CONGRESS. (TELEGRAPH AFFAIRS.) 



233 



such postage shall be remitted; and any person who 

 shall knowingly conceal or inclose any matter of a 

 higher class in 'that of a lower class, and deposit or 

 cause the same to be deposited for conveyance by 

 mail, at a less rate than would be charged for both 

 such hiifher and lower class matter, shall for every 

 such offense be liable to a penalty of $10. 



The House, on Feb. 2, 1888, passed the fol- 

 lowing measure in regard to books as second- 

 class matter: 



A bill to amend section 14 of the act approved 

 March 3, 1879, entitled " An act making appropria- 

 tions for the service of the Post-Office Department 

 for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1880, and for other 

 purposes," and relating to second-class mail-matter. 



Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Repre- 

 sentatives of the United States of America, in Con- 

 gress assemble!, That the fourteenth section of the 

 act approved March 3, 1879, entitled ''An act mak- 

 ing appropriations for the service of the Post-Office 

 Department for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1830, 

 and for other purposes," b'e, and the same is hereby, 

 amended by adding to the proviso thereof, and at the 

 end of said section, the following words, namely : 



" And that no publications, that are but books or 

 reprints of books, whether they be issued complete 

 or in parts, bound or unbound, or in series, or whether 

 sold by subscription or otherwise, shall be admitted 

 to the mulls as second-class matter." 



Xothing further was done with this measure ; 

 but a bill was passed amending the act excluding 

 offensive matter from the mails, and another 

 amending the act authorizing the Postmaster- 

 General to adjust claims of postmasters for 

 losses by fire, etc. An act was passed also 

 limiting the work of letter-carriers to eight 

 hours a day. 



Telegraph Affairs, On Feb. 9, 1888, the Com- 

 mittee of the House on Post-Off] ces and Post- 

 roads reported an act supplementarv to the act 

 of July 1, 1862, entitled ''An act to aid in the 

 construction of a railroad and telegraph line 

 from the Missouri river to the Pacific Ocean, 

 and to secure to the Government the use of 

 the same for postal, military, and other pur- 

 poses." The evil which this measure was 

 designed to remedy was described as follows 

 in the report of the majority of the committee : 

 " The House of Representatives, by resolution 

 adopted Feb. 26, 1886, empowered the Com- 

 mittee on Post-Offices and Post-roads to as- 

 certain and report whether ' additional legis- 

 lation is needed to prevent a monopoly of 

 telegraphic facilities ; to secure to the Southern, 

 Western, and Pacific States the benefits of 

 competition between the telegraph companies ; 

 and to protect the people of the United States 

 against unreasonable charges for telegraphic 

 services ; ' and to carry out the purposes of 

 the inquiry authorized the committee to send 

 for and examine persons, books, and papers, 

 administer oaths to witnesses, and employ a 

 stenographer. Pursuant to the terms of the 

 resolution the committee heard statements and 

 examined witnesses with a view of ascertaining 

 especially the relations of the land-grant rail- 

 roads and telegraphic lines to the lines of other 

 telegraph companies, to the public, and to the 

 Government. As a result of their investiga- 

 tions the conclusion was reached that the 



Pacific railroads had not complied with the 

 requirements of the acts under which they 

 were incorporated, for the reason that, instead 

 of constructing, maintaining, and operating a 

 telegraph line, they had divested themselves of 

 this obligation by contracting with the Western 

 Union Telegraph Company to perform the 

 service." 



The two leading sections of the act were as 

 follows: 



1. That all railroad and telegraph companies to 

 which the United States has granted any subsidy in 

 lands or bonds or loan of credit for the "construction 

 of either railroad or telegraph lines, which, by the 

 acts incorporating them, or by any act amendatory or 

 supplementary thereto, are required to construct, 

 maintain, or operate telegraph lines, and all companies 

 engaged in operating said railroads or telegraph lines 

 shall forthwith and henceforward, by and through 

 their own respective corporative officers and employes, 

 construct, maintain, and operate for railroad, govern- 

 mental, commercial, and all other purposes, telegraph 

 lines, and exercise by themselves alone all the tele- 

 graph franchises conferred upon them and obligations 

 assumed by them under the acts making the grants as 

 aforesaid. 



2. That whenever any telegraph company which 

 shall have accepted the provisions of title 65 of the 

 Revised Statutes shall extend its line to any station or 

 office of a telegraph line belonging to any one of said 

 railroad or telegraph companies, referred to in the first 

 section of this act, said telegraph companv so extend- 

 ing its line shall have the right and said railroad or tele- 

 graph company shall allow the line of said telegraph 

 company so extending its line to connect with the tele- 

 graph line of said railroad or telegraph company to 

 which it is extended at the place where their lines 

 ir.ay meet, for the prompt and convenient interchange 

 of telegraph business between said companies; and 

 such railroad and telegraph companies, referred to hi 

 the first section of this act, shall so operate their re- 

 spective telegraph lines as to afford equal facilities to 

 all, without discrimination in favor of or against any 

 person, company, or corporation whatever, and shall 

 receive, deliver, and exchange business with connect- 

 ing telegraph lines on equal terms, and affording equal 

 facilities, and without discrimination for or atraiijst 

 any one of such connecting lines: and such exchange 



ness shall be on terms just and equitable. 



The remaining provisions were merely to 

 furnish the necessary machinery for enforcing 

 the requirements of these sections, and to in- 

 vest the Interstate Commerce Commission 

 with the authority and charge them with the 

 duty of seeing the law carried out. The meas- 

 ure pased the House March 3, and subsequently 

 1 the Senate and received the President's 

 signature. 



The Senate passed a bill putting all telegraph 

 lines running from one State to another under 

 the supervision of the Interstate Commerce 

 Commission; but the House failed to act on it 

 before adjournment. In that body the minor- 

 itv of the Committee on Commerce reported 

 in favor of such a measure March 20, but the 

 majority reported in favor of a bill establish- 

 ing a postal telegraph system, formulating the 

 following conclusions : 



1. That the time has arrived when the Govern- 

 ment should construct and operate a postal-telegraph 

 system as a branch of its postal service. 

 *2. That the service will undoubtedly be self-sup- 

 porting. 



