The sun. [volume] (Morris, Stevens County, Minn.) 1882-1895, 1889-08-08
Snma Hard Knocks.

WASHINGTON, Special Telegram, Aug. g.
The following are the principal points In
letter from Postmaster General Wanamaker
to President Green, of the Western Union
Telegraph company, in regard to telegraph
rates paid by the government:
Your unqualified statement that "the privi-
leges and benefits derived by your company
through the acts of congress are purely 1mag1-
nary, and the companion assertion that your
company has never taken stone or stick OF
timber, or appropriated foot Of land belonging
to the government" under such acts, are not
sustained by the facts. 1t is an undenllble fact
that the telegraph companies in accepting the
act Of 1886, and afterwards the supplementary
acts, considered they were gaining special and
actual benefits which fully compensated them
for the low rates intended to be granted to the
government, and the representatives OF the gov
ernment likewise supposed that they were Sc
curing some benefits for the valuable conces-
sons being made to the telegraph companies.
The telegraph companies not only accepted the
acts, expecting substantial benefits would
ensue, but, in the case of the West
ern Union Telegraph company nota-
ply great ana 1Ndsr fSeus rant
company has claimed the right to use, without
compensation of any kind as to right of way, all
the highways of the country, on the ground Of
their being post roads. 1t has broadened this
claim to the extent that the streets of cities and
towns are also post roads, and, therefore, open
and free to it's occupancy and use. The courts
have sustained it in this claim. You are neces-
sarily familiar with the Pensacola case, in which
the supreme court of the United States decided
that the Western Union Telegraph company had
rights which even the sovereign State of Florida
could not annul This. under the benefits OF
this act. instead Of not occupying foot of pub
lie land, you assert, you are, in fact occupy
ing many thousands Of miles OF post roads, and
are privileged to occupy all the highways in the
United States. You have thus been able to oc-
cupy and use the streets in the large cittos Of
Philadelphia and New York, regardless of the
views of the local authorities. and almost
REGARDLESS OF PUBLIC OPINION.
Even the elevated railroads of New York city
have been claimed as post roads and the claim
sustained. The State Of New York may regu-
late in the use but Is not able to deprive you of
these great privileges secured to telegraph COM
panies, and maintained to them alone, by the
congressional act of 1866. Beyond this the
streets of all other cities and towns Of the
United States have been kept open to your Use.
l am sure that, on reflection, YOU will hardly
claim that such great benefits as these are
purely imaginary AS to your question of the
legal power of the postmaster general to fix the
| rate for government messages l should say we
may agree that the act Of CONGRESS at least i'm
poses on the postmaster general the duty to
name the rate and maintain 1t until in a court
of inquiry the rate has been shown to be unjust
AS to your qualified statement that no corpora
tions have received the rate equal to the pro-
posed government rate OF one mill a word. your
statement that the press associations are not
corporations is hardly justified by the facts and
| Is not material to the question. AS to your
statement that no message can be carried and
delivered by telegraph company for less than
| twenty cents without the service being done at
| o loss: Is it not true that within few years
and for several years in succession large volumes
| of business have been handled by your company
| and other companies at minimum rate of ten
cents message, and did not this rate continue
| until the Western Union absorbed the compet-
| ing lines?
| Mr. Wanamaker says that on signal service
| business no reduction whatever has been
| made in the government rates since 1877,
| but within that period the Western Union
| company have reduced the public rate from
6212 cents to 80 cents per message. Within
the past five years the public rate has fallen
Is per cent, but there has been 10 reduction
| whatever in government rates Taking
| these facts in account he believes that the
government has been paying for its tele-
| graphic service more than any other Gus
toner giving like or approximate amount
of business, and waving entirely the ques-
| tion of benefits accruing to the telegraph
| companies under the act of 1866 the gov
ernment. he thinks, ought to be upon as IA
| vorable basis with respect to rates as their
| most favored customers Mr. Wanamaker
closes his letter by saying that as he con-
sented to a request for conference on the
subject before any official order fixing the
rates should be issued he is yet willing to
entertain any reasonable proposition based
upon the known facts.