The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1902-06-27
Big TELEGRAPH DEAL
POSTAL'S AGREEMENT WITH THE
PENNSYLVANIA RAILWAY.
Three Thousand Offices and as Many
Employees Afected-1OO,OOO Mes
sages Year Free.

PHILADELPHIA, June 26.-First Vice
President John II. Green, of the Pennsyl-
vania Railroad, to-day confirmed the state
ment that the directors yesterday approved
the agreement whereby the Postal Tele-
graph Company will control the telegraph
service on the lines OF the Pennsylvania
Company east of Pittsburg and Erie for
fifteen years. beginning Dec. 1 next. Capt.
Green stated that it now remains for the
directors of the Postal Company to ratify
the contract He further stated that as
soon as the present contract between the
PENNSYLVANIA road and the Western Union
Telegraph Company affecting the lines
west of Pittsburg and Erie expires con-
tract will be made with the Postal Com
pany similar to the one approved yester-
day. 1t is said the contract for the West
err lines will not expire for several years.
The Eastern contract has already expired,
and the Western Union Company has been
given six months time from June l within
which TO remove its poles and wires from
the railroad companys property.
NEW YORK, June 26.-W. H. Baker,
vice president and general manager of the
Postal Telegraph Company, confirmed to-
day the report that contract between his
company and the Pennsylvania Railway
Company had been agreed upon. Mr.. Ba-
ker declined to discuss the financial part
of the contract, but said he considered the
ARRANGEMENT an excellent one, both for his
company and the -ailroad company. The
announcement TO the effect that 100000 rail-
road messages a year are TO be transmitted
free and the remainder paid for IS under
stood TO be substantially correct. 1t is
SAID that the terms finally agreed on with
the Postal were not offered TO the Western
Union.
The Pennsylvania Railroad Company
telegraph system includes 1900 offices, and
its total annual amount OF telegraph bust
ness is estimated al not less than SI5OOO1.
The contract between the Postal Telegraph
road Company is for a term of fifteen years
and will become operative next Tuesday,
when the Western Union viii go out. About
5000 employees are affected by this deal. and
il is believed that nearly all of those in the
Western Union service in these Offices will
be retained by the Postal Telegraph Cable
Company.
In speaking of the agreement, Mr.. Baker
said: THE Postal Telegraph-Cable Com
pany views the acquisition of this great
telegraph system as the most important
deal made in recent years. affecting the
telegraphs OF the country. 1t transfers
from the Western Union TO the Postal Tele-
graph-Cable Company large percentage OF
the Western Unions offices, and these Of
fices are located in the most thickly pOpu-
lated section of the United States. The
most recent claim OF the Western Union is
that il operates 23,23S Offices. Before we
made his deal with the Pennsylvania Rail-
road Company we reached Is. l9l places.
When il is considered that only sixteen
years have been occupied in the up-building
OF the Postal Company. as against the
fifty years existence of the Western Union
Company our company naturally feels sat
isied with its progress and particularly
satisfied with it's new accession Of mileage
and offices.