Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1889-07-30

present rate the Government Is saving q
large sum-probebly $100,0i0 annually
by the reduced cost of the tele graph service
below what other patrons have TO paw, aud
that saving necessarily must he made up,
and we would have 70 collect more for
other service. to sustain the expense of
operation and pay modersse return for
capital employed
The Government is able to pay. and every
business consideration demands that il
shall pay 8 fair and reasonable eonsidera-
ton for whatever services it may REQUIRE.
To do the Government service for moth
ing necessarily imposes heavier burdens on
the people who sustain the telegraph.
In further examination of the practical
operation of transmitting messages from
New York or Washington to points on the
Pacific coast, L find they are not sent
through repeaters all the way in one COM
pound circuit. All west-b bound business is
relayed at Chicago or St. Louis. so that a
message is first sent from Washington 10
Chlcago through one repeating station, re-
curing three operators. From Chicsgo to
San Franciscoit is transmitted in one COM
pound circuit through four intermediate
repeating stations, employing six opera
tors, which added to the three first named
make nine
Then, II 1t has to go to Oregon. passing
through repeaters at one intermediate sta
ton. 1t would require three more operators
The company transmitted during the last
fiscal year 81, ,496 954 messages. The cost
for message service was in round numbers
Sl.lD,OO0, making the average cost of de-
livery per message about 2 l cents, al
though large number of messages to the
noon OF exchanges, to newspapers and by
special wire deliveries did not require the
use OF messenger-in fact, in most of the
large cities, as in Washington CITY, we pay,
by contract with the District Messenger
companies, q cents per message for max
ing deliveries.
You may answer that the Government
sends letters thousand miles and delivers
them Tor cents, but neither the Govern.
ment nor any other patron of the telegraph
would submit to the class of deliveries
made by the letter-carriers.
In fact, the Government itself in this CITY
charges ten cents per letter for special de-
livery, and every telegraph message re-
quires special delivery over more than
half the area of this city.
AT many of our small stations they have
but one Government message during a
month. The War Department requires
that the messages themselves be rendered
as vouchers. If an agent or employe of
any of the departments is detained at a
small station by railroad interruption,
and sends message of ten words, the
messenger of that station finds it is his
duty to lnclose that message by mail to the
auditor OF the company here for collection.
That would cost this company q two-cent
postage stamp. Then we shall have sent
the message, paid one and a half cents
10 each operator engaged on it, two and a
halt cents for delivering it and TWO cents to
the Government for forwarding the origi-
nal message as voucher, and when the ac
count is made up we get one cent back.
We had opened new stations at consid-
erable expense for signal and astronomical
observations. We have had our accounts
tied up for considerable portion of our
service upon technical rulings upon which
we have been unable TO procure trial and
decision of the Courts until the arrears
have reached the neighborhood of $780,
000
AS instructed by the Executive Commit
tee of the Board of Directors, | most re-
spectfully make this the protest of the
Western Union Telegraph Company and of
the subordinate telegraphic companies
which it controls against any further re-
duction below the rates in operation DUR
ing the last few years of tolls to be paid bv
the Government for the transmission of its
messages as wrong and injustice TO this
company, to its thirty-six hundred stock
holders, and to It's million of other custom
ers. l have the honor to remain, most
respectfully yours,
NoRvIN GREER, President.