New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1888-01-21
CONTROL OF THE TELEGRAPH.
SHALL IT REST WITH THE GOVERNMENT
,NISTEREsrrNa DISCUSSION BEFORE THE SENATE
POST OFFICE COMMITTEE


himself first though briefly to the constitutional Ques
items involved In the measure. No people earth he
maintained enjoyed perfect system OF telegraph as
aay person who had experience with tele
graphs abroad would testify. He road letter froN
James Mclean agent OF the Associated Press in Londsn
ia his employers, which was as follows: The tcle
graph communication between France aud Englsnd is
dlsgraoetly bad 1t Is an actual fact that London
chants send their to lIavrs by way Of New
York ana they reach Havrs quicker than II
they sent from London TO Havre direct
lie shovel that the English rate OF twelve cents for
twelve words including date, address and signature
wsuld IN very largo number Of cases. IL applied to
messages sent in the UEed states, amsunt to mere than
the current twenty-five cent rate charged BY his com
pauy. lie thea gave account OF the British system
hsSn. The number si wtes operated, salaries paul.
number OF Offices and employees, and fetal business
saiuouztlng 10 50.243639 messages per year NO" -
handle business OF about 100000 mere messages IN
year. he said the telegraph lines in the United states
have 10000 miles Of line carrying 63oooo miles OF
wirs and cables; maintaining sfiees andcsverng
an area twenty-five times great as that OF the Brtsh
system A to long distance rates thers WAS
ne part OF the world in when mes
sages were handled so cheaply as mere.
1t was the aggreg Of capital in large enterprise
which had the Western Union TO reduce its rates
to less than the cost to the company of
doing the business naeteen years ago In 1857 Tue cost
OF haRdng messages averaged GA cents and the rate
10 tina public l047 The public rates had been re-
auced until in 1862 the to the public were 3e2
cents while the cost to the company was 3SS, and last
year the rates 70 public 304 cents, while the
cost to The company % cents and the rate would be
reduced TO the public during the present year
The matter rates. he msnaiEed was OF far less con
aequeace to the public than the question OF time Tie
Baltimore and Ohio with It's low rates had done bust
ness curing last year OF 81 $4,000, against over
900 done by the Western Union. notwthstand-
ing the higher rates OF the latter. tine Baltimore and
Ohio covering nearly all the paying territory OF the
country. The history Of Government telegrapas was
nsted only fer tardy and blunderag service ana es
peciay we're Government systems Indifferent to prompt
neyer1es They deliver at their leisure 1t was not
reasonable to hsPe expect that the
be more watchul vigiant in keeping every cmploye
down 10 his wsrk than men who were Immediately inter-
esed in the profits Of the company The doctrine OF the
Western Union that its greatest csnpetitsr tne
and lust as far 1t could overcome time could IN
crease IFS revenues IL this which had compelled II
10 build 900 miles OF line last year. not including the
purchase Of the Baltimore and OHIO.
Nogsyernmsnt administration would, OF course, de-
,ard the OF the OF the telegraph but he
presumed that most government ADMINISTRATORS would
fan to punish such betrayal adequately If 1t resulted in
great service to itself There had been perhaps In the
history the telegraph half dozsn Instances when
operators had ssld given away commercial news re-
ports. The penalty with the Western Union was prompt
and in aediate discharge WHAT could be the RESPONSE
bnty of fer errors or delay Inc west
ern Union was held q rigid responsibility by the
courts and its payments that ac;sunt amounted TO
between one and hundred thousand dollars year.
In the compact system of Great Britain covering less
than onswentyfth OF the area covered by the Amsr-
can telegraph .lses there deceit Of $2349 900 in
tho last sca ~sar. Should the Government undertake
the work In this country. he argued the number of
offices wsnd be very much increased and
the deficit would be very much greater.
Was the telegraph he asked to be an entering wedge
TO a general system Of commercial business sy the
Government, fnfnitely better might the Government
take the railroads. the present channel OF carrying
the millions the coerss, because there are forty tnss
many people VIII: use coal as necessity q NE as
does it should dc exclusively No private enterprise
could run in competition against the United statos
In eo1clusion Dr. Green referred to popular
sa%Sri the Ws,era Union fh. COMPANY had ex
pended within the last twenty years over 5s5ooooo
sns a large proportion Of its expenditures had been
or exceptionally favorable circumstances He was
prepared dsmsnstrat. that the Western Usisn lines
talk as pesplo might about the water.
The next popular error T tS ne %sIf no 10 w
TT one man personally The entire Board of thirty
directors owned ED oe mpTs e in wss eMned V eer
State and Territory Of the Union by more than 10000
genrol system of telegraph it must tax 60000000 TO
Ray for the service enjoyed by less than 100000 m
tea DE- Green gave information in detail, regarding
English telegraph rates, salaries paid operators in this
which changes were based amount OF capital stock and
recent dividends OF the Western Union. etc T..
Gordiuer q. Hubbard addressed the committee in
Of the os;al isiegraPh system p9pqed III the d I u,
!i~h operators in England aud Continent, he
that they much lees than those paid mere;
ms n an offset the American telegraph operator would
do twice AS much WORK as the English operator
Mr. Chace asked 1t was the general rule that Govern
ment employees did not prioim as much labor as those
Dr. Green replied that that was the common expert
rsph in this country the Telegraph operators wonid be
Ike those abroad aud not 10 half the amount OF work
MIR Mr. Hubbard, referring 10 the question OF the
authority of the Government - establish postal tee-
graph gave brief history or me p0stoce system IN
f country and said that when tie telegraph was first
invented it also was adopted y the Government asone
OF the means OF conveying lhltHSchct ne went On 10
gay that every other country the telegraph was con
troled by The Government as part OF t1e o,tai system
while in this country II was controlled ny single
corporation. Here there practically speaking, no
none; FOR it was business when couio Oe manager
much more easily and cheaply by one company tnan by
80 eminent not manage il much more cheaply
than the Western Union Company, ana whether the
rruc, more cheaply than IL Goes. Ia switzerland ana
Heiuni he said, the OF sending and delivering
telegraph message was about Ia cents: III England
about 10 cents and in this country about % cents.
There we're two ways in which It was proposed that
hat set forth In the bills Of Mr. Cullcm and Mr.;
Tdaunls. VIZ: Ibat toe Government should own ana
substantially embraced in ihe bill introduced ny NJ.
Dawes, establishing uDSlal leieSlaPn aSsteln III
Tor The transmission OF letters The POstohice Depart
Mont should receive kilograms from the telegraph com
many az j. received letters from railroads and leer
rs and should deliver them itself % lie parties 10
u o,u they were addressed. Ia the CUan.y towns AT
c.t tie ;ostoice would undoubtedly oe the telegraph
orcc Al kilograms would he prepaid by Stamps 10 be
f,rri shed and SOLD by the Government since there
%y,ll be 40 liability for damages so far MS the Govern
eut cOncernci, there womb be great economy ~
nc receipt and delivery Of messages compared with
rhc present system. D., -.
ulthri tie telegraph not 80 correct aud speedy
bro.d yet il uscd tterc by the people while here IL
~ ,., aud this was one Of the great differences be
~, TELEGRAPH company wording for the interests Of
siress men ana telegraph operated by the Govern
,,'erf Tor the benefit Of the people -
iNy tudn lt;le more than half the population OF
r-ff.j States there Alc kilograms sent than
-; mis- country showing he argued, that the use OF the
,'e5ruh by the people depended upon the rates II
Se ,sfc we're established for long time al over the
I'm ~ then IL would be found that the people wOnld
~ use the clegraph lie asserted That the expense
a. mi increase with The distance III any sense what
ever 49,, 10. ,-,.,,or Z. did M. cost mona ga