IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) 1.0 ;.i 11.25 ■^■M |2.5 Hf b£ III 2.0 lA 11 1.6 /] 7 ^ v^ ''? ^ .•V ^ '^ Yn'\r^''^^'^;/V.'^'T,V) -.r^-^ ST' -■:-;•- ;^/-fr;iF.'iv'T.v^^ CIHM/ICMH Microfiche Series. CIHM/ICMH Collection de microfiches. Canadian institute for Historical Microreproductions Institut Canadian de microreproductions historiqua* 1980 Technical Notes / Notes techniques The Institute has attempted to obtain the best original copy available for filming. Physical features of this copy which may alter any of the images in the reproduction are checked below. L'Institut a microfilm^ ie meilleur exempiaire qu'il lui a 6t6 possible de se procurer. Certains difauts susceptibles de nuire d la quality de la reproduction sont not6s ci-dessous. D D Coloured covers/ Couvertures de couleur Coloured maps/ Cartes gdographiques en couleur D D Coloured pages/ Pages de couleur Coloured plates/ Planches en couleur D Pages discoloured, stained or foxed/ Pages d6color6es, tacheties ou piqudes D Show through/ Transparence D Tight binding (may cause shadows or distortion along interior margin)/ Reliure serr6 (peut causer de I'ombre ou de la distortion Ie long de la marge intdrieure) D Pages damaged/ Pages endommag6es D Additional comments/ Commentaires suppl6mentaires Bibliographic Notes / Notes bibliographiques D D Only edition available/ Seule Edition disponible Bound with other material/ Reli6 avec d'autres documents D Pagination incorrect/ Erreurs de pagination Pages missing/ Des pages manquent D D Cover title missing/ Le titre de couverture manque Plates missing/ Des planches manquent D Maps missing/ Des cartes gdographiques manquent D Additional comments/ Commentaires suppiimentaires The images appearing here are the best quaiity possible considering the condition and legibility of the original copy and in keeping with the filming contract specifications. Les images suivantes ont 6t6 reproduites avec le plus grand soin, compte tenu de la condition et de la nettet6 de I'exemplaire film6, et en conformity avec les conditions du contrat de filmage. The last recorded frame on each microfiche shall contain the symbol —► (meaning CONTINUED"), or the symbol V (meaning "END"), whichever applies. Un des symboles suivants apparaftra sur la der- nidre image de cheque microfiche, selon le cas: le symbole — ^ siqnifie "A SUIVRE ". le symbole V signifie "FIN". The original copy was borrowed from, and filmed with, the kind consent of the following institution: Library of the Public Archives of Canada Maps or plates too large to be entirely included in one exposure are filmed beginning in the upper left hand corner, left to right and top to bottom, as many frames as required. The following diagrams illustrate the method: L'exemplaire filmd fut reproduit grdce d la g6n6rosit6 de I'^tablissement prdteur suivant : La bibliothdque des Archives publiques du Canada Les cartes ou les planches trop grandes pour dtre reproduites en un seul clich6 sont filmdes d partir de I'angle supdrieure gauche, de gauche d droite et de haut en bas, en prenant le nombre d'images n6cessaire. Le diagramme suivant illustre la mdthode : 1 2 3 1 2 3 4 5 6 'I ■-■-.• .. • t THE CANADIAN PACIFIC RAILWAY COMPANY AND ITS EXTRAORDINARY TEI,EGRAPHIC & TELEPHONIC PRIVILEGES. ♦-♦-♦- A Letter to the Hon. Sir Charles Tupper, K.C.M.G., from the Representatives op Telegraph Companies in Canada. THE EXTRAORDINARY TELEGRAPHIC AND TELEPHONIC PRIVILEGES OF THE CANADIAN PACIFIC RAILWAY CO. > ♦< ^ Montreal, March 18, 1884. The Honorable Sir Charles Tupper, K.C.M.G., Minister of Bailicays and Canals, Ottawa, Canada^ Dear Sir: — The powers which the Canadian Pacific Bailway Company possess, in regard to Telegraphs, are believed to be greater than those possessed by any other corporation on this Continent. The powers conceded by Parliament to the various companies especially devoted to the telegraph business are not nearly as ample in their scope as those granted to the Canadian PaciHc Railway Company; and no other railway company, im'orporated by Parliament, possesses anything like the privileges, in relation to tele^rraph matters, wliicli the Canadian Pacific Goiiii)aii.Y iiave had conferred upon them. Mo restrictions a8 to rates, no liniitati(m8 as to powers of anndpnu^^tion, leasing, or ])nrcliasinj^ other lines, are ro'itaiueil in the act emdjling this comimny to do a public telej»ia])Ii busi- ness. They are empowered to do business all over the Dominion, irrespective of the location of tlieir railway line. Side by side with the riyht conveyed to them — "To lay out, construct, acquire, equip, maintain, and work a continuous line of railway,'' — in the very next clause, they are empowered — " To construct, maintain, and work a continuous tele- graph and telephone line throujihout the whole line of the Canadian Pacitic i^ ad way, or any part thereof, an<l may alsit construct or acquire by piirchai^e^ Ifase, or otherwise^ any otJier line or lines of telegraphy » « # r^,n| ^^^^^y undertake the transmission of niessajjes for the public by any such line or lines of telej^raph or telej>hone, and col- lect tolls for so doing, or may lease such line or lines of telegraph or telei)hone, or any portion thereof.'^ Your attention is drawn to the fart that, inasmuch as no other railroad company pos>esses these powers, and, as no telegraph comi>any has them in a manner so unre- . stricted, their possessiou imparts an element of danger. These concessions are sutlicieutly ample to enable the Canadian Pacific « ail way Company to do a telegraph business in any [lart of the Dominion of Canarla, to com- pete with all the existing telegraph companies, and, in virtue of the enormous sums which they have derived from governmental subshly, to effectually destroy the earn- ing power of the existing telegraphic corporationw. 'I he possibility of this condition ensuing may well till with 5 aiarm tliiR iffr^e^lasa of persons, shareholdera and others, dire«'tl.v interested In telej:frH]»li projM^rty. Hnt, aside t'rnin the thousands interested in sneh pr()])efty in the I >orainion, the ]Mil)lie have a vital interest in tlie p<»ssilnlity that the Canadian Pacific hailioad Coini)any will have the power to monopolize the entire tele^rai)liie service, not only of the Mortli western Provinces and Territories, but of the entire Dominion. For, should they be successtul in com- peting^ with the existing tele<ifraph companies, it would so tar crlp]>le the latter, as to make it possible that amalgamation or consolidation would be necessary to preserve the property from ruin. Tnder the act as it now stands, the Canadian Pacific Eailway Company can become possessed by lease, pur- chase, or otherwise, of all the telegraphic property of the country; and, inasmuch as no restriction of rates is pro- vided for in their charter, they could exact whatever tolls they chose. They would then practic/allv possess, especially so far as the Northwestern Territories are con- cerned, the entire means c ^minunication ; they w<mld not only carry the mails, trans. »rt freight and passengers, but they wouhl have the oidy other independent means ot communication entirely in their hands. It was, of course, contemplated originally, when these powers were granted, that the operations of the Canadian Pacitic llailway should be mainly confined to the country west of Lake Ni])issiiig. Jt was probably presumed that telegra])hic facilities could not be afforded except by the railroad companies in these new regions for many years, and hence there seemed to be some justification for grant- ing to the railway company extraordinary powers. Hut sim*e the passage of this act, a policy of railway an«l tele- graphic extension has been developed, which threatens to 6 permeate almost the entire Dominion, and the owners of tele«;raph property in the country view with alarm and a]>prf heiision the jmssession of powers by a railway com- pany, which they themselves have been denied, and which, if exeriiiaed to the fullest extent, would virtually confiscate the iiroperty of thousands of innocent shareholders. This power of confiscation is au«i^rneuted by the fact that large governmental aid is aliorded to the railway company, the expenditure of whi<h in regard to telegraph or telephone lines may be uurestricted, unchecked, and unknown, so far as governmental control is coneerned. Not only is there no check upon the buihling of competitive telegra])h property with government moneys, but com])etitive busi- ness can be carried on for years, and, with such aid as the government are about to attbrd, no one can tell what deficiencies in this particular branch ot the business may be covered up by combifiing together the earnings of the railway and the telegrai)h. Thus, no matter how other telegrai)h corporations might have to cut and carve to make ends meet, the Cana<lian Pacific Railway Company, having, on the one hi;:id, enormous revenues from freight and passenger traffic, and, on the other, vast subsidies in . land and money, could very effectually destroy for a series of years all pr<»tit for legitimate telegrajihic enterprise, antl recoup themselves in another series of years by absorbing the property of other companies at a largely depreciated value, and by exacting such rates as they chose under the plenary i)owers granted them by Parliament. Inasmuch as a practical revision is now taking place of the terms upon which the Canadian Pacific Railway Company have undertaken their great euterprise, and as the circum- stances surrounding the whole nuitter have considerably changed, it would seem proi)er that some attention should be given to the aspect of the question, so far as it aflecta telegrapliic property and teleg:rjii»hic communication. The consolidation of telegrapliic interests, which Govern- ment and Parliament approved by so lar^e a majority within a short tim^, was a virtual compact, by which telegraphic property in the <50initry should be protected so long as the public were effectually served, the property r^^lly maintained, and the servi»-e i)erf'ormed at the low rBxas fixed by Parliament. So far as- the telegraphic com- panies are concerned, it is submitted that they have ful- filled their part of the contra(;t. ^\^ver before in the history of the country has telegraph projjerty been in a higher state of perfection. It is impossible to do better service than has been done, in view of the distances, the sparsely settled country, and the generally arduous nature of much of the service. Promptitude, accuracy, and amplitude of facilities have been afforded; owners of telegraph property have been fairly remunerated ; and the sense of protection and safety which has* been imparted to the thousand shareholders, the majority of whom are estates, widows, and orphans, has been very comforting; while the rates afforded to the public, and especially to the press, are such as exist nowhere else in the world, all things considered.* This favorable condition of things is constantly threat- ened by the existence on the statute books of the provi- * As to the facUlttea aflfordert, no better illustration Is needed than that famished; on the occasion of your own great speech during the present session, on the policy of the (Jovernment in regard to the loan to the Cana<iiau Pacific Railway, when dur- ing the night no less than nineteen columns of solid matter was transmitted over the wires to the Toronto papers. The Montreal papers received nearly an equal quantity of matter, to say nothing of other lengthy reports transmitted throughout the length and breadth of the country, and half-way across (the contiqent. On the delivery of the speech on the Budget last session, the Toronto Mail one morning contained twenty five eulumm of teUgraphic matter, and well remarked that " modert civilization p^jbably does not habitually exhibit itself in any more striking way than on such an occasion." 3 . ^ . siQns which are foui^cl \\\ the charter of the Canadian taci.fic Hallway, and, MOW that opportunity is affonled, this cause of apprehension should be removed, by restdct- ihg that company to the same telegraphic lipwers jios- sessed by other railroad companies. ". "• ^ . So far as the Northwestern Provinces are concerned^ ample provision has been, and will be made by the ex- isting companies, for the transmission of public business. Should there be any failure in this respect, with the aid which the government has already afforded, in the lines they themselves possess throughout that country, no ne- cessity exists for the broad interi)retation of their powers now claimed by the Canadian Pacific hallway Company. That these are dangerously large, no 'one will deny. Already the Canadian Pacific Kailroad Company is com- peting with companies which preceded them in the task of furnishing communication to the struggling commu- nities of the Northwest, and it will be impossible to maintain independent telegraphic communication through- out the iNorth western Provinces, aside trom that furnished by the Canadian Pacific Railway Company, unless these powers are, and this business is placed upon the same footing as all other commercial enterprises. If, on the one hand, powers are delegated by Govern- ment to a private railway corporation, already spreading itself like an/'army of occupation" over the country, and, at the same time, it is supplied with millions of public money, and permitted to compete in specific lines of activity, there can be but one result: to increase the power of the railway comi)any, entirely extinguish the possibility of competition, and create a practical monopoly of all the means of communication in the hands of a few gentlem^en;, whQj h9W€>yer estimable they may be, will, nevertheleRft, be tina'ble to resist tlie opportnuitieR affordcji} by the enormotis desf^otiBm virtually conferred U]M)n t1iem» We Vjenture to a<1dress yon in tliia manner, Sir Cliarle.s, because of your liberal Hj>preciation of the tt'Iofiraph situation, as shown in the stand which you took three years aj?o, when the question of teleffr^-ph coinnium'cation was before Tarlianient, which attitude, on your part,, obtained the gratitude of the entire telejjrapliic interests of tiie country. We are further encourajred to bring this matter to your notice, because we have reason to believe that, immediately after the passage of the original charter, when your attention was drawn to the extraordinary scope of the privileges contained in it, you spoke of them as having been inadvertently conveyed, and expressed a dis- position to avail yourself of a future opp(»rtunity, through negotiation or otherwise, to procure a revision of them. In a letter which you were good enough to write to a member of Parliament and a supporter of your government, dated in May, 1881, you gave exi)ression to this view, and said you wouhl avail yourself of an early op])ortunity to induce- the syndicate to con- en t to an alteration that wouhl be satisfactory to the owners of other telegraph property. It ia probable that, during the pressure on youi time that existed at the moment of the passage of the charter, the full import of the telegraphic ])0wers granted were not quite appre- hended. But now that their full meaning is apprehended^ and the circumstan<res surrouniiing the whole question are so materially changed, an opi)ortunity shouhl not be suf- ered to jiass when your expressed wish can be fultilled. . JOHN CRAWFORD, - 1 On Imhalf of, the Montreal TdegrapK Company:^ ERASTUS WIMAN, ^ '\ ' " President Qrettt NbHh WeiteH TehgrapK Co. i)f Citnadd^ Montreal^ March^]^^84. The Honobable Sie Charles Tupper, K.O.M.G., Minister of Raihcays and Canals, Ottawa, Ontario. Deau Sir Charles: We desire particularly to thank you for the extremely ^acious manner in wliicli you rec'eived a delegation from tlie telegraph companies. \> hen the views above expressed were conveyed to you, you were good enough to conlirm the impression whicli had previously been given — that the powers granted to the Canadian Pacitic Railway Company, in relativon to telegrai)h matters, were inadvertently conveyed to that company ; and, though you doubted whether these powers were as ami)le in their scope as we had feare<l in our pre- vious communication, you nevertheless said that you would endeavor to take sucli ste[)s as wouhl cause the telegrajdiic operations of the hallway Company to be limited to the lines and stations of its road. This decisive view cf yours was all that we could ask, because we recognized the fact that thfe IJailway Company, especially in the Northwest, can afford great facilities for telegraphic communication at their stations, while working their lines for the conduct of their own business. Jt is evident, however, from recent utterances on behalf 6f the Hallway Comj)any, that they are not inclined to accept your interpretation of the extent of their powers, and tiiat they resent any limitatioil confining the transac- tion of public telegraph business to their lines and stations. 11 One ^'ood effect of the recent discussion of the matter has been the development on the part of the railway company of an intention, hitherto not revealed, viz.: to go into telegraph business generally, and, in addition to bi*ing a great hallway Company, supported by imblic bounty, to also be(;ome a great Telegraph Company, doing business throughout the Dominion, irrespective of the h)cation of their lines of railway, and regardless of the consequences. The determined announcement of such an intention is the justification for again addressing you, in order that the occasion may not be allowed to pass without some definite steps being taken to carry out y<mr expressed desires, of having a clear and distinct understanding between yourself and the liailway Com])any, and in order that telegraph interests shall have some pro- j te(;tion at the hands of Government or Parliament. If the Canadian Pacific hail way Telegraph is i>ermitted to com])ete at every point throughout the Dominion, even I widely removed from their railway lines, while they are the recipients of such large i)ul)lic benefactions, but one result can be reached, viz : the eventual destruction of vested interests already existing in telegraph property in jthe Dominion. The i)ossii»ility of such a result will, we I are sure, be sufficient to quicken the. action of yourself land others in this matter, but, aside from this effect, the consequences to the public generally are likely to be so giave that, at the risk of taxing ycmr kindness, wo beg jto urge upon you some further considerations. Those who have watched closely the progress. of tele- |grai)hs in the last fifty years have rarely, if ever, seen two |telegraph companies competing for the same business suc- jeed in maintaining themselves, even in densely popu'ated pUices, in localities where the business transacted is enor- 1<* ! I motis. Eventual loss and certain embarrafisment follow either to one company or to the other. It must be so in the nature of thinj^s. There are com])arati\ ely few t(»wns wliere there is business enough to sustain tWo telegraph com- panies, any more than business enough to sustain two post offices. If this has been the experience all over the world, how much more so is it the case in Canada, where popula- tion, except in a few centres, between long stretches, is sparse, and where business needing telegraph servi(;e is limited ? It is doubtful if twenty towns could be named in the whole of Ontario or Quebec, where one operator in each could not handle all telegraph business ofiering, esjiecially during the winter season. For instance, in how many towns within a radius of one hundred miles of Ottawa would there be business suificient to sustain two telegraph establishments, in a manner sufficiently effective to do the business satisfactorily I But it, in addition to the small volume of telegraph business to be tranS'icted, Parliament insists upon a uniform and low rate at which it must be done, how utterly im]»ossible it is that (tompe- tititm can exist and thrive. If this uniform and fixed rate is the one decided upon after years of experience by the British Government, as the rate at which even the tele- graph postal service of that kingdom can be rendered, is it likely that there is sufficient i>rofit from the charges made to permit a division of the business between two companies, and yet yield any return to the parties trans- "diCting it, or jiay interest on the caiiital invested in the 'liroperty used for the i)urposef It should be borne in mflid, too, that this rate enforced by the British Govern- -itfiewt is confined to short distances, in densely i)opulated ftisti'iCtN, with a ri^d ttionopolt of the vast business ttahiiitctt^d, without) a dollar of interest being paid ui)on tiife'eiiorrinious accuwulatiohs of capital represented in the ! I 13 property used, and yet resulting for years ia lar^ye deftclen- cies. If this is the condition of things in Great, LritM-vB, how is it possible that in Canada two great telegraph com- panies can thrive on a business extending over distanc^es aveniging three times greater than those in Knland, with salaries, material, and labor, much higher, and a traffic of insignificant volume I Supposing the i >ritish Post < office Department to be a separate organization, dependent for its existence on general business. What would be thought of the British Government if, after making a contract with it for the transaction of all public telegraph business, at a rate which barely paid expenses, they had permitted the London & Korth Western Railway Company to erect tele- graph lines, not only along its own roads, but all over the country, and subsidized it to the extent of millions, with a view ot enabling it to com[)ete with the Post' »ttice, seriously embarrassing the latter and rendering it unable to pay its expenses? Yet such is the attitude which telegraph matters in Canada are rapidly assuming. Aside from the common fate which has overtaken competitive telegraphy, even without re>triction in rates, it is impossible to con- ceive of any other fate in store for the weaker of the two telegraph comjianies than that of annihilation, except it be absorption. Of course in this strugglcj the Canac^U^ji Paciilc Telegraph will be the stronger of the two, and, backed as it is by Government subsidies, and in receipt of enormous revenues irom freight and i>assengers, it. can practically afibrd for some time to do the business ibr next to nothing. Having no inteiest to pay, as other companies have, to the owners of telegraph property, having thiB ^<J- vantage of merging the telegraph expenses with t^iose of the railwa}^, and being relieved ftpm all taxHtioii, lo<^l !! 14 and otlierwise, it i» a foregone conclusion that companies without th^e advantages must succumbs With this ])ros- pect in view, the Canadian Pacific Telegraph -will be in sole and supreme control of the telegraphic business of the Dominion. It is unnecessary that reference be made to the consequences— political, commercial, and social — that would follow such a control. 'J hat such a possibility — nay, a pr<»bability — should exist, will in some minds be regarded as tlie motive which causes these powers to be so tena- ciously adhered to, rather than for a compensating profit in a small business which, when divided, can possibly yield so slight a return to so great a comiiany. '■,»"■ "'■ If it had been the deliberate intention of I'arliament to place this second means of communication solely in the han<ls of a railway company, and that largely subsidized by Governtuent, no more efficient aclion could have been devised to accomplish that result. If it had been the in- tention of Parliament, first, to encourage, by legislation and other methods, the investment by thousands of inno- cent sharehohlers of their means in telegrajdi property, and by recent favorable action permitted consolidation tor the sake of self- protection, and then it had conceived the idea of destroying all these varied interests, no more effective method could have been taken than that now being i>ermitted to grow up. Under such circumstances, with ai>prehensioiis so serious, we trust you will forgive us for i)ressing ujmn you the necessity for some definite and immediate action, either by Government or by Par- liament, that we may not be left entirely at the mercy of events, which will be shaped and moulded to suit the purposes of individuals, whose intentions are certainly very inimical to the interests we represent, and eventually to the public generally. u^ 15 We venture again to urge all this upon you, because of the vast importance of these interests, and to beg that you will stiJl adhere to your original purpose, to protect from practical confiscation the investment of the thousand shareholders in telegraph property, now so dependent upon your action. The fact that among this number there is a larger proportion than in any other share list in the country, of trust estates, widows, and orphans, must be an excuse for our importunity. The cry of these widows and orphans will not be in vain, even if it has to penetrate beyond the seas j but that it will have a response nearer home we Ivive an assurance from you which we cannot doubt. Having done so much to create (he power which thus threatens this property, we must rely upon you for its control, and to see to it that these threats are not carried out, as, judging from the tone of recent utterances on behalf of the Kailway Company, they seem likely to be. ^ JOHN CRAWFORD, On behalf of the Montreal Telegraph Company. ERASTUS WIMAN, President Great North Westei^n Telegraph Co. of Candda. t , iM