Daily capital journal. (Salem, Oregon) 1903-1919, 1907-07-18
Writes of the Strike.

Ito become an issue Of national polltl
cal Importance. It can not of course
equal in Importance the famous
Istrike of the anthracite coal miners
but It not improbably will involve the
national administration much as
that labor contest did. The other
day the Central Labor union OF
Washington, upon motion of w. w
Beatie, the first vice president of the
striking telegraphers, adopted a reso-
luton asking the president to have
steps taken to determine the physical
value OF the telegraph systems of the
country. 1t further requested that
the government should attempt to
determine whether here exists a
combination in restraint of trade be-
tween the telegraph companies in
violation of the Sherman antitrust
!law.
The second request has been an
swered to a moral certainty, though
mot, of course. by legal evidence by
the companies themselves. When
the Western Union raised its rates on
commercial messages from forty to
sixty per cent the Postal Telegraph
followed in twenty-four hours with
identical increases. For example,
four months ago the rate over either
system for the customary ten-word
messages from Washington to New
York was twenty-five cents, today Il
Is forty cents. As matter Of fact
the telegraph systems are owned by
and their enormous revenues ac-
.crue TO, three familles-the Goulds,
the Sages and the Mackays. No COM
mercial business OF such enormous
proportions is held in so few hands
Some years ago senatorial COM
mittee was making the perfunctory |
investigation in vogue at that time |
into the telegraph monopoly. A wit
Eess long connected with the tele-
graph business stated in an offhand
way that the telegraph companies
were capitalized for more than eight
times the value OF their physical
property. The late Senator Hoar,
who was examining him, expressed
both surprise and unbeief, but be-
Tore leaving the stand the witness,
merely with the aid OF the stock mar
tet reports for the day and a Wall
street hand book giving the amount
# the capitalization OF the companies
vas able TO prove the essential truth
II his statement.
The lnsignicance OF the demand
hat the president shall ask congress
O provide for a valuation of the
elegraphs, as he has already asked I
or a valuation OF the railroads, Is
pparent. IL, as Is probably true,
hese companies are paying divi-
ends on a capitalization eight times
hat their property Is worth. Il Is
erfectly apparent that In order TO Il
o so they must be either robbing
leir patrons, or grinding down their
nployes. As matter OF fact they
re doing both. Their recent in
ease In rates was utterly unjustl- 81
able and was made possible only by vi
e complete community of interest
at exists between the two compa- n
es. As for their employees, the
ale of wages has been so con-
lually reduced that today S75 m
onth for fourteen hours work daily
high pay. and the companies are WI
adually proceeding toward what
ey regard as fair wage for skilled ca
rvice, namely a dollar day. They
e, wherever Il is possible, replac- le,
men by women because the latter
u work more cheaply. 1t is to the Ia,
Edit OF the telegraphers' union that
does not protest against the en- m,
'yment of women, but insists that
~ be paid the same rate as men for
, same class OF work.
president Roosevelt has transmit He
the request OF the Central union
a valuation OF telegraph proper
5 to Herbert Knox Smith. the chief Tn,
the bureau of corporations in the
'artment of commerce and labor.
, Smith says the resolution was F.,
I 20 him with no instructions from
President as 10 what should be G.,
he about IL. IL Is perhaps an un- ,
tunate feature OF the case that
gentleman TO whose care the
olution has been thus perfunctor- ~
committed is the nephew OF Sena-
Knox, the former attorney gen :
!, and a gentleman who has not
'lly been free from litigation in .
alf of the telegraph companies