The record-union., 1897-03-28
THE LIABILITY OF TELEGRAPH
COMPANIES.

+ The Western Union Telegraph Com
pany, either as corporation or upon
the motion of Frank Jaynes, its Super
intendent fearing that dispatches held
in it's office might be called for by due
authority of the law to aid in the detec-
tion of crime, attempted to ship the dis
patches out of the State.
1t selected dispatches relating to a
specific class of crime, to wit: legisla-
tive bribery. Here was a specific at
tempt to hinder and obstruct the de-
lection of this class of crime. We have
heretofore pointed out that if a train
robbery had been committed and Mr..
Jaynes had ordered exported all
the discriminating dispatches which
might on their face bear the
appearance of having relevancy
to the robbery, and by which the
train robbers might be apprehended,
his conduct would have been regarded
as monstrous infraction of good citi-
zenship.'
Now the people Of the State of Califor-
mia have higher reasons for desiring
that legislative bribery shall be de-
tected and punished than that train
robbers or highway robbers or burg
lars shall be apprehended. Robbery is
not so direct thrust at the very vitals
of society as legislative or judicial brib-
<ery. Hence the attempt to assist in
the concealment of these crimes was
wholly indefensible, not only from the
standpoint of good citizenship, but
from the aspect of law itself.
1t is not a little surprising that there
is no law declaring that whoever uses
the telegraph lines for the purpose of
aiding, abetting or perpetrating crime
of any kind commits a felony The law
does declare that the use of the mails
for unlawful purposes shall be punisha-
BILE, but the law does not declare that
the use of the telegraph to aid in the
commission of robbery, burglary, leg
islative corruption and other cognate
crimes shall be punished. The law Gre
ated by the telegraph company relating
10 the exposure of dispatches, when con-
sidered in connection with the absence
of all law on the subject of the use of
the telegraph as an instrumentality in
the commission of crime, would indi-
cate that the telegraph companies have
not been very mindful of their duties as
citizens of the country which protects
them. 1t is a felony to expose a dis
p1tch, but it is not felony for partners
in crime to make use of the telegraph
company to facilitate the preparation
of their criminal intentions.
The telegraph has been regarded as
an additional protection to the lives and
property of citizens. The facility with
which officers could communicate with
each other; the instantaneous comfnu-
nication of the commission of brine and
of the escape of criminals throughout
the country, were triumphs of modern
civilization; and the question arises:
Shall this triumph of modern civiliza-
tion become an instrument of conceal
ment when crime has been committed? ?
Notwithstanding the absence of any
law declaring that the use of the tele-
graph as an aid to the commission of
crime is a felony. there is a law which
the officers Of the telegraph company
would do well to examine carefully. 1t
defines parties to crime in title = of the
Penal Code, and declares that all per-
sons concerned in the commission of a
crime, whether they directly commit the
act constituting the offense or aid or
abet in its commission, are principals in
any crime so committed Then follows
this significant section of title >:
Sec. 81. All persons who, after full
knowledge that a felony has been COM
mitted conceal it from the magistrate.
or harbor or protect the person charged
with or convicted thereof, are acces-
sories.
Accessories are of two kinds: Aces
sories before the fact and accessories
after the fact. The courts Of the coun-