The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1898-06-04
Canadian Pacific Company Meets
Cut of the Western Union.
EFFECT OF THAT NEW CABLE
Heavy Reduction In the Rate for
Messages From Victoria tn Port
Angeles and other Points ON the
Western shore of the Soand-Tar-
ills tn New York aud san Fran
cisco Also Materially Lessened.

The Canadian Pacific Telegraph COM
pany has met the cut in rates 20 West
SQUAD paints inaugurated within the past
week BY the Western Union Telegraph
Company To some points thu cut amounts
70 reduction 81 nearly ~ per cent. The
polats most affected are Port Angeles and
Per; Townsend. The rate from Seattle
and Tacoma 10 Victoria has been clipped
% per cent and the tariff to far Eastern
points has been lowered % per cent. in
naay cases
AL this is due TO the fact thai the West
ern Union Telegraph Company has Just
completed i,s cable from Seattle 10 Port
Biakeley. Port Townsend and Port An
gelss, and thence TO Victoria, The Old
rate from Victoria 10 Port Angeles was
N.i0; now II Is IS cents. The former tariff
10 Port Townsend from Victoria was IS
cents and now a message OF ten words ss
transmitted. day or night. for a quarter.
The tariffs between Victoria and Seattle
and Tacoma were formerly 90 cents per
message OF ten words. day. and 10 cents
night: now they are respectively 10 and
50 cents Proportionate reductions have
been made by the Canadian Pacific rail-
way 10 San Francisco and New York.
The Victoria Colonist of June / prints a
story announcing the reduction In rates
made by the Canadian Pacific Railway
Telegraph Company. The old and new tar
ifs are quoted and the statement is made
that the company Is enabled to make the
lower rates from the fact that more d.
rect connection has been secured TO Seat
tie. Tacoma and points on the west side
OF the Sound. According 70 officials OF the
Western Union Company. this statement
is erroneous in this. that the Canadian Pa
cific Railroad Company has a present no
different or more direct connection than IL
has lad for some time since. Mr.. F. H.
Lamb. assistant superintendent for the
company, with headquarters at San Fran
cisco. was shown the article in question
yesterday. He said that the statements
made therein would probably cause people
TO form an inaccurate opinion concerning
the matter.
THE facts are that the Canadian Pacific
Railway Company has simply met the cut
in rates which we have put into effect,
said Mr. Lamb yesterday. I'VE have not
vet opened the Victoria office, but shan
shortly do so. The Canadian company
knew, Of course what our tarihs were 10
be: that we would charge . cents per
message TO Port Townsend. where now the
rate has been for a long time " cents; that
our tar!n TO Port Angeles would De the
same as to Port Townsend and tnat the
rates 10 Seattle. Tacoma and otAef upper
Sound points would he materially reduced.
The Canadian company has simply met
the reduction. as, Of course. We expected.
The rates will in all probability remain at
the present figures. That is all there Is 10
say regarding the matter"
The question has often been asked why
the tariff to Port Angeles from Victoria
and other points on the Canadian Pacific
in British Columbia has been higher than
that from Seattle 10 New York. across the
continent The reason Is found in the fact
that the messages passed through the
hands OF three companies, viz. the Cana
dian Pacific the Pacific Postal from the
boundary line TO Seattle and thence 10
Port Townsend and 10 Port Angeles over
the wires of the Puget Sound TeieSrapn
Company. Double rates were charged
from Seattle over the line TO Port An
geles. Fer instance. from Victoria TO Sc
st+le over the Canadian Pacific Railway
aud the Postal lines the rate was 81 CENTS.
An additional IS cents was added to Port
Townsend and another - cents on top OF
that to Port Angeles. bringing the cost OF
transmitting 10 words from one side OF the
straits 20 the other, i'm the absence OF
Cable 10 Sl5. o. Is cents more than the
cost of sending message from wv sNA'i~
Ia the Atlantic coast.
Seventeen years ago British Columbia
cnnnanv laid a single conductor cable
across the Gulf OF Georgia, forming the
connecting link in a line projected from
Victoria Ia Vancouver and thence soata 10
Seattle. This cable was taken up not long
a.n he the Canadian Pacific Railway Tele"
oranh Company. which TOW owns the iran
ehjses and properties of the companies
formerly operating In British Column hia.
TIE aid. cable was repaired aud has been
Iaia across the Straits Of Fuca. from Bee
cbev hay to Port Crescent. There u steps
at present and whether the company ~,
,Iss h,gidlur south on the west shore or
ne sound has not We, been developed.