
great commercial business. 1t was
an aggregation of capital which had
enabled the Western Union to reduce rates.
COST OF HANDLING MESSAGES.
In 1867 the cost Of handling messages
averaged IS cents and the rate to the pub
lie was 1047 The public rates had been
reduced until in 1883 the rates to the pub
lie were 3S.2 cents. while the cost to the
company was 35. and last year the rates
to the public were 30.4 cents, while the cost
to the company was 23c. Now, it might
me asked, would that rate
not be increased during the present year 7
To this he answered, unhesitatingly, no.
The rates would be reduced to the public
during the present year. A great deal had
been said about increase of rates. The
Western Union had increased its rates in
only two or three instances. The rates of
lLlt MUTUAL CllJD let'l Dttli lllNl CtioSh, anu
the Baltimore and Ohio rates had been abol-
ished when that company was taken over
The Baltimore and Ohio had begun its COM
petition by war of rates.
BUILT TO SELL.
1t could be we'll established that that COM
pany was projected aud built to be sold to
the Western Union as a speculation, that
was expected t. be accomplished on the
basis of the damage it could do to the
Western Union, and not on the basis of
actual value. The history Of govern
ment telegraphs was noted only
for tardy and laundering service, and
especially were government systems
Indifferent to prompt deliveries. They de
liver at their leisure. 1t was not reasonable
20 hope or expect that the government
would be more watchful or vigilant in
keeping every employe down to his work
than men who were Immediately interested
in the profits Of the company. The doc
tline Of the Western Union was that its
greatest competitor IS time, and just AS far
as it could overcome time could it increase
its revenues.
SECRECY WOULD BE JEoPARDIzED.
The doctor held that under government
control there would not be an equal degree
of security from betrayal of the contents Of
telegrams as under the existing system and
that there would bc no redress for patrons
OF the telegraph who might suffer damage
from failure OF prompt and correct dellv-
erv. The government might, he conceded,
render cheaper service than private
corporations, but it would be
at the expense of an enormous
annual deficit. He estimated that it would
cost the country from s., ,000,0 600 to S10,000,-
600 annually above the revenue to transact
the business that now returns a profit TO the
Western Union, and that this sum would
have to be raised by taxation levied upon
ca, 100000 of people for the benefit Of about
100000 who use the telegraph
AN ENTERING WEDGE.
Was the telegraph he asked, to be an en-
teling wedge TO a general system Of com
mercial business by the government, and to
that parental administration Of everybody's
affairs which is desired by a certain class of
peopel Infinitely better might the govern
ment take the railroads, because the rail
roads are the present channel of carrying
the millions. Infinitely better might it un-
dertake the work of the colieries, because
there are forty times as many
people who use coal IS a
necessity OF life as there are who
use the telegraph. But if the government
must take the telegraph, he insisted that it
should take existing property. Whatever
the government does, it should do exclu-
sively No private enterprise could run in
competition against the United States
Treasury. DR.. Green said the popular idea
was wholly at fault ms 70 what it would cost
TO duplicate the existing lines.