“The statement furnished by the officers of the telegraph companies,
for the information of the Postmaster-General, and by him forwarded
to Congress as his reply to the call for information, is well
calculated to remove all doubts as to the value of this kind of
property. Among other items of information is the following:—
“The length of wire owned by the Western Union and United States
companies is 60,000 miles.[13] The average cost, as based on the now
united capital, is $450 per mile. This embraces, besides the poles,
wires, and apparatus, the following:—
Footnote 13:
This estimate was made before the consolidation of the American
Telegraph Company and other properties with the Western Union
Telegraph Company, and when its capital was only $27,000,000.
Invested in buildings, $95,208.83
Stocks in other companies, 1,429,900.00
Office fittings, 360,000.00
“It is remarkable that while _the length of wire_ is given, the
length of line nowhere appears.[14] There is a vast difference
between the cost of a _telegraph line_ and a _telegraphic wire_. We
have seen the cost of a line with a single wire estimated at $61.80,
and each additional wire placed on the same posts, $31.80 per mile.
Footnote 14:
We have given the length of the lines, as well as the length of
the wires belonging to the Western Union Telegraph Company, on
page 32.
“In the absence of any exact information on the subject, we may
fairly estimate that the lines of the companies named average three
wires to each line. They possess, then, 20,000 miles of telegraph
line, with an average of three wires thereon. They speak of ‘single
wire lines costing $180 per mile.’ This estimate is too high for any
line now in use; but if it be adopted as the basis of calculation,
and an allowance of $45 per mile be made for each additional wire,
we have, for the 20,000 miles of line owned by the companies named,
a cost of $5,400,000, represented by a capital stock of $41,000,000!
‘The average cost’ per mile of each wire suspended on their lines,
‘_as based on the now united capital_, is $450 per mile.’ If ‘the
united capital’ had been based upon the actual cost of the property
of the company, it would have been nearer $4,000,000 than
$41,000,000.
“The ‘information’ furnished to the Postmaster-General is compiled
with the evident intent to discourage the experiment then
contemplated. It is incomplete, and is compiled with an intent to
mislead. To any one who will take the trouble to examine it
carefully, and to apply the proper tests to its assertions, it
furnishes additional arguments in favor of a careful experiment by
the government in the construction and maintenance of telegraph
lines under control of the Post-Office Department.”
To impugn the motives of an opponent is the weakest of arguments. If his
statements are wrong, it is easy to show wherein, but wholesale
denunciation convinces no one of the strength of the cause or the
culpability of the assailed. We do not question Mr. Washburne’s honesty
of purpose in making his unjust and extremely erroneous statements
regarding the property or executive ability of the Western Union
Telegraph Company, but we do say that he is most egregiously deceived
upon all points which he has discussed.
In reply to the charges which Mr. Washburne brings against the Western
Union Telegraph Company, of compiling information for the
Postmaster-General with an intent to mislead, of exaggerating the cost
of construction of lines, and misrepresenting the value of its own, we
respectfully present the following facts respecting the organization of
the company, the amount of its capital, the number of miles of line and
the number of miles of route, together with a statement of the number of
skilled persons in its employ.