The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1888-02-11
How the Government Owned the First
Telegraph Line.


In 1S43 Congress appropriated $4,000
ito be expended uuder the direction OF lhe
Secretary of the Treasury In a series OF ex'
periments to test the expediency OF the
telegraph projected by Professor Morse"
and In 1874 the line already referred 10
was constructed with this appropriation.
Professor Morse had struggled for years to
secure the means 70 perfect his invention
and demonstrate its practical value, but un
successfully until Congress came TO his
assistance. This line, erected with the
peoples money, was placed under the
charge of the Postmaster General, where
It properly belonged, and for three years
II was operated by the Government In con.
nection with the postal service.
The Government was, therefore, the
original promoter of the telegraph business
In the United States. 1t provided the
means with which to demonstrate Its
practIcability, something no capitalists could
be induced TO do. II gave the magnetic
telegraph to the world, and yet to-day the
United States is the only civilized nation
In which the telegraph is not under the
Governments control. Hence those who
are to-day advocating the conducting OF
the telegraph business OF the United States
by the Government are not advancing a
new and unheard- of proposition. They are
simply advocating the policy which pre-.
walls In all other leading nations. They
are simply advocating the resumption by
our Government of the control which II at
first properly assumed over the most pow
erful agency of communication known to
the world, the management OF which was
unfortunately relinquished to private per.
sOns forty years ago.
After the completion of the original line
Professor Morse proposed to transfer the
exclusive use and control OF the telegraph
TO the United States, saying to Congress
that 1t was IAN engine of power for good or
for evil, which all opinions seemed to con-
cur in desiring to have subject to the con.
troll of the Government, rather than have II
associations" The Government unfortun,
stely neglected to accept this proposition,
and allowed this mighty "engtne OF power
TO pass out of its hands. The line then
constructed, being Of service only to the
people of Washington and Baltimore, was
but little used, and did not pay expenses
and 1t was feared that the system would
not prove practicable for long distances.
The result was that the line was sold, under
authority of the Act of June 10, 1916; the
telegraph business passed out of the control
Of the Government; and to day ii Is gigan-
tic monopoly virtually in the hands OF one
corporation, if not of one man.
This change of policy was most ill-advis
ed. During all these years 1t has cost the
people many millions of dollars, exacted
from them in the shape of excessive and
unreasonable charges for telegraphic ser
vice. If the policy first adopted by the
Government had been continued, the de-
velopmeRt of the telegraph system would
have gone hand in hand with that of the
postal system, as it has in other countries,
and during all these years the people would
have enjoyed better and more widely ex-
tended telegraphic facilities, which would
have been supplied to them at cost Some
idea of the saving that would have been
Infected to the public can be gained from
NE fact that from 1867 to 1888 (both inclu.
.lve) the shareholders of the Western
Union Telegraph Company received s34,-
100000 in cash dividends, in addition to
stock dividends of $25,Sl7, 19S.-Senator
I Cullom in the FEB. Forum.