The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1890-03-01

pian, and to do the business practically
would require at least 100, 900 miles of wire.
AT press contract rates, the rental of this
wire would be $4,000 Whoever under
LOOK to do telegraph business on this sys-
tenn would do it at loss.
In this country there were more tele-
graph offices than postoffices. In the older
part OF the country it was 80 per cent.
greater, and yet Great Britain owned both
telegraph and postoffices. Did that look as
II the Western Union was not keeping
abreast of the times? In North Carolina
the Western Union had telegraph offices
that did not pay 25 cents in gross receipts.
AT the AT places named in the postmaster
generals plan as telegraph offices, the gov
ernment owned but 104 postoffice buildings.
LII was becoming grave question as to
whether it now profted the Western" to
continue its contracts with the railroad
companies. Originally they were sources
OF great revenue, but now the railroad
business was increasing to such an extent
that it was doubtful if the telegraph COM
pany, which handled their business free,
did not lose by the agreement.
The chairman asked how much of their
business the Western Union did in the free
delivery cities.
DIR. Green replied that about 80 per cent.
would cover it. That business was more
largely speculative than the remainder of
their business, as it would include the
great money centres of the country
The chairman said that it was proposed
to pay the operators out of the 2-cent
charge for the postage stamp. He would
like to know what the operating cost was
DIR. Green replied that close estimate
placed it at 3 cents per message; in cases
OF long distance messages 1t ran up to 9
cents. The average compensation of first
class operators was SIS per month.
The chairman wished to know how the
rates suggested by the postmaster general
compared with the present rates.
DR.. Green replied that generally they were
two-ffths lower. In the case of long dis
tance messages they were one-half lower.
The average message was twenty one
words, including addresses and signatures
1t was preferable to continue the system
OF free addresses to insure accurate delly-
cry. Under the English system, where
the address was charged for the addresses
were cramped and messages frequently
failed in delivery. To the broad question
as to how the postmaster generals plan
appeared to him as business proposition,
DR.. Green said that, OF course, it could be
carried out, but the business could not be
done by the government, or corporation,
at profit, and somebody would have to
make deficiency.
Representative Grain wi shed to know
why, il the bill was impracticable, DR..
Green and the rest of the postal telegraph
companies both appeared here to contend
against it.
DR.. Green replied that it was serious
matter Tor them; they did not wish to be
placed in competition with the United
States treasury. The government could
afford to bear loss.
Mr.. Crain-But the bill don't provide for
that.
DR.. Green-You will have to provide for
that. You will be asked for an appropria-
ton within year.
Mr.. Grain remarked that if no company
would contract with the government the
bill could do them no harm.
The chairman at this point interviewed to
say that DR.. Green did not appear at his
own instance but at the request of the
committee. But the doctor, continuing his
reply to Mr.. Grains query, said:
why is it that the British government,
having had its telegraph system for twelve
or fifteen years, paying the operators half
our salaries, with system placed in an
open country, in a small area thickly popu-
lated, costing about one-quarter of the cost
of our system to maintain, why was it that
that government had resisted the attempt
to lower the shilling rate and why had the
postmaster general, after resisting the at
tempt for year and half, finally agreed
to only slight reductlons 1t was because
the receipts of the system lacked 100000
of paying the interest on the cost of the
plant at 3 per cent?
Mr.. Anderson, referring to the post
master generals bill said that it did not
contemplate the payment of large salaries
to officers.
DR.. Green dryly responded that if he
wanted to do telegraph business he would
have to pay somebody to look after it and
pay them well too. After all, what mat
tered it. A salary of $4,000 per annum
amounted to charge of about one tenth
of cent per message in the Western
Union business. If the postmas ter gen
erals rates were adopted by the Western
Union its receipts would fall just s., 000, 600
below the expenditures every year.
At this point the committee adjourned to
meet tomorrow when DR.. Green will con-
tinue his statement.