Telegraph Titans Arrive in Seattle
The presidents of two major telegraph companies visit Portland and Seattle to assess the state of the local systems.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
I.B. Chandler of New York, president of the Postal Telegraph Cable Company, and Henry Howser, president of the Pacific Postal, arrived here Tuesday evening from Portland. The object is to learn precisely the situation of affairs and the relation of the cities with the rest of the world. In speaking of the telegraph system, Mr. Chandler said: 'The march of progress is well to be seen. We are stretching to Seattle and Tacoma, and expect before spring to stretch a line to San Francisco.' Mr. Chandler did not desire to talk in reference to the action of the Northern Pacific Railroad Company denying the Postal Company the right or privilege of erecting its poles and wires along the railroad company's right of way between St. Joe station and Kalama, but stated the Postal Company was not looking for trouble with any company or corporation, and did not intend to fight, but was going right along with the construction of its telegraph line just as rapidly as possible until the Pacific is reached.
“The march of progress is well to be seen.”
In 1886, control over the telegraph lines represented the 'high speed' internet of its day. The corporate tension between these new companies and the established railroad monopolies parallels modern conflicts over broadband access and digital infrastructure.
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