Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1890-03-02
POSTAL TELEGRAPH BILL.
Continuation OF DIR. Green's Remarks De
fore the House Committee.
~ ,ato-ranh "a be DisDatcn.i


W,suTxcrov. March DIR. Noryin
croen 'nresident OF the Western Union
TELEGRAPH COMPANY, to-day continued ms
statement respecting the pending postai
teIegranh bill before the House Commit
fee on Post Offices and POst-Roads
lie said that he had seen 1t stated tnat
the wires on the Pacific railway, llnes De
lonped TO the Government. lie mao NOT SO
understood II, and as matter OF iact tie
Gnrernment had no power 10 fix the rate
over those lines. IL n Co.,
said that they were about one-hat OF
those prevailing twenty-five years ago
The ratio between our own and the brush
rates was rs twenty-five cents 10 twenty
cents The Postmastar-Generm proposed
TO reduce these rates one halt, ana TINS III
the face of the fact that the British system
nod been operated with deficit or ST.
500 qo0 in the past eleven years and
probably S30.000,0j0 since IT'S estaDilsh-
mont. Yet tho British system had been
institsted under solemn pledge that IL
should be sef-supportlng. The salaries OF
tho British operatives averaged from 20
10 500 per month, while IN New 1ork the
average INCLUDING males and ieinaic5) WIS
sci. fi-more than double the brlush ave
rage. The British system had a3out or
fifth of the poles and one fourth OF the
wires of those owned by the Western
Union. That was the compact IN on Open
cloeelv-settled country, so that It's mantle
nance cost about one fourth OF the cost OF
maintaining lines in this country. II our
Government embarked IN the teIeHTapn
business it must have managers or me
business would 90 To the bottom. Inc
! Government could not do business as
| cheaplv as the Western Union. All Of the
/ small and new companies were under mucn
LARGER proportionate expense than the
Western Union. which handled over 100 600
messages per day at New York alone. 1t was
/ cheaper to DO large business than q
! small one. An operator could not be
made in q year. Operators had TO have
J eight or ten years experience before they
! could be trusted to manage heavy wire.
/ DR.. Green presented figures TO show that
| the actual cost TO the Western Union or
/ handling business was pa cents per mes
SAGE. Each of the items. wires. poles,
rents. salaries, &c, would cost small COM
/ panv more in proportion than large one.
Takine up the details of the Postmaster
Generals plan. Or. Green SAID that at
many of the post-oiiices there would not ne
sufficient telegraph business TO pay ex-
penses. It had been suggested that the
postmasters at these offices might learn TO
work the wires. But they would not doso,
as they were usually businessmen and
fully employed in caring for their
shops. Then special corps of ope--
rat6ts would have to be organized
in large cities, and they would have
to be placed in rooms separate from
the post-otiice TO preserve the secrecy OF
messages. Large battery-rooms would have
to be procured. and altogether the present
/ post-Office buildings could not be made 10
accommodate the telegraph system. Or.
/ Green made comparison between our do
nestle telegraph rates with those III Eu-
/ rome showing that for oil distances over
800 miles our rates were much lower. let,
said he, the Postmaster-General would
establish a uniform rate for Loo miles dls-
tances-a distance over which no single
wire had ever been successfully worked.
As 10 low rates, the Western Union had
never fought the opposition companies
with low rates where the opposition com
panies had usually butted against 1t. The
iast formidable competitor IL had was the
baltimore and Ohio Telegraph Company.
That company had started in to smash
things. and il had done il. That
company had ruined three competing
companies, had ruined itself, and had SC
nearly ruined the Baltimore and Ohio Rall
road Company that 1t had been Obliged 10
sell its sleeping-cars and construction
shons TO tide over the financial stress
That YVES the last of the low-rate fights
The Baltimore and Ohio Telegraph Com
pany had paid on large class Of bushes
as high as IL cents per message for com
missions and collecting messages, leayinI
out the operators salaries and wire main
fenance. The average cost of HANDLING
their messages was 22.J cents. and the ave
race obarge was 1914 cents. The Postmas
ter General. in his order fixing rates fol
the Government business, had made al
order which the Board of Directors OF tn
Western Union had decided was PRACTICAL!
an order of confscation of their business
The Doctor became somewhat excited q
this point, and, looking hard at Postmas
er-General Wanamsker, who steadfastl
returned his gaze, he exclaimed
"And vet he SAYS that he is Of
frst-rate terms with the telegraph compa
MES. He may congratulate himself tina
he can smile and smile and murder Will
Ae smiles. We propose TO contxovert tina