Fort Worth daily gazette. (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1890-04-23
WASHINGTON LETTER.
Something About the Western Union
Telegraph Company Which
Girdles the World.
Senator Blair's Plan of Re-intFOdueing Bills
Proposed by Him and Rejected In
Previous Congresses.
,orresnondence OF the Gazette.

WASHINGTON, April Lot may De IN
teresting to the readers of THE GAZETTE
to know something about the western
Union telegraph company, which glroles
the world. The house committee Oh
postoffices and post roads has recently
had under consideration the subject OF
the postal telegraph with q view TO re-
porting a bill proposed by the postmas-
ter-general. Among the witnesses ex-
ahmed was Mr.. Norvip Green, the pres
ident of the Western Union telegraph
company, who furnished some interest
ing statistics. The total receipts OF that
company for the year ending June 30,
1889. were $40, 1873, 1874, the total
expenses were SI4, 800, l52, howing the
enormous net profit of S6,2lS,O 4l, OF
s., 500 ,00G more than IN 1883. Another
statement made by Mr.. Green, Whlch Is
of special interest, was that forty-slX per
cent. of the amount of the telegraph
business is purely speculative. IL Is
stock iobbing, wheat deals in futures,
cotton deals in futures, the most active
and exacting service there is. Pool
other sporting messages paid the west
ern Union last year $3.50, 900.
Concerning the proposition that the
government should establish postal tel
egraph Mr.. Green said:
AS to the necessity for the government tele-
graphing l say To this committee that l have
examined the question far enough 20 ascertain
and | assert that the Western Union company
paws to the government in postage more than
the government business amounts 10, OUTSIDE OI
the signal service, which is an exactlng service
that nobody else can DO. II, however, II shouIu
he decided that the government ought TO take
the telegraph, then the only just and eqaltaDle
thing TO do is to take the existing telegraph
nT5e,ties ana nav Tor them That is what every
other country has done. why MAKE an eH0rU 20
drive out the telegraph companies ana break
| down the value of their property and then ouy
| # as has been declared TO be the policy of the
government by some distinguished peopIeE Is
that Just? Isitjust to the 5000 khoiders IN my
company and to the stockholders OF ali Ihe otheI
| COMPANIES? Is the government engaged IN thaL
sort of sharp bargaining! It does not matter
what the capitaI stock is; that has nothing to do
| with it. 1t has nothing whatever to do with II.
| The act of 1866 provided means OF Yalulng the
| DrOperty and gave the government the right TO
take it upon appraisement of commission OF
| ave ners6ns two of whom should be appointed
by the postmaster general, two by the telegraph
| companies, and they should choose the NTH. is
| there ANYTHING fairer than that? If the Govern
| ment wants to go into the telegraph business
| they will need not only all the telegraph prop
| erty in existence, but they viii need twice as
| TnTcb more. There are 20, 900 post-ofices al
| which there are no telegraph offices. and with
| the spirit Of this country now many OF theIn
| would not demand telegraph othce, II the gov
| eminent operated the telegraph, at whatever
! the cost especially if the telegraph was being
| run at loss, as it would most PROBABLY De;
| How many of them would not come mere ano
| saw to congress: We are helping TO pay the
| losses on this telegraph business and we have
| no offices Seven hundred and fifty Thousand
| lilies Of wire would not be half enough for the
| requirement of such business
| When l was sent for by one OF our stocsholder'
| tn 90 to Saratoga to meet the postmaster-gen-
| eral and this scheme OF the government posta
! teIeorapF was suggested to me, his idea whlcf
| was presented there was that there are %, OO'
| postofices and only $1,000 telegraph ohces
| There are 600 places having postothce:
! where there are no telegraph ohces. why
| can YOU not extend your lines to these
| IN oOo .oostofices at places where there are NJ
| telegraph offices, where the postmasters havt
! very little to do, and where they might soon b'
| fauSht to operate the telegraph and give the PEG
| Me felepraph facilities? The postmaster, II wa
| suggested would take the same commission OF
the telegraph service that ne got on the sale
stamps and the cost would be very trlnlng. ex
| cent in extending the lines. Naturally the bust
| ness would be very light. but 1t would be o
some advantage to the public. That struck m
sc Jyorth considering, but what have pre-
sented here instead? Here is scheme presente'
TO get about AT telegraph offices TO postohce
that had a delivery system, where there ar
| already abundant telegraph facilities, IN town
where there are q hundred branch otnces already
That is the way the postmaster-g general propose
| to give So, 900, 600 OF people Tue Oeheh' Oh III
cheap telegraph.
The number OF telegraph postoficei
given for the state of Texas is as follows
Telegraph offices, us; postoffioes, FIRE
delivery included, 2139- Only four lette
carrier postoffioes in Texas are located il
government buildings. They are Austin
Dallas, Galveston and Waco.
Senator Blair is not readily discour
aged over the lack of enthusiasm wit
which the most important Of his grea
legislative propositions are refused b.
the senate. Immediately after the de
feat of his educational bill he reintro
duced it in q somewhat changed form
The other day he sent to the desk larg
batch of reprint bills winch had pre-
viousIy been introduced by him in varIou
congresses. Some Of the measures ar
sweeping. For instance, 70 prevent an
person, corporation or partnership froI
owning more than 800 acres Of agricul
tural land, or more than $40 acres G
: land of any description another one @
, his back numbers provides for the settle
ment of disputes between railway com
panies by arbitration. Senator Blair, i
tennis parlance, is "stayer. 4"