Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1889-07-28
THEwEsTeaN UNIoNTELsoRAPHco.
PreNdent Green Writes Pointed Letter

by telegraph 70 tho Dispatch.
NV YosK. July 27.-Prcsident No-vin
Green. of the Western Union Telegraph
Company. gave out the following Tor pup
licaiIou Chs afternoon:
EXECUTIVE OFFICE
NrsIvRN INroy IELEGRAPH COMPANY.
NV YORK. July n, 1889. }
Hlt. J0,u UD0m1fer, Postmaster General
Dear SIr.-Pcu3ing our correspondence
in respect 90 yDur notice Of the rate % be
fixed for the Government telegraph ser
vice have not given any information on
the questions raised. nor answered any IN
uuirice Of the news reporters ln respect
thereto for publication. But your circu-
lar % the telegraph companies OF July
18Th. ln which sou say tnat the rate pro-
uo-,d was upon information furnished to
thi. JyourI department that your tour)
company lns been making rates TO various
LARGE coruorlfluus thgt are in some IN
stances a. lpw a. the figure, now proposed
for the Government service, was printed
rprj1lim i'm number of newspapers even
before / had received the originally post.
rrur4tpdlN declined 10 DE interviewed even
upon this most remarkable statement. But
its extensive publication throughout the
country hv MANN paper, ln Justification Of
the rate named for the Government ser
vice iDr the ensuing year. and by others
with comments on alleged unWaTrantable
discrimination in rates % our customers,
has proved 40 embarrassing IN our business
relations with various classes oil the patrons
of the telegraph taat, i'm Justice to the IN
tprr~ts represent. ] cannot longer allow
the impression 10 has made 90 remain IN
corrected
wrote you on July 10th that the in
formation furnished your department that
tl. company" has been making rates 10
various large corporations that are IN some
instances as low as the figures now pro
posed for the Government service Is WITH
out foundation ln fact. / know of no IN
stance i'm which any pUration- large or
small-has rate for telegraph service that
averages as low rs that which has been
fixed f0r the Government service annually
since July of 1854.
did not infer that in the language - va
rilue large corporations you could nave
referred to press associations, for very few,
DO auv. of these associations are lncorpo-
rated. and the larger number of them |
know are only private associations. Never
thclcss. after explaining 20 you that our
so-cailed free service 10 limited extent
for railroad companies was paid Tor IN KIND
hv free transportation of men and mate
rial. services of their railroad operators,
and lu most instances the furnishing OF
labor and other assistance in maintaining
lines. / went on 10 say that our lowest
rates should naturally be those for the
transmission of news for publication. IL
D. not au cXactug service, but Is IN q
great measure deferred. The service
is mostly done at midnight, and
the great bulk of the reports are
sent ~ a large number of places slmulia-
+ ntou-lv hv one sending operator. This - a
service Of great public interest towards
which wc have contributed largely, ire
qurntly without profit, and not inirequont-
Us without amy compensation therefor.
For some years We have distributed the
Presidents message over our wires and
given il 10 every daily newspaper IN the
country without charge. During the pro-
. tracted illness Of President Garfield, and
later Of General Grant, We sent out daily
bulletins of their condition TO all parts OF
the country free of charge. A. We have also
frequently distributed the doing OF largo
political or benevolent usnges | cannot
conceive why the Government should treat
+ this class of service - measure tor hNing
+ the rates for Government messages"
/ might have added that III every
scourge OF ycllOw-fcycr and cholera aud in
every devastation 10y flood or fire we have
done for public information and for pri-
waite relief "a large amount of service with
out charge. In the late great disasters al
John,town and Seattle our entire availa-
u
J. the public use for several days. But II had
never occurred To Us that the Government
/ was IN such straits as on this account %
require its service 10 be done practically
for nothing, or without paying just COM
/ pcusati0n therefor as ! believe the Con-
stituiion and laws intended and Will COM
pei 10 to do. Except the arrangements
with railroad and transportation cOmpa--
ME. referred TO and the rates for press and
commercial news service. we make no re-
duccd rates TO any company. corpora
lions, OF other patrons, large or small.
For messages transacted and delivered To
q single address the Government Is our
only customer that enjoys reduced rates.
As to the great privileges aud benefits
derived by this company from the act of
1866. they are purely imaginary. / am not
aware that We have ever taken o stone or
/ stick of timber or appropriated foot ~
/ land belonging to the Government under
R that act: and where we have needed 10
/ build line across lands belonging 10 the
/ Government, as in late instance across
lands along the canal around the Falls OF
/ OHIO, we have had more trouble and delay
ia procuring the right 10 set our polls than
If the lands had belonged % private par
ties.
have the honor 10 remain most respect
fully yours, NORyIN GREEN, President.