The Warner sun. (Warner, Brown Co., Dakota [S.D.]) 1885-1???, 1888-01-27
WASHINGTON NEWS.
ruE. - 80 snpE.

- AAtAA M AbNE vii ~ ANtAeS
committee oa postaeEees and post roads
met this morning and listened to DIR. Nor
win Green, president 0 fthe Western Union
Telegraph Company, in opposition to the
bills for the establishment Of a postal tel
egraph system by the government. He
said il was asserted that the Western
Union was a monopoly. 1t had no exclu-
siye franchises. the field was open to ey-
cry body. 1t was no more of a monopoly
than any great commercial business. He
showed how the success of the Western
Union had narmitteh it. tn rndnen the cost
of messages to the public from average
rates of $1.O5 in 1867 to 301@ cents in 1887.
He said that the rates
WOULD BE FURTHER REDUCED
the present year. He showed that the
English rate Of II cents for twelve words
including date, address and signature,
would ia d i;aI So number Ss S2Scs 12frli"d
to messages sent in the United States
amount TO more than the current twenty
five cent rate charged by his company.
The address and signature In English
messages were very much shorter as a
rule. The British system had 29,S00
miles of line, carrying 10000 miles of
wire and cable covering. The entire area
in the United Kindom was $4,000
miles and the most distant offices were
separated from each other by 600 miles.
Il iiad 0,0i4 puUnC telegraph offices. The
salaries of operators and other employees
nv--unrnI .1nY,F n,sp 1,a1F NhFcn VNnf1
IN HIS COUNTRY.
This system 'nes a business of 50,243 $3.50
messages per .,nnum Now to handle a
business of about 100000 more mes
sages in q year the telegraph lines
in the United States have 10000
miles of line carrying 100000
miles Of wire cables, maintaining 1900
offices and covering an area twenty-five
times greater than that of the British. As to
long distance rates, there WAS ho part cfthc
world in which messages were handled so
cheaply as here. The maximum rate of
81 for the maximum distance from 4,500
TO $500 miles is cheaper than any other
long distance rate, except from France to
Algiers, which is over a French govern
ment line. The history Of government
t~elegraphs was noted only for the
TARDY AND LAUNDERING SERVICE
and especially were the government sys-
Indifferent TO prompt deliveries.
They deliver at their leisure. The
doctrine of the Western Union was that its
greatest competition Is time and Just
as far as it could overcome time could it
increase its revenues. II was this which
had compelled it TO build $4,000 miles of
line last year, not including the purchase
of the b. q O. Would the government
any greater degree of secrecy than
a private corporation, especially as to mes
involving the needs of the govern
ment? Who were the immediate en-
the subordinateB who handle the
messagesi No government administra-
ton would of course demand a betrayal of
the
SECRETS or THR TELEGRAPH,
but he presumed that at most q govern
mental administration would fail TO pun
ish such betrayal adequately If 1t resulted
in great service to itself. There had been,
perhaps, in the history Of the tele-
operators had sold CIR given away
commercial news reports. The penalty
with the Western Union was prompt and
immediate discharge. What could be the
responsibility of the government for
errors and delaysg The Western Union
was held to q rigid responsibility by the
and its payments on the accounts
awarded were between and " hum
bred thousand dollars a year. The gov
eminent certainly could do a cheaper ser
vice If it chose TO foot the expenses. In
the compact system a great benefit cover
ing less that one tw~enty-ffth IF the area
covered by the American telegraph lines
THERE WAS a DEFICIT
$2.349,000 III che last fiscal year. Should
eifTs F1T+FfIfFf5 iitii-Ttahvttf work III inns
e0snitry, he argued that the number Of Off
GERS would he very much Increased and
The deficit result be very much greater.
He could not conceive how 1t was possible
II IN American telegraph system were es
with rates similar 10 those Of the
English, that there could fail 10 be u deficit
of less than from five to ten million dollars
annually. He WAS Prepared 20 demon
strate that the Western Union lines could
be duplicated 1t their present capitals
talk MS people might about LS
water. In 1866 when the companies first
consolidated there was an over capitalism
but for twenty-five years they had
been squeezing
THE WATEK OFT or TUE
stock. No new stock HID peen issued ex-
cept that representing fun value III prop
erty received, while d large ilnount af cash
lover $3,0ee,00p had been expended In
the actual construction Of lines.
Mr.. Gardner G. Hubbard addressed the
committee in favor Of the postal telegraph
system proposed In the bill introduced BY
Senator Dawes.
4 BoARD or TRADE RESOLUTION.
NAsHrEeToN, Jan. e0.-The national
board of trade to-day adopted i resolution
which provides that 40 person can be nat
uralized and given the rights at citizen
ship whodoes not bear and display To the
court applied To for naturalization papers
Il duly authenticated certificate from the
custom officers. settling forth the date Df
arrivalof such person, the place of eatry.
the port ehenee he departed. his place Of
nativity and the country Ne shall have left
cAsHTfR aoEs WRONG.
WAsmxeroN m, 2S The comptroller
81 the cufrengy was friday informed b.
telegraph that the First Nstsonal Bank Of
Auburn, N. VI, closed its doors this morn.
b. REASON Of a heavy defalcation on
Ehe part of is CASHIER Mr. Charles
3sRrlen who has ahScanded and is new
supposed t0 befu CanAda.