Fort Worth daily gazette. (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1890-06-02

just twice as much, or about twice as
much as the rates to the government for
the last year and for the last ten years
and about four times as much as the
rates fixed by the postmaster general on
October 80 last, for the present fiscal
year, which rate, by the way, was 500
per cent. greater than the rate contained
in his published order of June 80, the
rate Of one mill per word for all dis
tances.
Mr.. Bingham-This bill provides that
the charges for all words in excess of the
first twenty words shall be at the rate of
one cent per word. How does that COM
pare with your rates?
Mr.. Green-For most short distances it
is only so per cent. of our rates, for long
distances it is only one-fifth, or 20 per
cent. of our rates. As, for instance,
the rate is 81 .05, our rate is usually 25
and 2, but for many short distances 1t is
% and l; for transcontinental messages
it is 81 and and so and for additional
words is our standard rate, and rs and 4.
so that the rates as provided in the bill
are so per cent. to 40 per cent. and 20
per cent. of our rates for additional
words.
Mr.. Bingham-I have here, sent to
me, postal telegraph scheme which
states that the undersigned David q.
Bates, Harry Wise, Garrett Walter, P.
Smith, Robert Andrews and ]. II. Hood,
by the presents, pursuant to and in con-
formity with the statute, apply under the
law of the state of Virginia for char
ter. Do you know of these parties, or
anything about them?
Nj. Green-I do not know much
about them. 1 know Mr.. Bates very
well. He was for long while in the
employ of my company, and afterward
in the employ of the Baltimore and
Ohio company. AS far as 1 have been
able to ascertain the gentlemen who are
named in these articles of Incorporation
will never build telegraph line without
help. Who their backing Is don't
know.
Mr.. Bingham thought possibly you
might know these telegraph men.
Mr.. Green-I want to remind the
chair, who is an old member of congress,
and probably knows the fact, that this,
is substantially the same scheme that
has been fore congress tor twenty-five
years an as been rejected by every
congress CHI it has come before. 1t is
the old L bbard scheme. The post
master gene raj has now discovered that
he has not as much to start
telegraph line with as he at
first supposed he had; that his
clerks and employees would not have
time to do telegraph business; that they
could not learn the little tick as quick as
he supposed they could; that the room in
the postnffice was not what he expected
it would be. The floor area in our main
Office employed in our business is more
than equal to two acres. We have one
floor of u 800 square feet and four 9TH
ers of IL 200 square feet, each of which
is necessary to our business, and even
then we had to move the commercial
news department out of the building into
another one, which we have done on
Broad street. was in hopes that the
committee would have accepted my iuvi-
tation to come to New York and examine
our books. They would learn more with
regard to what it takes to constitute
telegraph company in one day by an in
specIion of the practical operation of ;of
the battery-room, of the dynamos to
manufacture the current; of the reoeiy-
ing room; of the bookkeeping and delive-
cry department than they could ever
learn here in this committee room. BY
the way we have reduced bookkeeping to
about one-fifth of what it used to be.
improvements on it for twenty-five
years. That shows how little he knows
about it. That postmaster-general'
scheme was exceedingly impracticable.
He had about as much to start a tele-
graph system with as the countryman
who found a tar bucket and had to buy
wagon and team to make it of any use.
He has backed entirely out of that and
adopted the old Hubbard scheme of con-
tracing with company. That was the
original scheme of the national
telegraph company. He wanted congress
to charter it and give him contract and
he has been hammering on that for
twenty five years, but it has been re-
jeeted by every congress to which it has
been presented. There is other thing,
Mr.. Chairman, to which desire to call
your attention. While all the European
governments own and operate their tele
graph, there is not government in Eu-
rope that ever establiahed telegraph
in competition with its own citizens.
There is not government in Europe that
ever established a telegraph without
buying all existing properties at fair
price, where there were any to buy.
There is not statesman in Europe that
would not sheer at the injustice of the
Z BON SOihB INV a ONSAhOSS, - WIN
meroial business.
The supreme court of the United
States, by Chief Justice Waite, has de-
clared that the telegraph is commerce
itself and that 1t bears the same relation
to it that railroads do, not carrying the
property in fact, but the duplicate of it
and that it is essentially an adjunct to 1t,
and yet the government proposes to go
into commercial business and give its
patronage and its assistance to oompe-
ting company with largely invested capt.
tai to protect which, 1 insist, under the
act Of 1886, the good faith of the govern
ment is pledged. More than four fifths
of the telegraph properties have been
created since that act was passed.
There are number of other things,
and some most outrageous misrepresen-
tations which l want 10 correct. am
very anxious to be heard. l VIII be at
Washington any day the committee will
name. ] have got record proof; 1 have
got the original act establishing the over
land telegraph to California. 1t has
been stated to this committee that there
was an appropriation of congress suf-
flcient TO build the line, whereas it was
most advantageous one for the govern
ment, aud but one man liz the whole
Stofaa would out q doIlor inf