The morning call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1878-1895, 1890-05-21

Committee on Postoffices and Postroads and
was questioned respecting the proposed
Government telegraph bill. advocated by
Postmaster-General Wauamaker. The in
Quiry proceeded as follows:
Mr.. Bineham-Dr. Green, would like TO ask
you his question for my own Information. Can
you give me IN any form the difference in your
rates and the rates specified In the bill which
handed you this morning, which | received yes
tefday from tue POStOTtlce Department?
DIFFERENCE IN RATES.
Mr.. Green-Those rates would be about so
next rate Tie difference would be from 60 per
cent 10 90 per cent; most OF Il would be 90 per
cent For transconllnental distances part OF
them would be 80 per cent. As. for instance,
rate from Chicago aud 81. Louis and every
place west to the Pacific Coast is 70 cents and
Inis would be 80 cents; but for great part OF 1t
IL would he 90 cents against 81. For instance,
our rate from New York 10 San Francisco Is 81,
and the maximum rate IL that bill Is 30 cents.
You see that the rate wOuld be so per cent of
our rate fOr short distance, ana 80 TO 90 yer
cent for the intermediate distances, and 66 TO 90
Tor long distances But the & ealer part OF II is
al 90 per ceut.
THE GOVERNMENTS COMMISSION.
When you make that statement 10 you take
into consideration tie fact that upon eaclf mes
sage the Government l. 10 receive cents ?''
raIes"
a You have tiken that into consideration ?"
q Yes. sir; THAI comes out OF those and
secures the delivery which costs a fraction over
country. Ii costs my company all Of 20 per cent
10 do our business, ana that desire 10 demon
sIrale against the criticism OF Mr. Hubbard. If
the rates were reduced 10 60 ier cent the bust
ness would be necessarily done al loss
RUINoUs RATES.
Then the rates sci fUrth IN this bill from
your knowledge ana your experiences, upon their
face VIII entail an absolute loss Y'
An absolute loss and that statement would
be sustained by any pi actical telegraph man In
the courts he business would only be done
al loss, which would have 10 he paid i'll some
way"
Could your company bid under the cOndi-
tiUns OF Ibis bill p
w could not accept the rates We would
be DONG business al a less If We accepted those
rates There is no business In the United States
That Nnow OF that could stand such a Teduc-
ton OF rates.
THE TELEPHONE MONOPOLY.
Perhaps the most odIous monopoly In the
country Is the Telephone. They have perfect
monopoly. The Western Union Telegraph Com
pany /, hot monopoly. Anybody can build
telegram line AID any body can operate II, but
nobody can build telephone line unless they
have license from the American Bell Teie-
phone Company. a reduction OF 40 per cent
would close every telephone exchange In this
country. large as their profits There is not
would not have to close on reduction OF 20 per
cent. There Is MOI manufacturer and there is
not bus ness Id the country that know OF that
could stand Il reduction at that rate"
COMPETING LINES.
" what other telegraph companies are there
" lie Postal Telegraph Company is quite a
large concern. They are pushing on 10 New Or
leans and 10 Texas. They VIII be there very
Savannah and at Minneapolis, St. Paul aud
Duluth. Ihey Will soon be al Denver aud
Omaha. In addition TO that Mr.. Mackay has
sepsTate system which covers the Pacific Coast
States pretty generally
q" Is that another eOmpany?'
" II Is another company, but II belongs to the
same man."
AGREED TO IAINTAIN RATES.
How do their rates compare with your
They have agreed with rs to maintain rates
1hefe IS, however, nothing extraordinary in
that. The railroads have 10 do that TO keep from
going into bankruptcy. Every manufacturing
company in the country cOnsults Its competitors
about maintaining rates and agrees upon them.
All the rolling mills have agreed to maintain
1acluiers. 1t Is an absolute necessity TO prevent
destruction from wdsteiul compettion;"
" Nhat other companies are tnere?"
MORE RIVAL LINES.
There a great many more companies
My friend Painter has got little telegraph line
up In Pennsylvania. There Is an independent
Northwestern of Canada runs over into the
Uuitrd States considerable distance down TO
Whitehall at the southern end OF Lake Cham
plain and through that county. The Canadian
Pacific has got a lin from Montreal through New
England light uD INTO the Maritime Provinces OF
Canada. There are several independent colnpa.
MES out IN the West aud TWO or three down
South, all local concerns, but together they exc
out our opposition, as we 20 everywhere. They
connect WIFI the Postal and help them out aud
they cover the whole country with a competing
Telegraph.
COST OF HANDLING MESSAGES.
'Mr Chandler's letter, which 1 wish every
member of the committee would read, for 1t is a
very clear statement Of the case. shows that II
costs his COMPANY an average OF 26 cents mes
sage 10 handle It's business. Its costs US 22 40
cents per message and handle business
cheaper than any other company can handle
small business, because we handle great deal
more in The same office and d great deal more
with the same clerks
There is very important matter TO my com
pany, which have not taken up before, aud Ihat
Is The criticism OF the Western Union made by
the Postmaster General in his annual report /
am very anxious TO be heard before the com
mitiee upon this very unjust aud unfair state
mrnt
WASAMAKER's STATEMENT DENIED.
''The PosimasterGeneral says that he dlscov-
cred that the Government was paying for sery-
Ices which were eudefed TO the public free and
he would have The President this committee and
Congress believe that they have been dreadfully
imposed upon and that all OF his predecessors
were either stupid or cOnnived at building up
the Western Union Telegraph Company; where
as In point OF fact have exhibits here to show
that at the old Government rate, where the Gov.
ernment was charged for what was given other
people Tree, that the address and signature, the
gross tolls under the old rate were only about 80
per cent OF the tolls to the public.
A CoNFIsCATIoN OF PROPERTY.
That all comes out of the suit which we have
brought against lbe Government to test the ques-
tlOn whether The fixing OF the rates below the
cost OF The service is not a cOnfscatiOn OF prop.
erty without just compensation. We have made
up an account for three months which has been
certified 10 and the issue is substantially made
up. The rates 10 the public Oh that uc-
count are Just twice as much or about
twice as much as the rates 10 the Government for
the last year and Tor the last six years. and about
four Times as much as the rates paid by the Post
masteT-GeneTal on the o0h OF October last for
the present fiscal year, which rate, by the way
was boo per cent greater than the rate contained
In his published order OF June Goth, the rate of
one mill per word Tor all distances"
CONPARATTvF pArVa
This bill provides that the charges for all
words 10 excess for the first twenty words shall
that compare with your rates?''
"FoI most short distances 1t is only so per
cent of our rates. For long distances it is only
one-hfh or 20 per cent OF our rates. For Instance:
Our lobg rate is 81 and cent?, and our short
rate is usually 20 cents and CENTS but for
many short distances IL is 20 cents and cent.
For transcOntinental messages IL Is 81 and 8
cents. Fifty cents and cents for additional
words Is our standard rate, and rs cents and
cents. so that The rates as provided In the bill
are 90 per cent 40 per cent and 20 per ceut OF
our rates for additional words"
APPLICATION FOR A CHARTER.
have here sent to me postal telegraph
scheme, which states that the undersigned,
David II. Bales, Heary Wise Garrett Waite? II.
Smith, Robert Andrews aud James H. Hood, by
these presents. pursuant to and In conformity
wtth the statute, apply under the law of the
State OF Virginia for charter Do you know
any OF these parties or anything about them?''
Il do not know much about them. / know Mr..
Bates very well. He was FOR a loug While iu the
employ OF my company and afrerward In the
employ Of the Baltimore and Ohio ComDauy Az
far as 1 have been able to ascertain, tile gentle
men who are named in those articles OF inco poT-
alton viii never build telegraph line without
help. Who their backing Is do not KNOW
II thought possibly you might know these tel
egraph men,
AN OLD SCHEME.
I" want to remind the Chairman who is an
old Member Of Congress and probably knows
tie fact that this Is substantially the
sane scheme that has been before
Congress Tor twentyfour years and mas
been rejected by every Congress which II has
come before. 1t Is The old Hubbard scheme. The
I'osimaster-Generl now has discovered that lie