295 © in This Web Service Cambridge University Press Cambridge University Press 978-1-107-01228-8

Cambridge University Press 978-1-107-01228-8 - Western Union and the Creation of the American Corporate Order, 1845–1893 Joshua D. Wolff Index More information

Index

Adams, Charles Francis, 177 competitive strategy of, 252 Adams, Henry, 207 consolidation with Western Union, Adams, Henry C., 281 258–60 , 261 Alley, John B., 84 , 85 , 89 , 97 , 107 , 108 , 110 incorporation of, 246 Allison, William B., 163 profi tability of, 257 American Bell Telephone, 285 proxy war with Continental Telegraph, American Cable Construction Company, 252 260 railroad partnerships of, 257 American Cheap Transportation rapid growth of, 254 , 255 , 257 Association, 170 Ames, Frederick, 258 American District Telegraph, 204 , 230 Anglo-American Cable Company, 198 , American Federation of Labor, 286 199 , 199 American Rapid Telegraph Company, 271 Army Signal Corps, 66 , 67 , 68 American Speaking Telephone Company, Ashley, James, 213 241 , 242 Associated Press. See New York Associated American Telegraph and Cable Company, Press 257 , 282 Atlantic & Ohio Telegraph Company, 77 , American Telegraph Company, 36 , 37 , 38 , 132 39 , 40 , 42 , 44 , 45 , 46 , 49 , 51 , 52 , 53 , Atlantic & Pacifi c Range, 95 54 , 55 , 56 , 57 , 58 , 61 , 62 , 63 , 64 , 65 , Atlantic & Pacifi c States Company, 148 72 , 73 , 74 , 75 , 76 , 77 , 78 , 80 , 82 , 84 , Atlantic & Pacifi c Telegraph Company, 86 , 90 , 93 , 94 , 99 , 101 , 102–3 , 114 , 51 , 95 , 112 , 129 , 130 , 133 , 134 , 135 , 115 , 117 , 122 , 139 , 173 , 199 , 206 147 , 148 , 169 , 194 , 195 , 197 , 207 , American Telegraph Confederation, 32 , 33 , 209 , 210 , 216 , 217 , 218 , 219 , 221 , 36 , 41 222 , 224 , 225 , 226 , 227 , 229 , 230 , American Telephone and Telegraph 231 , 233 , 235 , 237 , 238 , 239 , 244 , Company, 237 , 287 , 288 246 , 247 , 254 , 255 , 258 , 261 , 273 , American Union Telegraph Company, 245 , 275 246 , 247 , 251 , 252 , 253 , 254 , 255 , capital expansion of, 224 , 226 , 227 256 , 257 , 258 , 259 , 261 , 273 , 274 , competitive strategy of, 225 275 , 280 , 285 consolidation with Western Union, 230 , Central Construction Company 244 subsidiary, 254 Jay Gould purchase of, 209

295

© in this web service Cambridge University Press www.cambridge.org Cambridge University Press 978-1-107-01228-8 - Western Union and the Creation of the American Corporate Order, 1845–1893 Joshua D. Wolff Index More information

296 Index

Atlantic & Pacifi c Telegraph Bok, Edward, 274 Company (cont.) Brotherhood of the Telegraph, 269 , 270 rate war with Western Union, 216 , 217 , Brown, B. Gratz, 86 , 89 , 97 , 106 , 123 222 , 222 , 223 , 226 , 233 Bulkley, Charles S., 80 stockholder litigation, 244 Burnett, Henry, 56 support for Western Union strikers, 145 Butler Amendment, 250 , 251 , 254 Western Union consolidation with, Butler, Ben, 216 , 218 , 219 , 220 , 221 , 250 , 229–30 251 Atlantic cable legislative campaign against Western attempt of 1858, 40 , 43 , 78 Union, 221–2 attempt of 1865, 113 attempt of 1866, 114 California State Telegraph Company, 58 cartel, 257 , 282 , 283 California, telegraph in, 50 , 57–60 , 148 cipher messages, 266 Cameron, Simon, 62 , 65 , 66 , 68 competing proposals for, 41 Canadian telegraph, 255 , See Dominion competitive threat of, 38 Telegraph Company ; Montreal 1858 attempt, 36 Telegraph Company feeder lines for, 35 Carnegie, Andrew, 130 , 132 , 195 government support for, 41 Caton, J.D., 30 , 31 , 38 , 45 , 61 , 86 , 173 , public celebrations of, 44 174 sponsors of, 35 censorship of the telegraph, 62 , 66 Western Union control of, 115 Centennial exhibition of 1876, 225 , 236 Automatic Telegraph Company, 214 , 215 , Central Pacifi c Railroad, 134 , 206 , 207 , 215 , 230 226 automatic telegraphy, 203–4 , 211–12 Central Union Telegraph Company, 246 Chandler, A. B., 283 Bain telegraph patent, 22 Chandler, Alfred D. Jr., 5 , 13 Baltimore & Ohio Railroad, 206 , 218 , Chandler, William E., 219 224 , 225 , 226 , 228 , 254 , 255 , Charles River Bridge v. Warren Bridge , 167 275 , 276 , 285 Chicago Board of Trade, 211 telegraph subsidiary, 246 Chicago, Columbus & Indiana Central Baltimore & Ohio Telegraph Company, Railroad, 132 252 , 275 , 276 , 280 , 285 Chicago Tribune , 259 Banker, James, 174 ciphers, military, 68 Bankers’ & Brokers’ Telegraph Company, Clafl in, Tennessee, 176 193 , 194 , 230 Clark, Horace, 174 , 175 , 177 , 194 , 195 Bankers’ & Merchants’ Telegraph Clarke, Freeman, 75 Company, 271 Clay, Henry, 17 Bates, David Homer, 246 Cleveland, Grover, 277 Bee, Frederic and Albert, 53 Clowry, R. C., 67 , 69 , 70 , 83 Bell, Alexander Graham, 156 , 235 Coe, George S., 282 engagement with Atlantic & Pacifi c Colfax, Schuyler, 60 , 163 Telegraph, 237 Collins Overland Telegraph. See Russian engagement with Western Union, 235 , Extension 236 , 237 Collins, Perry McDonough, 78 experiments with human speech, 236 Commercial Cable Company, 282 relationship with Gardiner Greene commercial news. See market news, Hubbard, 237 telegraph Bell Telephone Company, 242 , 243 , 244 , Committee on Interstate Commerce, 279 273 communication revolution, 3 Bennett, James Gordon, 126 , 281 competition in telegraphy, 25 , 26 , 285 Blaine, James G., 163 , 170 , 251 , 277 , 278 arguments against, 32 , 40

Index 297

benefi ts of, 289 automatic telegraph patents, 215 ease of entry to market, 171 duplex innovations, 214 effect on wages, 141 early experiments in telegraphy, 213 government support for, 104 , 109 , 110 , fi nancial problems of, 214 250 , 254 Quadruplex invention, 214 limits of, 289 telephone experiments, 236 , 238 , 239 , from new technologies, 198 243 North American Telegraph Association English telegraph opposition to, 46 , 56 American response to nationalization, operators demand for, 141 168 for speculative purposes, 231 , 233 , 262 comparative cost of nationalization, 167 viability of, 272 , 280 nationalization of, 8 , 155–6 , 157 , 167 , Western Union opposition to, 7 , 111 , 179 128 , 193 Telegraph Bill of 1868, 156 Confederate Military Telegraph, 68 , 69 Erie & Michigan Telegraph, 31 Confederate States of America Erie Railroad, 208 , 209 , 226 , 227 private telegraph companies in, 49 , 61 , European telegraphs, 155 , See also English 62 , 63 telegraph seizure of private lines, 64 statistical comparisons, 160 Confi scation Act of 1862, 81 Conkling, Roscoe, 179 , 216 , 250 Farnsworth, John, 158 , 159 , 178 Conness, John, 106 female operators, 182 Continental Telegraph Company, 245 , 252 Cooper free telegraph school, 182 Cooke, Jay, 100 , 104 use to reduce labor costs, 182–3 Cooper, Peter, 35 , 36 , 37 , 39 , 42 , 182 Field, Cyrus, 34 , 36 , 39 , 43 , 44 , 46 , 60 , Cornell, Ezra, 29 , 30 , 31 , 32 , 33 , 44 , 173 86 , 113 Cowlam, George B., 220 Field, Stephen J., 249 Craig, D. H., 36 , 37 , 54 , 123 First Data Corporation, 288 Creighton, Edward, 59 , 174 Forbes, William H., 273 Creswell, John, 178 Franklin Telegraph Company, 129 , 141 , Cuba Submarine Telegraph Company, 193 , 198 , 209 , 212 , 230 200 operator strike against, 141–2 French Cable Company, 198 , 199 Dawes, Henry, 166 , 221 Dennison Report. See Dennison, William Garrett, John W., 206 , 226 , 254 , 256 , 275 Dennison, William, 65 , 97 Garrett, Robert, 275 , 276 government telegraphs report of, 97 Garrison, C. K., 226 Dillon, Sydney, 222 , 229 , 246 , 258 , 260 George, Henry, 125 , 126 , 280 Direct Cable Company, 209 Gold & Stock Telegraph Company, 203 , Dodge, William E., 174 204 , 213 , 214 , 230 , 242 Dominion Telegraph Company, 254 partnership with Western Union, 203 Douglas, Stephen A., 51 , 52 telephone patents of, 242 Dowley, Levi, 227 Goodsell, Charles and James, 218 , 219 Drew, Daniel, 185 Gould, George, 287 Gould, Jay, 7 , 57 , 187 , 197 , 207 , 208 , 214 , Eckert, Thomas T., 117 , 118 , 120 , 209 , 215 , 215 , 219 , 222 , 226 , 228 , 229 , 210 , 214 , 215 , 216 , 217 , 220 , 222 , 230 , 231 , 234 , 236 , 239 , 241 , 244 , 229 , 244 , 245 , 246 , 260 , 271 , 272 , 245 , 246 , 256 , 259 , 265 , 266 , 267 , 287 268 , 272 , 273 , 274 , 277 , 285 , 287 , Edison, Thomas Alva, 137 , 213 , 214 , 215 , 288 , 291 216 , 217 , 225 , 235 , 236 , 239 , 243 acquisition of Western Union, 257 , 258 automatic telegraph innovations, 215 , 216 antimonopoly claims of, 227 , 252 , 257

298 Index

Gould, Jay (cont.) House Committee on the Judiciary, 221 attack on Western Union railroad House Select Committee on Postal relationships, 224 , 247 , 249 , 252 , 255 Telegraph, 170 , 171 business strategy of, 207 , 209 , 210 , 217 , report on postal telegraph, 172 218 , 245 , 275 House telegraph patent, 29 contemporary criticism of, 265 control of, 36 corruption allegations against, 265 , 266 , disadvantages of, 31 277 , 278 printing telegraph, 22 historical reputation of, 207–8 , 261 , superiority of, 26 264 , 265 Hubbard, Gardiner Greene, 136 , 156 , 171 , lobbying of, 219 , 220 , 221 , 231 , 250 , 177 , 219 , 236 , 238 , 242 , 280 280 alliance with Jay Gould, 219 , 227 , 238 management of Western Union, 260 , argument for cheap telegraphy, 170 261 , 266 concessions to William Orton, 170 newspaper interests of, 208 lobbying of, 158–9 , 165 , 166 , 172 , 177 , press criticism of, 285 178 , 179 purchase of Atlantic & Pacifi c Telegraph, postal telegraph proposal, 156–7 , 159 , 209 167–8 , 171 , 179 railroad interests of, 208 , 209 , 228 , 229 , relationship with Alexander Graham 245 Bell, 235 stock speculation of, 217 , 217 , 222 , 224 , support for Wanamaker postal telegraph, 227 , 228 , 233 , 246 , 255 , 256 , 257 , 286 259 , 260 , 262 , 265 , 266 , 274 , 276 , Hughes telegraph patent, 36 , 37 , 39 277 , 290 Hunt, William, 165 Grant, Ulysses S., 68 , 167 , 178 Hunt, Wilson, 35 , 42 , 173 Gray, Elisha, 235 , 236 Huntington, Collis, 226 Great Railroad Strike of 1877, 228 , 268 Great Strike. See strike of 1883 Idaho Act, 76 Greeley, Horace, 10 , 54 , 176 Illinois & Mississippi Telegraph Company, Green, Norvin, 8 , 14 , 26 , 39 , 45 , 48 , 61 , 61 , 67 , 85 , 86 , 102 , 153 63 , 77 , 81 , 82 , 86 , 100 , 111 , 118 , 161 , incorporation law, 12 , 13 165 , 173 , 228 , 237 , 238 , 240 , 241 , Independent Telegraph Company, 74 , 75 243 , 246 , 247 , 251 , 256 , 258 , 260 , Inland Telegraph Company, 75 265 , 266 , 272 , 274 , 277 , 287 interfi rm cooperation, 24 , 26 , 32 , 33 , 39 business strategy of, 246 , 247 International Ocean Telegraph Company, lobbying of, 260 , 278 200 opposition to postal telegraph, 278 , International Typographical Union, 286 279 Interstate Commerce Act, 278 , 281 stock speculation of, 241 , 260 , 276 Iowa Pool, 245 views on the telephone, 242 Ives, Henry, 276 Grimes, James, 106 Gross, William, 82 , 83 , 119 , 120 Jacksonian Democrats, 13 Gwin, William, 53 , 78 Jewett, Hugh, 226 Johnson, Cave, 16 , 97 Harrington, George, 214 , 215 , 216 Jones, Charles, 250 Hatch, Rufus, 259 Jones, George, 169 Hendricks, Thomas, 107 Josephson, Matthew, 263 Hill, Nathaniel, 4 Journal of the Telegraph , 143 , 268 House Committee on Post Offi ces and Post as alternative to The Telegrapher , 140 Roads, 84 , 158 , 162 , 221 creation of, 118 report on postal telegraph, 159 , 167 opposition to postal telegraphs, 160

Index 299

Kansas Pacifi c Railroad, 255 , 257 investor, 33 Kasson, John, 154 memorial to, 10–11 Keen, James R., 226 Morse telegraph patents, 11 , 16 , 18 , 41 , Kennan, George, 113 239 Kendall, Amos, 5 , 17 , 18 , 19 , 20 , 21 , 22 , control of, 30 , 31 , 35 , 36 23 , 25 , 26 , 27 , 32 , 33 , 34 , 35 , 36 , 37 , disadvantages of operating without, 74 38 , 39 , 40 , 41 , 42 , 44 , 45 , 46 , 81 , 94 , expansion of, 21 101 , 165 , 173 , 176 expiration of, 29 lobbying of, 41 holders of, 17 , 18 , 19 , 20 Keystone Telegraph Company, 132 infringement suits, 21 , 22 Knights of Labor, 140 , 269 , 270 , 271 , 272 , monopoly of, 20 , 21 , 74 286 renewal of, 44 , 46 , 55 , 56 , 74 multiplex telegraphy, 211 , 212–13 , 269 , LeBarron, C. L., 248 See also Quadruplex Telegraph ; Lincoln, Abraham, 66 , 79 Stearns Duplex Telegraph Livingston, Cambridge, 173 Mumford, George, 174 Lloyd, Henry Demarest, 233 , 262 Mutual Union Telegraph Company, 273 , lobbying, post-war expansion of, 158 274 , 275 , 285 Lowrey, Grosvenor, 87 consolidation with Western Union, 274 , Lowrey, Porter, 251 280 Myer, Albert J., 66 , 68 , 153 Mackay, John W., 236 , 237 , 281–3 , 285 Myers, Gustavus, 263 Magnetic Telegraph Company, 19 , 22 , 25 , 37 , 39 , 41 , 44 , 46 , 55 National Board of Trade and Transporta- Mann-Elkins Act, 287 tion, 279 Manning, William Andrew, 138 , 139 , 141 , National Grange, 286 143 , 144 , 146 , 147 , 150 National Labor Union, 141 , 142 market news, telegraph, 8 , 200–3 National Telegraph Company, 95 , 96 , 97 , McClellan, George B., 65 100 , 103 , 104 , 105 , 106 , 109 , 110 McCurdy, Gertrude, 237 Congressional support for, 95 McCurdy, Robert H., 157 federal privileges of, 104 McFall, Russell, 1 , 2 National Telegraphic Union, 92 , 93 , 94 , McKaye, James, 76 , 87 138 , 140 , 141 , 142 , 143 , 268 Merchants’ Telegraph Company, 259 decline of, 139 messenger boys, 210 , 226 formation of, 92 Michigan Central Railroad, 229 , 231 National Typesetters Union, 145 Missouri Pacifi c Railroad, 226 , 277 National Typographical Union, 182 monopoly. See natural monopoly natural monopoly, 6 , 43 , 279 , 280–1 justifi cation for, 32 , 33 , 40 New York & Mississippi Valley Printing as a pejorative term, 3 Telegraph profi tability of, 33 investors in, 28 as a public good, 15 New York & Mississippi Valley Printing state grants of, 13 , 40 , 41 Telegraph Company, 12 , 22 , 23 , 26 , Montreal Telegraph Company, 50 , 254 27 , 28 , 29 , 30 , 31 , See also Western Morgan, Edwin D., 105 , 163 , 165 Union Telegraph Company Morgan, J. Pierpont, 276 founding of, 22 Morris, Francis, 173 , 174 funding of, 23 , 31 Morris, William, 63 , 64 , 68 , 70 investors in, 27 , 28 Morse, Samuel F. B., 4 , 5 , 35 , 81 , 94 , 101 , mergers with, 30 173 , 176 New York, Albany & Buffalo Telegraph inventor, 10 , 16 Company, 35 , 36 , 77

300 Index

New York Associated Press, 37 , 54 , 57 , 90 , females as replacements, 142 121–8 , 161 , 211 , 266 , 277 , 284 health problems of, 137 , 268 bilateral monopoly of, 8 , 122 opposition to dividend payments, 136 Congressional hearings on, 251 technical skills of, 137 criticism of, 221 wages of, 138 criticism of strike of 1870, 146 working conditions of, 138 headquarters of, 151 O’Rielly, Henry, 19–20 , 21 , 51 , 52 , 53 , 55 , market news, 201 65 , 78 , 94 , 95 , 103 , 104 , 106 , 110 , monopoly incentives of, 122 155 , 156 , 249 rates of, 124 , 125 transcontinental telegraph plan of, 51 , 55 relationship with the American Orton, Agnes, 240 Telegraph Company, 36 Orton, William, 10 , 87 , 88 , 89 , 91 , 92 , 98 , relationship with Western Union, 124 , 266 104 , 105 , 107 , 109 , 110 , 111 , 117 , New York Central Railroad, 208 , 218 , 228 118 , 119 , 128 , 129 , 130 , 136 , 149 , New York Chamber of Commerce, 174 , 161 , 162 , 163 , 164 , 165 , 167 , 168 , 279 169 , 170 , 171 , 177 , 179 , 180 , 181 , New York Daily Graphic , 189 184 , 186 , 190 , 188 , 192 , 194 , 196 , criticism of Western Union, 218 , 241 , 198 , 199 , 200 , 202 , 204 , 205 , 206 , 251 207 , 210 , 211 , 212 , 213 , 214 , 215 , New York Herald , 126 , 135 , 176 , 221 , 216 , 217 , 218 , 220 , 221 , 222 , 223 , 227 , 272 , 282 224 , 225 , 226 , 227 , 227 , 230 , 231 , advocacy of postal telegraph, 160 235 , 237 , 238 , 239 , 240 , 241 , 242 , attacks on Western Union, 128 248 , 249 , 264 support for strike of 1870, 146 advocacy for women operators, 182 New York State Printing Telegraph argument against the postal telegraph, Company, 35 171 New York Stock Exchange, 72 , 173 , 202 , assumption of Western Union presidency, 228 117 New York Telephone Company, 287 business strategy of, 186 , 187 , 195 , New York Times , 219 , 222 , 265 , 277 203 criticism of Western Union, 186 , 265 character of, 87 New York Tribune , 76 , 88 , 192 , 208 , 222 competitive strategy of, 134 , 136 , 224 , New York World , 93 , 123 , 145 , 164 , 208 225 Noble, Charles W., 100 cost reduction strategy of, 180–4 North American Review , 278 death of, 240 North American Telegraph Association, 39 , early career of, 87 40 , 44 , 45 , 46 , 47 , 48 , 49 , 50 , 52 , 53 , lobbying of, 108 , 162 , 163 55 , 56 , 61 , 67 , 69 , 74 , 75 , 76 , 77 , 84 , opposition to dividends, 136 , 186 , 187 85 , 86 , 88 , 101 , 123 , 290 , See also Six opposition to franks, 164 Party Contract opposition to postal telegraph, 159 , 167 , anticompetitive purpose of, 40 , 48 , 56 168 failure of, 102 opposition to regulation, 111 , 152 founding of, 40 opposition to The Telegrapher , 149 Nye, James, 106 , 107 , 178 opposition to watered stock, 184 , 186 , 241 , 261 operators personal wealth of, 118 , 240 “ironclad oath”, 268 as president of the United States as professionals, 93 Telegraph Company, 87–9 character required of, 98 rate strategy of, 135 , 161 , 180 , 194 declining conditions of, 268–9 relationship with Gardiner Greene declining status of, 137–8 Hubbard, 166 , 169 , 171 , 177 , 237 , declining wages of, 269 238

Index 301

relationship with labor, 143 , 182 , 183 , Pensacola Telegraph Co. v. Western Union 184 , 223 , 230 Telegraph Co. , 248–50 , 278 relationship with the Associated Press, Pensacola Telegraph v. Western Union 126 , 127 Telegraph Co. salary of, 210 , 223 Wabash test case, 253 support for a government buyout, 169 , Phelps printing telegraph, 212 172 , 177 Philadelphia Board of Trade, 169 support for a postal telegraph, 169 , 170 Pinkerton, Allan, 202 views on innovation, 210 , 211 , 212 , 236 , Pomeroy, Samuel C., 76 238 Pony Express, 60 views on the telephone, 235 , 236 , 237 , Pope, Frank, 213 238 , 239 , 241 Pope, R. W., 144 Overland Telegraph Company, 58 Post, George, 190 , 191 , 192 post roads. See rights-of-way Pacifi c & Atlantic Telegraph Company, Postal Act of 1792, 121 112 , 130 , 131 , 132 , 133 , 193 , 194 , postal telegraph. See Hubbard, Gardiner 194 , 196 , 230 , 273 Greene consolidation with Western Union, 194–6 arguments against, 90 , 97–100 Pacifi c Railroad and Telegraph Act of arguments for, 100 1862, 96 Brown proposal for, 90–1 Pacifi c Telegraph, 49 , 59 , 60 , 79 , 95 , 110 constitutional mandate, 16 construction of, 57–60 Dennison report rejection of, 97 government aid for, 50 and destruction of private property, 99 operational challenges, 134 effect of debate on telegraph stock, 161 rates, 60 Morse’s advocacy for, 4 return for investors, 60 press support for, 160–1 as symbol of national unity, 60 public demand for, 161 Pacifi c Telegraph Act of 1860, 57 , 60 , state endorsements of, 177 76 , 104 , See also transcontinental Wanamaker plan, 286–7 telegraph, legislation Postal Telegraph Company (Hubbard), Congressional debate on, 56 159 North American Telegraph Association Postal-Telegraph and Cable Company, 282 , response to, 56 283 , 285 , 286 , 287 Pacifi c Telegraph Company, 59 Powderly, Terence, 271 Page, Charles Grafton, 220 Prescott, George Bartlett, 91 , 210 , 214 , Page Patent, 220 , 257 215 , 216 , 235 , 236 infringement suits, 274 report on postal telegraph, 160 legislative repeal of, 221 Press Association War of 1866–1867 123 Western Union purchase of, 220 private line business, 242 Painter, Uriah Hunt, 162 , 164 , 178 private telegraphing. See market news, Palmer, Francis, 165 , 166 , 172 telegraph Palmer, O. H., 165 , 174 , 260 Pulitzer, Joseph, 277 Panic of 1873, 195 , 197 , 214 effect on telegraph market, 223 Quadruplex Telegraph, 234 , 239 Parsons, Frank, 287 invention of, 214 Patent Act of 1836, 20 patent, 235 Patterson, John J., 196 Western Union patent claim, 215 , 216 , Pennsylvania, anti-monopoly constitution 219 of, 196 Quincy, Josiah, 170 Pennsylvania Railroad, 62 , 131 , 132 , 172 , 195 , 218 , 224 , 255 railroad telegraphers, 269 , 271 Pennsylvania Telegraph Company, 132 as replacement workers, 145 , 146

302 Index

railroads Russian Extension, 49 , 78–80 contesting of telegraph rights-of-way, investor profi ts from, 114 131 stock, 79 , 114 cooperation with telegraph companies, termination of, 113–14 28 cost structure of, 14 Sage, Russell, 226 , 230 , 246 , 254 , 258 , dependency on the telegraph, 251 260 , 276 entry into the telegraph business, 205–6 , San Francisco Herald , 125 , 126 250 Sanford, Edward S., 25 , 27 , 61 , 62 , 63 , 65 , exclusive telegraph contracts, 29 , 204–6 66 , 69 , 75 fi nancing of, 12 Schell, Augustus, 165 , 174 , 175 , 256 investors in, 18 Scott, Tom, 62 , 172 , 195 , 208 , 218 Railway Union, 286 Scudamore, Frank Ives, 155 , 156 , 157 , 179 Ramsey, Alexander, 158 , 159 , 170 , 171 , Senate Committee on Commerce 178 report on the postal telegraph, 178 support for the postal telegraph, 170 Senate Committee on Post Offi ces and Post Randall, Alexander, 157 , 167 Roads, 51 , 105 , 158 , 280 , 281 rates, 100 , 188 , See also Western Union report on the postal telegraph, 170 , 178 Telegraph Company, rates of Senate Committee on Railroads, 251 effect of competition on operators, 141 Senate Committee on the Relations effect on demand, 8 , 135 Between Labor and Capital, 245 , 272 , increases after consolidation, 230 280 , 288 monopoly, 8 , 46 Senate Judiciary Committee necessity of high rates, 99 report on government telegraphs, 42 subsidized, 90 Seward, William Henry, 79 , 114 Reagan, John, 281 Shaffner, Tal, 33 , 41 regulation Shaw, James, 252 federal, 42 , 84 , 152 Sherman Anti-Trust Act of 1890, 287 interchange, 221 Sherman, John, 95 , 100 , 103 , 104 , 106 , 110 of rates, 171 Sibley, Hiram, 22 , 23 , 26 , 27 , 28 , 29 , 30 , state, 42 , 249 31 , 32 , 33 , 34 , 36 , 37 , 38 , 39 , 45 , 46 , Reid, J. D., 19 , 27 , 103 , 115 , 245 48 , 52 , 53 , 55 , 56 , 57 , 58 , 59 , 60 , 73 , Reid, Whitlaw, 208 74 , 75 , 76 , 77 , 78 , 79 , 80 , 115 , 173 , Reiff, J. C., 215 , 216 , 219 , 256 174 , 185 , 224 , 282 Republican Party competitive strategy of, 134 economic policies of, 50 lobbying of, 54 ideology of, 108 , 153 monopoly strategy of, 29 rights-of-way transcontinental telegraph plan, 52 , 54 court challenges to, 132–3 Simonton, James, 125 enforcement by injunction, 132 Six Party Contract, 39 , 42 opening by condemnation, 254 anti-competitive purpose of, 46 on post roads, 96 , 105 , 205 , 248 signing of, 40 railroad, 131 , 205 , 253 Smith, Francis O. J., 18 , 20 , 40 , 44 , 45 on railroads, 106 Southern & Atlantic Telegraph Company, state grants of, 96 222 , 230 Supreme Court ruling, 249 Southern Telegraph Association, 70 Telegraph Act of 1866 grants of, 111 Southern Telegraph Company, 63 , 64 , 68 , Robber Barons, 170 , 263 , 265 80 , 82 Roberts, Marshall O., 35 creation of, 63 Rosewater, Edward, 48 , 50 , 81 Southwestern Telegraph Company, 26 , 39 , Russell, Robert, 2 , 33 , 34 , 36 , 45 , 53 , 54 , 45 , 61 , 63 , 64 , 74 , 77 , 80 , 81 , 82 , 83 , 56 , 57 86 , 100 , 101 , 173 , 241

Index 303

Civil War profi tability of, 81 consequences of, 110–11 consolidation with the American constitutionality of, 248 Telegraph Company, 101 effect on railroads, 131 Speed, John J., 29 as the fi rst step to a postal telegraph, 154 Sprague, William, 126 grants of rights-of-way, 131 Stager, Anson, 29 , 30 , 48 , 49 , 65 , 66 , 67 , 68 , House of Representatives debate of, 69 , 70 , 71 , 82 , 83 , 118 , 120 , 161 , 209 107–8 Stanton, Edwin, 66 , 67 , 68 legal interpretation of, 253 Stearns Duplex Telegraph, 213 , 214 , 234 O’Rielly rejection of, 106 Western Union purchase of, 213 , 235 provisions of, 152 Stearns, J. B., 212 purchase clause of, 97 , 109 , 166 , 167 , Steward, John, 174 176 , 251 stock dividends, 72 railroad rights-of-way, 205 stock tickers, 203 railroads assent to, 254 stock watering. See watered stock Republican support for, 109 strike of 1870, 143–50 , 267 Senate debate of, 107 cost to Western Union, 147 Western Union acceptance of, 111 female operators in, 146 , 149 Western Union amendments to, 71 , 107 , press opposition to, 146 109 reasons for failure, 148 telegraph cables, 198–200 , Western Union resilience in, 149 See also Atlantic cable strike of 1883, 270–2 telegraph operators. See operators cost of, 271 telegraph stock, 15 , 19 , 26 , 45 strikes. See Franklin Telegraph Company, bubbles in, 77 , 80 operator strike against riskiness of, 6 Strong, George Templeton, 44 Telegrapher, The , 57 , 80 , 93 , 94 , 95 , 109 , Supreme Court of the United States, 43 , 248 119 , 135 , 136 , 137 , 139 , 140 , 141 , Sweet, E. D. L., 166 , 169 142 , 143 , 147 , 149 , 164 , 175 , 182 , 193 , 213 , 223 , 238 , 268 Taylor, Moses, 35 , 174 , 229 advocacy of competition, 193 telegraph criticism of dividend payments, 136 corruption of, 7 criticism of Western Union, 141 cost structure of, 6 , 14 , 98 , 181 , 210 Telegraphers’ Mutual Benefi t Association, customers, 261 , 265 , 290 140 economic effects of, 25 Telegraphers’ Protective League, 142 , 143 , fi nancing of, 14 , 19 144 , 145 , 147 , 148 , 149 , 268 , 270 functional limitations of, 23 elitist nature of, 145 government control of, 4 founding of, 142 government support for, 16 involvement in the Franklin Telegraph investors, 13 , 18 , 19 , 34 , 35 strike, 143 optical, 15 public criticism of, 143 poor performance of, 24 telephone profi tability of, 18 , 25 , 99 , 100 , 101 Bell patent, 234 , 236 , 237 , 239 purpose of, 3 , 5 , 8 , 17 , 200 Bell technical performance, 235 rates. See rates commercial applications of, 236 , 238 , 242 speculation in, 129 Gray patent, 236 statistics, 25 , 86 , 128 , 161 limitations of, 238 , 243 unity of, 9 , 14 , 15 , 16 , 18 , 30 , 32 , 39 litigation, 239 , 242 , 243 Telegraph Act of 1866, 85 , 108 , 109 , 110 , origins in multiplex telegraphy, 234–5 123 , 129 , 153 , 155 , 159 , 204 , 247 , patent litigation, 242 249 , 250 , 251 Western Union investments in, 234 authorship of, 110 Thompson, Robert Luther, 5

304 Index

Thomson, J. Edgar, 195 management of Western Union, 241 Thoreau, Henry David, 24 railroad interests of, 228 , 229 , 231 , 245 , Thurber, F. B., 279 258 time ball, 232 stock speculation of, 265 Tinker, Charles, 246 Varley, Cromwell Fleetwood, 119 Torrance, Daniel, 174 transcontinental railroad, 60 , 133 Wabash case, 253 transcontinental telegraph. See also Pacifi c Wabash Railway, 245 , 254 Telegraph American Union lines on, 253 government support for, 51 , 76 contract with Western Union, 252 legislation for, 54 , 55 , 56 Wade, Jeptha, 14 , 29 , 30 , 32 , 58 , 67 , 80 , proposals for, 52 91 , 174 sectional opposition to, 51 , 54 Waite, Morris Remnick, 200 Transiberian telegraph. See Russian Wanamaker, John, 286 , 287 Extension War Department Tweed, William Marcy, 208 relationship with private telegraph companies, 49 , 64 , 65 , 66 , 68 , 69 , 81 , Union Pacifi c Railroad, 134 , 194 , 206 , 207 , 82 , 83 209 , 222 , 228 , 245 , 255 , 257 , 258 relationship with Western Union, 48 Union Telegraph Company, 246 Ward, C. Osborn, 233 United States Direct Cable Company, 199 , Warner, Willard, 166 200 Washburn, C. C., 171 United States Military Telegraph, 48 , 49 , opposition to Hubbard postal telegraph, 66 , 67 , 68 , 69 , 70 , 80 , 82 , 86 , 118 , 172 120 , 153 , See also War Department postal telegraph proposal, 170 , 171 early activity of, 65 Washburne, Elihu B., 108 , 154 , 161 , 165 operators in, 66 , 69–71 , 82 postal telegraph advocacy of, 154–5 post-war disposing of lines, 82 postal telegraph proposal, 167 statistics, 80 support for Hubbard’s postal telegraph, United States Telegraph Company, 75 , 77 , 166 84 , 86 , 87 , 91 , 92 , 99 , 115 , 133 , 180 watered stock, 72 , 100 , 101 , 185–6 , 259 collapse of, 99 , 100 Watson, Thomas, 236 consolidation with Western Union, 89 , Wells, David Ames, 179 91–2 , 93 , 103 , 185 Western Associated Press, 123 , 266 formation of, 75 Western Electric, 235 sale of lines to the American Telegraph Western Union Telegraph Company Company, 101 agreement with Bell Telephone, 243 , 244 strategy of, 76 argument for monopoly, 192 valuation of, 88 board of directors, 117 , 173 , 174 , 197 , United Telegraphers of America, 269 256 , 260 , 266 brand, 225–6 Van Horne, John, 63 , 81 , 118 cable cartel, 199 Vanderbilt, Cornelius, 176 , 177 , 185 , 187 , cable strategy, 198 197 , 206 , 208 , 209 , 226 , 229 capital expansion of, 60 , 71 , 72 , 77 , 89 , business strategy of, 175 100 , 109 , 115 , 185 , 241 , 259 , 261 , 269 control of Western Union, 11 Commercial News Department, 201 , stake in Western Union, 174 , 175 202 , 221 Western Union coup of 1870, 174 , 175 competitive strategy of, 134 , 197 , 198 Vanderbilt, William H., 7 , 175 , 197 , 226 , corruption allegations against, 265 228 , 234 , 256 , 260 , 265 cost infl ation, 180 , 181 divestment from Western Union, 258 , creation of, 31 259 decline of, 266 , 287 , 288

Index 305

dividend payments, 71 , 73 , 77 , 135 , 136 , relationship with the war department, 185 , 187 , 197 , 224 , 227 , 228 , 241 , 64 257 , 261 , 266 , 269 research and development, 210 , 213 , franks, 163–5 267 headquarters building, 151 , 189–92 , statistics, 11 , 115 , 151 , 180 233 , 240 , 284 stock, 72 , 127 , 173 , 176 , 228 , 256 , 258 , labor costs of, 137 , 181–4 , 223 276 legal strategy of, 133 , 255 , 267 stock dividends, 72 , 241 , 259 lobbying of, 105 , 162–5 , 177 , 179 , 250 , stockholder lawsuits, 260 251 , 267 , 289 stockholders, 173 , 174 , 233 , 251 , 256 , maintenance of lines, 119 257 , 258 managerial challenges of, 115–16 , 117 , strikes against. See strike of 1883 , strike 120 , 139 of 1870 night messages, 168 support for a government buyout, 166–7 opposition to postal telegraph, 159–60 , support for regulation, 278 168 Tariff Bureau, 119 partisanship of, 165 , 277 telephone investments. See also telephone press allies of, 128 telephone strategy, 239 , 242 , 243 profi tability of, 99 , 121 , 134 , 180 , 223 , valuation of, 88 , 170 223 , 257 “Vanderbilt management”, 175 , 177 , railroad contracts, 204 , 205 , 207 , 225 , 178 , 180 , 186 , 194 , 260 247 , 249 , 253 wages, 269 rates, 120 , 136 , 168 , 180 , 261 watered stock of, 136 , 186 relationship with employees, 118 , 119 , Wheatstone automatic telegraph, 212 139 Woodhull, Victoria, 176 relationship with the Associated Press, 128 Work, Frank, 229