Los Angeles daily herald., 1890-03-02
NOT SILL DEAD YET.
There Are Still q Few Fools
Left.
SUCH IS DIR. GREEN'S OPINION.
He Intimates that the Postmaster
General is One Of
Them.
Associated Press Dispatches to tbs HERALD.


Telegraph Company, today continued his
statement respecting the pending postal
telegraph bill, before the House com.
mittee on postal affairs and post roads
He said he had seen it stated that the
wires on the Pacific railroad lines be-
longed to the Government. He did not
go understand it; and, as a matter OF
fact, the Government had nc power to
fix the rates over those lines. Respect.
ing rates generally, DR.. Green said that
they we're about one.half of those prevail
ing twenty-five years ago. The ratio be-
tween our own and British rates WAS as
% cents to 20 cents. The Postmaster
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 nearly twelve
million dollars n the past eleven years,
and probably thirty million dollars siuce
its establishment; yet the British system
had been instituted under the solemn
pledge that it should be self-supportirg
The salary of British operators averaged
from $28 to $29 per month, while in New
York the average (including male and
female operatore) was $6l 45, more than
double the British average. The Gov
ernment could not do business as cheaply
as the Western Union. All Of the small
and new companies we're under a much
larger proportlonate expense than the
Western Union.
DR.. Green presented figures to show
that the actual cost to the Western
Union Of handling it's business was % A
cents message.
Taking up the details of the Postmaster
Generals plan, DR.. Green said that at
many of the postoffices there would not
be sufficient telegraph business to pay
expenses. 1t had been suggested that
the postmasters at these offices might
learn to work the wires, but they would
not do so, as they were usually business
men and fully employed in caring for
their shops. Altogether the present post
office buildings could not be made to
accommodate telegraph system.
DR.. Green made comparison between
our domestic telegraph rates and those
in Europe, showing that for all distances
of over 500 miles our rates were much
too low; yet, said he, the Postmaster
General would establish a uniform rate
which no single wire had ever baen sue
cessfullv worked.
As to low rates, the Western Union
had never fought opposition companies
with low rates. The opposition COM
panies usually bu.ted against the West
ern Union. Tae last formidable COM
petitor it had was the Baltimore and
Ohio Telegraph Company. They started
in to smash things and had done it.
That company ruined three ompeting
companies; ruined itself, and 80 nearly
ruined the Baltimore and Ohio railroad
that it had been obliged to sell its sleep
ing cars aid construction shops to tide
over it's financial stress.
The Postmaster General in fixing the
rates for Government business, made an
order which the board of directors Of the
Western Union decided practically an
order for the coniscation of their
business.
The doctor became somewhat excited
at this point, and looking hard at Post
master. General Wanamaker, who stead
fastly returned the gaze, he exclaimed: /:
'And yet he says he is on firstrate terms
with the telegraph companies We pro-
pose to controvert that order (fxiDg the
rates for Government meesages) in the
courts, and demonstrate that it is not
half of the cost of the service. This pro-
pUsed Legislation has failed to receive the
Presidents recommendation, although
submitted in the Postmaster Generals
report before his annual message was
sent to Congress-. l have never heard
before that Cabinet Minister may come
before committee to coach it, and help
his pet schemes through when they have
not been recommended by the Preside mt.
Grain, of Texas, said the Postmaster
General had not coached him in fact he
had never spoken to him about it.
DR.. Green The Postmaster General
has between $4,000 and 100, 900 civil ap-
pointments to make, and every member
has two or three in his district.
Mr.. Crain-I am Democrat and get
none from him.
Grain asked if DR.. Green's objection
was not based on the assumption that it
provided for the erection and mainte-
nance of Government lines.
DR.. Green replied that was what it
amounted to.
Mr.. Grain asked why the Western
Union opposed the bill if it proposed an
impracticable plan.
DIR. Green-Because the fools are not
all dead yet. Many people would jump
in to build telegraph lines without the
assurance that they could make any
thing.
Grain remarked that his objection
seemed to be that the Western Union
would not be helped, but the people
would be.
DR.. Green replied that certain class
OF people would be benefited if they
could send messages at one cent a word
or at one mill, as originally proposed by
the Postmaster General, but the benefit
would be confined to l per cent. of the
people, and that at the cost of the Gov.
ernment.
Grain rejoined that the bill did not
propose that the Government should
meet the cost. The Gender of the mes.
sage was to pay the entire expense.
DR.. Green replied that the bill did not
propose anything of the sort; the sender
would pay fixed rate, which would be
insufficient.
"But," said Grain, "it authorizes the
Government to contract with telegraph
companies for services at fixed rate. II
1t was losing rate the companies would
be the losers, not the people,"
DR.. Green replied that it was matter
OF opinion as to the result, and the com.
mittee would see by experience that his
view was right.
Crain-You say English operators re-