The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1890-03-02
DIR. GREEN GETS NETTLED
wANAMAKER'S SMILE TOO CHILD
LIKE AND BLAND.


at a Loss-The Alleged Absurdity
of the Clcthier's Postal Telegraph
Scheme.
WASHINGTON, March L-Dr. Norvin
Green, president of the Western Uuion
Telegraph Company. to-day continued his
statement respecting the pending postal
telegraph bill before the House committee
on postoffice, and post roads. He SAID he
had seen it stated that the wires on the
Pacific railroad lines belonged to the gov
ernment. He had not so understood it, and,
as a matter of fact, the government had no
power to fix a rate over those lines.
Respecting rates generally DR.. Green said
that they were about half of
those prevailing twenty-five years ago.
The ratio between our own and British
rates was as % cents to 20 cents. The POST
master General proposed to produce these rate
one hall, and this in the face of the fact that
the British system had been operated with
deficit Of $l1 800, 800 in the past eleven
years and probably $50, ,O0O. 900 since its es-
tablishment YET the British system had
Teen instituted under solemn pledge that
it should be self supporting.
SALARIES OF OPERATORS.
The salaries of British operators aver
aged from S26 to $40 per month, while
in New York the average Including male
and female operate 81 was SOL 41-more
than double the British average. The Brit
lsh system had about one-fifth Of the poles,
and one-fourth of the wire of those owned
by the Western Union. That was compact
in an open, closely settled country, so that
its maintenance cost about one-fourth of the
cost of maintaining the lines in this coun-
try. Ii our government embarked in the
telegraph business it must have
managers or the business would go
to the bottom. The government could not
do business as cheaply as the Western
Union. All of the small and new compa-
MES were under very much larger propor-
tionate expense than the Western Union,
which handled over 100, 900 messages a day
at New York alone. 1t was cheaper to do
a large business than a small one An
operator could not be made in a year.
Operators had to have 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 of handling business was
q. 4 cents per message. Each of the items,
wires, poles, rents, salaries, etc., would cost
nall company more in proportion than a
large one.
WANAMAKER'S PLAN IMPRACTICABLE.
Taking up the details of the Postmaster
Generals plan, DIR. Green said that at ma "
of the postoffices there would not be suffi-
cient telegraph business to pay expenses
1t had been suggested that the postmastsrs
at these oftices might learn to work the
wires; but they would not do so, as they
were usually business men aud fully
employed in caring for their shops
Than a sTapiQl nf w ,Iild
rave to be organized in the large cities, and
they would have to be placed in rooms
separate from the postoffice to preserve
the secrecy of the messages. Large battery
rooms would have TO be procured; and,
altogether, the present postoff1ce buildings
could not be made to accommodate q tele-
graph system.
A COMPARISON OF RATES.
Dr. Green made a comparison between
our domestic telegraph ra es with those in
Europe, showing that for all distances over
500 miles our rates were much lower Yet
the Postmaster General said he would es-
tablish uniform rate for 1,500-mile dis
tances, a distance over which no single wire
had ever been successfully worked.
As to low rates, the Western Union had
never fought opposition companies with
low rates. These opposition companies had
usually butted against the Western Union
The last formidable competitor it had was
the Baltimore and Ohio Telegraph Com
smash things, and it had done
it. That company had ruined three
competing companies, had ruined itself and
SO nearly ruined the Baltimore and Ohio
Railroad Company that it had been
obliged to sell its sleeping cars and con-
struction shops to tide over the financial
stress. That was the last of the low rate fights
H., Del To1a l.
pany had paid on large class of business
as high as IL cents per message, for COM
missions and collecting messages leaving
out the operators salaries and wire main
tenance. The average cost of handling
their messages was 225 cents and the
average charge was 1874 cents.
wANAMAKER's RATE.
The Postmaster General, in his order
fixing rates for government business, had
made an order which the board OF directors
of the Western u lion had decided was
practically an order of confiscation of their
business. The doctor became somewhat
excited at this point, and, looking hard at
Postmaster General Wa1amaker, who
steadfastly returned his gaze, he explained:
"And yet he says that he is on irst-rate
terms with the telegraph companies He
may congratulate himself that he can smile,
and smile, and murder while he smiles.
We propose to contrOvert that Order-1xlng
rates for government messages-in the
courts, and to demonstrate that it is not
one half the cost of the services. We have
not received dollar on account eff the gov
ernment telegraph service since last July;
we would not accept the rate. One word
more: don't dnow whether l am right, but
this is the way it looks to a man up tree.
This is a government Of the people, by the
people and for the people.
EXCEEDING HIS RIGHTS.
SIN England end other .,monarchical gov
ernments, in Canada and the so-called
French republic. tine cabinet ministers are
members OF the legislative department and
act as members of the legislature. But in
a constitutional form of government as it
is here, the executive, legislative and judi
cial departments are made independent
departments The President may recon-
mend from time to time such legislation as
may be needed. This proposed legislation
has failed to receive his recommendation,
although submitte in the Postmaster Gen.
erals report before his annual message was
sent to congress have never
heard before that cabinet minister may
come before a committee to coach it, and
and help his pet schemes through when
they have not been recommended by tho
President
At this point Representative Anderson of
Mississippi interrupted DR.. Green TO call
attention to the late hour, and added that
the witness answers were argumentative
and not responsive.
GRAIN DKFExDs wANAMAKER