The evening times. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1895-1902, 1900-07-19
PROPOSED TELEGRAPH TRUST.
Report That the Western Union May
Enter the Combine

Enter the Combine
PHILADELPHIA, July I9.-The project
for consolidating all the telephone and tel
egraph companies into one big trust is
Progressing rapidly. Concurrent with the
announcement that Joseph B. MeCaIla.
President of the Philadelphia Electric
Lighting Company, is to be president Of the
new National Telephone and Telegraph
Company comes the well-dehned rumOr
| that the Western Union Telegraph Com
pany is preparing to join hands with the
new corporation
In connection with the latter rumor. Il
is stated by one Of the ineorporators OF
| the National that the Western Union is
already In possession OF a large block of
the stock of the Bell Telephone Company.
Some time ago." ne said, interests iden-
| tifed with the Western Union TELEGRAPH
! Company started out to pick up the stock
/ OF the Bell Telephone Company. The Bell
people became alarmed lest the control OF
their corporation should pass away from
/ them, and they went into the market
/ themselves and began buying floating
stock. The Western Union was thus head
ed of from getting control OF the Bell, but
l believe today that interests connected
with the telegraph company control 40 per
cent OF the telephone stock II not more"
That the Bell Telephone Company does
/ not propose to be absorbed without a fight
| is shown by the fact that II is preparing
1 10 change the base of its operations from
| Massachusetts to New York The parent
| Bell Company is a Massachusetts, Corpo-
ration BY its charter II is prevented
from guaranteeing dividends on the stock
| OF foreign corporations. To cireumvent
this ii has organized the New York Tele-
phone Company, which is really the long
distance arm Of the concern
Now the stock of the New York Com
pany has been increased to 81. eco. 900. and
I II IS preparing to take in Jne Bell Com
/ pany- The Smith-Vassar Telephone Com
pany, with capital OF SO. 600 600 has al
/ ready been taken in. The Western Union,
/ IL is stated, has 81. 600 900 available. gain
/ ed from a recent bond issue TO enable il
I to play an active part in the project
That the first move Of the National Tele-
| phone and Telegraph viii be 70 absorb the
| Telephone. Telegraph and Cable Company
| is now generally admitted. The author
| lied capital OF the National IS $50 .000. 900.
while the capital OF the Telegraph Com
pany Of America is So. OO0. OOG, OF which
! one-ffth will have been paid in by July
| 80. a portion OF the stock OF the National
will be given in exchange for the stock
OF the Telephone Telegraph and Gable
| Company Of America. and those holders
| who desire cash instead OF stock will be
| bought DOT on a cash basis The old COM
I pany already controls POO 900 miles OF wire
and will have -. 600 telephones IN use in
short time. In some OF the Southwest
( ern States II has already outdistanCed the
| Bell. and has 4 practical monopoly OF the
| telephone business With the new cor
! pOraIion and the Western Union working
in harmony 10 secure the desired end. the
formation Of a telephone and telegraph
trust seems 10 be far from a remote pos
sibility.