Atlanta tri-weekly journal. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1920-19??, 1921-05-24
WESTERN UNION IS
LOSER IN DRAMATIC
FIGHT WITH j. s.
BY DAVID LAWRENCE
Il eased Wire Service to The Journal.
{Copyright, 1921

Union Telegraph company and the
United States government over the
right to lay a cable at Miami, Fla,
(which would connect UP with a. Brit
Iish owned company in controlling
American communication to South
America has come to an end with a
victory for the government.
| Not by decision of court, not by
naval action as seemed at one time
necessary but through the influence
of Secretary of State Hughes, both
houses of congress, have now passed
a bill absolutely removing all doubt
as to the right of the chief execu-
| tive to refuse or grant permits to
land cables in the United States.
| The measure will be signed by Pres
| edent Harding and will become law
| a few days.
| The race between the Western
Union, which hoped that the supreme
| court would hand down a decision be-
| fore congress could act, and the gov
eminent, which successfully urged
congress to rush the measure
| through and beat the courts decision
| is at an end. Congress has acted.
come hypothetical or moot cases and
as such can have no validity.
Why Navy Watched
The reason for the Western Unions
hope that favorable decision of the
court might be handed down before
congress could act was a superstition
| that the United States navy would
be unable to prevent the landing OF
the cable at Miami if the courts up
held the Western Union and then if
the cable was once landed it would
| be difficult for the government to dis,
place the Western Union cable-it
would be an accomplished fact and
he actual landing of the cable is in
itself a step that cannot be upset by
executive decree.
That's why the navy has kept
| watch on the Western Union cable
boat in Florida waters and has re-
American territory with the British
cable running from Brazil. Several
iattempts to test the cable have been
misunderstood by the navy accord
| ing to the Western Union and clashes
have occurred in the vicinity of
Miami"
All this tension has been occa-
stoned by the knowledge of the gov
eminent on the one hand that the
rights of the executive to issue cable
permits had never been sharply de-
fined and the feeling of the Western
Union that If they once landed the
cable. no law could upset the ar
rangement without a big damage suit
for it would in effect be confisca-
ton of property.
The Wilson administration fought
the. Western Union at every step in
it's effort to land a cable. And now
the Harding administration has
adopted exactly the stand of the pre-
ceding administration and has gone
4 NO., ha
enactment of a law that will here
after give the president of the Unit
ed States the right to say whether
any foreign concern can land a cable
on American territory.
This is Of vast Importance as
reciprocal right, for it is a known
fact that some European countries
have not been giving American con-
Germs the same privileges which Eu-
|ropean companies have enjoyed in
this country and there has been no
way to compel equality of treatment
tanned jurisdiction over the whole
thing. 1t is not an attempt to bring
about government ownership or con-
troll of cable communication but an
effort to prevent foreign concerns
from taking undue advantage of
American companies.
For example, a French concern
could open telegraph offices in the
United States for the distribution of
its cables and so could British
France has thus far refused to per-
nit American cable or wireless con-
Germs to distribute their messages
throughout France by their own sys-
TENS of local telegraph wires or Of
fees.
Western Union Argument
There is, of course, back of the
dispute between the Western Union
aud the American government some-I
thing more than law - it in
wolves question of saving an Amer
ican-owned cable company from the
destructive competition of a British
company which has formed an al
lance with the Western Union. The
all-American cable company which
is owned by American citizens oper-
ates cables to both coasts of South
America, but is prevented from lay
because the British company has
monopoly here.
The Western Union and the British
company arranged to lay cable
would connect up through Miami
with the immense system of the
Western Union in the United States.
This would mean that all messages
collected throughout the United
States would be sent through Miami
anu ON u fcOuln America, through
British company thus taking away
much of the business the all
American cable company has. been
getting from the United States be-
cause it has been the only direct ca
bic company reaching South Ameri-
ca.
The Western Union made the con-
vincing argument that American
messages travel to the Azores over
American cable lines only to be con-
nected up. with British. and Portu--
that in principle this wasn't bit
different than sending d message
from Miami to Barbados over an
American cable and transferring it
to 4 British cable line to be sent
ward.
Question of Policy
III principle there isn't any diff
ference and from legal point of
view the Western Union has made a
good case, but the question which has
not been one of law but of policy.
Shall a British company even though
| it afiliates itself with an Ameri-
I lean, concern form q combination that
destroys an entirely American cable
company and removes the advantage
heretofore enjoyed of having one di-
rect line to South America over
which the United States, government
as well as American business con-
Germs could send message without
fear that they would fall into the
hands of other governments or COM
petitors.
Secretary Hughes thus far has re-
fused to take sides as between the
all-American cable company or the
Western Union. When he discover
ed that the Western Union question
ed the executive power, he promptly
set about to get that power. Now
the president has the right to grant
or revoke cable permits and to speci-
may be landed.
The all-American cable company
has said that if the Western Union
used it's influence with the British