Rock Island daily Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1886-1893, 1890-10-06
WILL NOT LET UP.
Wanamaker Urges His Postal
Telegraph Scheme.
ROBUST REMARKS ON THE SUBJECT

He Tells the House Committee That He
Is in the Fight to Stay and Replies to
Some Objections to the Limited Plan
The People Dead Set on 1t, and Dan
ger limited at for Those Who Antagon-
ize the same-An Incident Apropos of
the Barnundia Affair.
WASHINGTON CITY. Oct. 6 Postmaster
General Wanamaker made public last
night latter recently addressed to Rep.
resentstive Bingham, chairman of the
house COMMITTEES on postoffices embody-
ing an elaborate argument in favor of his
limited plan of postal telegraphy. Ap-
pended to the letter, which has been
printed at the government printing office,
is mass of matter. including opinions of
the press for and against postal tele.
graphy' opinions OF the foSner postmas-
ter generals and prominent pIblic men o.
the constitutionality of postal telegraphy;
explanations of various automatic and
multipleX telegraph systems, resolutions
Of organized bodies of labor and capital in
behalf of postal telegraphy, and a copy of
the final draft of the postal telegraph bill
submitted by the postmaster general to the
house committee on postoffices at the last
session of congress
Both Wise and Practicable
The postmaster general in his letter
says, in part: "Your subcommittee on
postal telegraph informs me that all the
parties that have signified desire to be
heard on the postal telegraph bills have
submitted their testimony, and that it is
In order for me 10 add anything upon the
subject. After standing for a year past in
the midst of the controversy over postal
telegraphy that for over forty years has
gone on with sharper tone and widening
range. am more than ever convinced of
the wisdom and practicabilty of restor-
ing the telegraph TO the postal service,
and making it what it was originally in
tended TO be, IA part of the postal system.
The People Bound to Have 1t.
Il say this after closely studying the
arguments against the bill made so Wig
orously by the great telegraph company
which is now its only visible opponent.
| do not believe it possible to argue this
question down. There is a deep and far
reaching conviction among the people
that the telegraph service is by right n
part of the postal service. To carry the
postal system from pony riders TO the
aud stop Nil further progress because 3, 600
owners of telegraph stock oppose Is not
in accord with the genius of our people or
the spirit of the times.
And Opposers Better "Come Down"
The will of the people in this respect
has manifested itself un mistake ably be-
fore congress in public speech and state
ment during the last twenty years. Re-
sistsnce to the great popular demand may
not be the wisest thing nor is il fair to count
those who urge the adoption in some
form or other of the postal telegraph rs
hostile to existing corporations. We
stand confronting public measure of no
mean Importance or magnitude. IL is TO
give the country n vast enlargement of
its postal system and 10 bring home TO
thu people the cheap use of one OF the
m6se powerful agencies of molerd COM
merce and civilization"
The Men Who Object.
As to the constitutionality of postal
telegraphy, the postmaster general says:
at has been argued by learned lawyers
for n score OF years that government tel
egraph is unconstitutional The motives
of these gentlemen have been one of two
in all cases They have been the paid at
torneys of those corporations whose
special interests have demanded that
their monopolies should in no way be in
terfered with They have known their
business, and have done il we'll The
| other opponents were those who imagined
thai the constitution would be exposed to
every sort Of outrage if they wers to fall
sick for day. The courts of highest ap-
peal have settled This question Congress
settled it in advance OF judicial action
| by making the United States the owner
and the pOstoffice department the man
! ager of thu first line of wire constructed
| for commercial and public uses
The Proposed Limited Scheme.
what shall be said, then. of the limited
! postal telegraph plan, which have been
somewhat criticised for bringing forward?
| There is no doubt that it is constitutional.
| The constitution permits the general gov
eminent 10 transmit intelligence for the
| people. The postoffice department has
| been doing this with the money and the
| Improvements at its disposal for 100 years.
| IL is preposterous 10 argue that the tele-
graph ought not to be utilized for the
| cheaper, speedier, and more accurate
| transmission of messages. | have had
prepared and submit for your reference,
an appendix which touches upon this con-
sheraton. The attorney general for the
| department assures me that the cOnclu-
sion that the limited postal telegraph plan
is constitutional cannot be resisted"
Some Things That 1t Is Not.
! II desire in conclusion to explain, as po-
| litely as may be- one or two things that