Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1889-11-14
EAST OF THE ROCKIES.
Protest Of the Western Union AsaiGSt
the Governments Charges.
PRESIDENT GREENS LETTER.
Mrs. Foster of Iowa Gives Her
Version of the w. c. T. U.
Trouble-Etc.
EAST OF TEE ROCKIES.
PRESIDENT GREENS LETTER.
IpBuAL DISPATCHES TO THE RroonD.umos.l
WESTERN UNION PROTEST..
The Rates Fixed by the Government Con-
sidered Unjust.

The Rates Fixed by the Government Con-
sidered Unjust.
NEW YORK, November 13th-The fol-
lowing correspondence is made public to-
day:
NEw YORK, November IL, 1889.
Hon. John Wdndmdker, Postmaster. General
Washington, d. C.-DEAR SIR have your favor
OF october 30th, inclosing your official order OF
the same dste, purporting to fix the rates for
Government telegraph service for the fiscal
year. The order has had all the careful and de-
Eberate consideration that an Official document
from such high source is entitled TO receive
and after such full consideration the Executive
Committee of the Board of Directors has e1.
pressed itself unanimously in preamble and
resolutions, a copy of which | inclose to you
herewith. From the rates fixed last year, which
were not remunerative, your present order
makes an average reduction OF fraction over
30 per cent; on messages transmitted less than
four hundred miles, which embrace the larger
number OF Government messages the reduc.
ion Is so per cent, and on trausconlinental mes
sageS the reduction is from 90 to % per cent
each on the minimum messages, or 60 FER cent
on the signal Service OF the War Departme Mt
commonly known as the weather reports,
the reduction is one sixth. or something ovel
10 per cent. The statement upon whlch you
presume that no question can arise as to the
fairness OF these reductions, is that the re-
duced rates hereby determined are Irectically
the same as those upon which one o! the diyi
as one of its principal competitors, transacted
business for the public generally for considers
Bile time
The fact that the Mutual Union Telegraph
Company, small organization belonging IC
this company, did for tine meet the Balti
more and Ohio Telegraph Company In sending
messages short distances and between very few
points at 10 cents is no evidence that no loss O1
money was involved. If these companies had
made as you propose a rate of 10 cents between
all points less than 400 miles distant from each
other, the Baltimore and Ohio telegraph sys
TEN would have been sold out by the Baiti
more and Ohio Railroad Company as bad in.
veStment long before it was sold, and that rate
would have reduced the earnings of the West
ern Union Telegraph Company below its actual
expenses in that important department of oul
business. If the entire message business of this
company for the fiscal year just closed had been
sent at the rates named in your circular ouI
total receipts from that source would have been
about four million dollars less than the actual
cost to us OF transacting that business. If the
messages sent by the Government were equal in
number for the several distances the rate
named in your circular would average Is cents
for the minimum average of ten body words, es
timating ten words free for address and sigma
ture. But as very much the greater number
would be sent distances under 400 miles, and al
the lowest established, it is probable that
an average of l5 cents would allow for two OF
three additional body words in each message
If the whole of the 81 los, 1876 messages sent dur
ing the last fiscal year had paid us but an aver
age of 10 cents, the aggregate revenue for trans.
hitting messages would have been IS, ll6 2iS 90
Our total expenses were S14,565 152 81. After
deducting from the expenses the amount paid
other lines, the refunds and uncollected items
the rental and operating cost of our Atlantic
and Cuba cables, the cost OF maintaining leased
lines and the rental for and expenses OF tn =.
Gold and stock and Commercial News Depart
ment, there are still left as expenditures
strictly pertaining to the handling OF messages
81, 1885, y, which the entire revenue at the
rates you name would lack over Si,000,C00 OF
meeting.
Even il the Government messages were much
longer than is estimated and should yield
which is scarcely possible, an average of twenty
cents each. and all our business were done at
the rate proposed. there would still be deficit
of about S200O,000 in the department of our
service. Commodore Vanderbilt once met the
attack OF competing line of steamers by es-
tablishiug passenger rate of ten cents between
New York and Albany. Nobody supposed that
ten cents was a Temunerative rate ior so long a
passage, but the move proved effective, because
1t enabled the Commodore to buy the competing
line without paying speculative price for il.
Such a course is sometimes entailed by circum
stances upon the company. Competing COM
pAnies are often formed not for business profits
but to force us to buy them out. or to etire
from the field. When such competition oc-
ours it is transient and isolated feature of our
message business. To seize upon one such
feature, and so far as your office as an umpire
may control, to make that the basis of rate to
be charged on Government business. seems to
us not judicial but vindictive. 1t is this view
you have taken we especially regret. We may
seem to deserve apprehension, but the statute
under which you ale working is judicial and
not penal.
The award made annually by your predeces-
sors has sometimes subjected us to injustice, but
we could ascribe to erroneous judgment the
fixing of a rate designed IN remuneTate us for
the service. but which in fact imposed a loss
upon us. We ha-e borne the loss in such cases
without complaint. even yielding to the wish of
them not confined to the definition of the stat
ute, but to include all their official business.
Upon the present occasion course is pursued
which gives your high official sanction to an
attitude towards us which we consider SO unjust
and so well calculated to operate prejudicially
to our general telegraph business that we
feel compelled to enter our earnest protest
against it. The further course you suggest of a
board OF Arbitration is within what we have
always proffered. We have stood ready always
to supply to the incumbent of your Office the
fullest opportunity for search into the cost OF
telegraphe business and to accept freely his
that Judgment 10 a Board composed, as you
suggest leaving the rates for this year to be gov
erned by that result, we shall be glad to meet
it. Respecting the pers nal interviews referred
to in your letter. regret that there was mis-
understanding as to any positive engagement to
see you again after our last conference. When
we separated, you asked if you should see me
again l answered that did not know of any
GOOD tnat WOulu come OF 1urtner conference,
but that il found time in the forenoon of the
next day would make you short call. The
next morning had some business at our tele-
graph office, and on returning TO my no ell ]
learned that you had called and expressed re-
grets at my going out II had then the least
intimation that you intended to Cd on me
should certainly have awaited your arrival. ]
have the honor to remain very respectfully
YOURS NoRvIN GREEN,
President of the Western Union Telegraph Com.
pany.
Following j, copy of the preamble and
resolutions referred TO in President Green's
letter, and inclosed:
WHEREAS, On the 2eth day of June. 1889. the
PostmasterGeneralo of the United States official
ly announced to the telegraph companies that
under the Act of July "A, 1866 they would be re-
duired 10 transmit the official messages of the
United States for compensation Of one mill fol-
each word without regard TO distance, a price
which could in no case be said to compensate
the service; and whereas. on the 30th day OF
October, 1882 the Postmaster-General, by public
circular, set forth as established under the pro-
visions Of sa Act. which rates also are mater
tally below the necessary cost to this company
and to others of transmitting the messages OF
the United States; and whereas. this company
10 obliged to consider the enforcement OF said
rates as confscation of its property to that ex-
tent, and is advised that obvious injustice under
said Act is remedial at law; therefore. be it
Rcsottod, That this company will transmit as
heretofore, with due privacy and diligence, all
kilograms between the several Departm ents OF
the Government and their officers and agents
but the company will not accept as final pay
ment the rates above established, until its
rights In that regard have received such further
consideration as it may be able to secure, and
the President OF this company is hereby di-
rected to file a copy of this, our protest. with the
heads of the several Executive Departments oi
the United States.