Telegram-herald., 1890-03-02
DR.. MARVIN GREEN
Gives ths House Committee An
other Practical Lesson
TIE COST nDPROFII OF IELECHlPHI
Farthsr p F~Sss ana kisarss. sad Com par
tss1s with EBxisnd's systsD-fhs
Assrags Cost rsr nsss2ss-Dtf-
fsxsEGs Ia Wagss Paid

WAsaIs6r0s, March DIR Marvin
Green, president OF the Western Union
Telegraph Company, today continued
his statement respecting the pending
Postal Telegraph billsbefore the House
Committe on Post-otices and Pest
roads. tie said nc bad seen It stated
that the wire on the Pacific Railroad
lines belonged 70 the Government. He
did not so understand it. and as a mat
ter OF fact the Government had no
power 70 hx rates over those lines. Re-
specting rates generally, Dr.. Green SAID
that they were about one-half of those
prevailing twenty-five years ago. The
ratio between our own and the British
rates was as 25 cents 10 20 cents. The
POstmsster-General proposed TO reduce
these rates one-half, and this IN
the face OF the fact that the
British system had been operated
with deficit of Gil, 500 800 IN the past
II years and probably $50, 900, 900 since
rs establishment. Yet the British sys-
tenn had been instituted under solemn
pledge that Il should be seif-suppOrtng.
The salaries of the British operators
averaged from SO 10 s29 per month
while IN New York the average, includ-
ing male and female operators, was
S6l.45. more than double the British
average. The British system had about
One-fifth OF the poles and One-fOurth of
the wire of those owned by the Western
Union. That was compact IN an open,
closely settled country, so that is nam
tensnce cost about one-fOurth of the
cost of maintaining the lines IN this
country. IL our Government embarked
IN the telegraph business. lt must have
managers or the business would go to
the bottom. The Government could
not do the business as cheaply as
the Western Union. All of the small and
new companies were under much
larger prOportlOnate expense than the
Western Union. which handled over
LOO, 900 messages = day at New York
alone. IL was cheaper 10 do a large
business than small one. An operator
could not be made III year. Operators
had 10 have from eight TO ten years
expel ience before they could be trusted
10 manage a heavy wire. Or. Green
actual cost To the Western Union of
handling business was pa cents a mes
sage. Each Of the lines, wires, poles,
rents, salaries, ETC., would cost small
company more in proportion than
large one. Taking up the details of
the Postmaster-GeneraPs plan, DR..
Green said that at many OF the
pOst-Offices there would not be
sufficient telegraph business to
pay expenses. 1t had been suggested
that the postmasterS ~ these offices
might learn 10 work the wires, but they
would not do so, as they we're usually
business men and fully employed in
caring for their shops. Then a special
corps of operators would have TO be
organized IN the large cities, and they
would have to be- placed in rooms
separate from the post-Otfice TO preserve
the sccresy OF the messages. Large
batteries-rOOms would have to be pro-
cured, and altogether the present
,'ost-Ofice buildings could not be
made to accommodate the tele-
graph system. DR.. Green made
comparison between our domestic tele-
graph rates with those in Europe, show
ing that for all distances over 500 miles,
our rates were much lower; vet. SAID
he, the POstmaster-General would
establish a uniform rate for 1900 mile
distances, a distance over which no sin
gle wire had been successfully worked.
rs to the low rates the Western Union
had never fought opposition companies
with low rates; the opposition COM
pallcs had usually battled against the
Western Union. The last fOrnnable
competitor lt had was the Baltimore
& ONO Telegraph Company. They had
started IN 20 smash things and i had
done Il. That company had
ruined the competing companies.
had ruined itself and bad 50 nearly
ruined the 2. q o. RsllrOad Company
that 10 had been obliged 10 sell = sleep
ing cars and construction shops to tide
over the financial stress. That WAS the
last of the low rate tight. The Balti-
more 4 OHIO Telegraph Company had
psld on large class Of business as high
- d cents per message for commissions
and collecting messages, leaving out
Cpo rat0r~' salaries and wire maInteu-
auce. The average cost Of handling
tncir messages was 225 cents. and the
average charge was 16.f cents. The
P1-tw8ster-fren IN his order tixinr
rates fer Government busness. had
made an order which the Board
of Directors Of tne Western Union mad
decided was prsctfca Ivan order of con
rsCatiOn Of their bus ness. The doctor
became somewhat excited at this point
ard lookuE bard 8t Postmaster General
Wanlmaker. wh0 steadfastly returned
the gaze. he exclaimed And set he
saws that ne IS on first,rate terms with
the telegraph companies. Hsmav CON
congratulate himself that ne can smile
and sm and murder while be smiles.
We vropo-e to c0ntrOvert that order
fixing the rates for Government mes
s1ges In the camp and 10 demonstrate
tet it IS not oue-Aat Of the
caSt III the service. We have
NOS received = dollar on account
Of Government telegraph service since
Iss, July. We would not accept the
r3sa one word more. 7 d0 not know
whether am right. hut this Is the way
10 .noss to a man ne a tree Inis -
Government af tae people, by the poo
Flc a0t for tne people. Tn England
aui other rI0nsrch1 Governments n
fsGsts Hud n the s0-caiIed French
k.-1bac. trc cabinet ministers are
rr~'aers of the ler rsiative denart-
w0uts. aul zee 1s uemtcrs Of che leg
st9rc. Fms in q ccrsrtutCnal form
of government a. & 81 here. the exeCu-
ars eus'suve su8 judicial depart
events are n'sie ndeuondsnt de-
n1rtmerfs. The President NAV
rrrCru ue~l. frcu tr7s t0 time.
s,r-n 'eE station 81 NAV ~ neesied