The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1909-11-17
WHAT IT MEANS
Statement from High Au- thority Regarding Big Telegraph and Telephone Merger.
Especial from United Press.)


 Boston. Nov. -17.-''Every man with
 in the radius of the American Tele-
 phone & Telegraph Company's busi-
 ness who has a telephone in his home
 hereafter win also practically have a telegraph wire as well.' Is the way Theodore N. Vail. president of the American Telephone & Telegraph Com pany to-day explained the public bene- fts which are to follow from the ac-
 quisftionA by the company of the con-
 rol of the Western Union.
 The chief object Of the gigantic ar
 rangement. President Vail says. is to
 the service He reports that the
 domination of the Western Union by
 the American Telegraph & Telephona Company will in no sense constitute
 a merger. prove to be business ar rangement by which one company will help the other improve the public ser vice In future. President Van de- clares. the man who wishes to send flee by telephone give his message. which will be sent by telegraph and delivered by telephone. thus cutting our the waste of time by messenger service at both ends.
 While this in a measure can be done to-day" said President Vail. "ali the time that is saved in one way Is lost fin another. such as arranging for all this is taken care of in advance. through the mutual understanding of the companies."
 In the second place the public. will sage and telegraph message may be passing over the same wire at the same time as the two do not conflict | with each other. At the present time. | not giving the amount of service that l they should
 To show how there. might be a sav- ing In this respect. Mf. Vail called at tention to the New York wire system. There are" he said. '1o wires now in | use In the trunk system between Bos- ton and New York This number pos sfbly be reduced to seven This would | mean a saving in the cost of mainten- ance of approximately s50.00o a year. All this would go to the public"
 Economy, however. President Vail while important. is not to be gaine& at the expense of the efflci- irst thing" he said. we will make he service as good as possible-better | han 1t ever has been-and then we vfn look for economy. The business If the American Telephone & Tele- ,raph Company rests upon the satis- action of it's patrons If the patrons I-c satisfied the result is assured" l'
 GOVERNMENT MAY INQUIRE.
 Washington, Nov. 17.-Jt Is probable. 10 statements mdde at the Department of Justice today. that an will be made into the al- eged merger of the principal telegraph nd telephone companies of the coun- " and 1t would not be surprising in ( he opinion of the officials if a suit 1 or dissolution should grow out of the ( nquiry. If 1t is true as reported here ( hat the Postal Teiegraph's interests { lready control the American Tele- { raph. a. Telephone company which has ow absorbed the Western Union. the finland opinion was offered that the ew merger would be prohibited under he sherman antitrust law.
 But there Is a very interesting Ques- on involved The antitrust law ap- I lies to corporations engaged in inter tate commerce. The question Is neither telegraph and telephone com | anies are engaged in interstate com lerce- It Is unQuestionable that they T. re engaged in interstate transactions ut whether those transactions are commerce" within the meaning of the wv, Is puxzling. In the case of a a ailroad doing an interstate business, F n article or a person is transported | C 'om one state to another. In the il resent knowledge of electricity 1t is s 1t stated whether anything Is actually s ansported over the wires of a tele- R -aph company. Two ends of a wire 10 re brought together and conditions tl -e created whereby a message sent
 Washington can be reproduced in s, ew York, but what was in those e, ires before the connection was made W
 not known. =,