Mr. STEWART. Mr. President, all the telegraph companies of the country have combined, and have formed a most 0 ressive monopoly. They have now their rig its and their charters. It is very clear that there is no power in Congress to reduce their prices. All the companies which have obtained special privileges from Congress have been'bought up or consolidated, thus creating a vast mo nopoly, which is acknowledged to be oppress ive. The simple question is, is there any rem edy, and if so, what? To reduce the charges every lawyer knows is impossible. They have their contract and their vested rights. The question is, is there any remedy for high prices against a monopoly? I believe but one rein edy has ever been discovered for such acase; and that remedy is competition. The only way to reduce fares upon railroads is to build more railroads. The only way to reduce the charges of tele raph companies is to build more telegraph ines. No more telegraphs can be built across the public domain unless we grant privileges in some way. If we grant special privileges to particular companies they will sellout, as they have done before, and become a part of a mo nopoly. If we grant these privileges to whom gocver will build a line, and these gentlemen in NewYork organize a company, there will be no great object in buying them out; because if they were bought out somebody would organize another company the next day, and so on. So long as you grant special privileges, so long will they continue to buy tiem out; but if it is free to all the world to build telegraph lines, and the present arrangement is a mo nopoly charging high prices, the enterprise of the American people will devise a remedy. The commercial interests of the country, the men who are oppressed b it, will constantly combine to make other lines. There would be no use in buying them out, because another combination could be formed the next day. The business community throughout the entire country is interested in the question. I believe in comctition. There can be no other remedy devised but building other tele graph lines. There is no other way to prevent these companies from scllin out, except by conferring the privilege on a 1 who choose to do so to build these lines. Suppose we had the power, and should grant aspecial privilege to a commny to navigate the ocean between here and lingland. You mightgrunt the same privilege to 100different corporations y name, and they would soon be swallowed into one and become a vast monopoly; but while the ocean remains free companies are constauily organized and competition ‘exists. I say that the privileges that this Government can grant ‘to corporations for the purpose of telegraphing, for the purpose of conveying information, should be as free as the air to competition. Your American Company sold out to your Pacific Company. They would not have bought the American Company if it had not. had special privileges, because otherwise another corn any could have been formed the next day. I we can open the door and make this free, there are commercial interests enough to build the necessary lines of tele graph, and the evil will then cure of itself; It is not true, if we are to be governed by the history of these transactions, that the monop oly will still grow more and more 0 pressive. It will reduce its charges in view of the fact that exorbitant charges increase the liability of the organization of new companies. Pass this bill, and the charges of this monopoly will be reduced tomorrow; or if they remain as they are, the business men of Nt’ York, Bos ton, and every other city will unite to build opposition lines. The very fact that you pass this bill, making this business free, granting no exclusive monopoly to one company, will induce the reduction of the present charges. If the charges remain as they are the people will build more telegraph lines. I believe the mere fact of passing this bill will do good and reduce the charges. If they intend to retain their present monopoly, it must be a museumble monopoly, and they must be reasonable in their charges, because if this company contin ues to oppress the business community that business community has the wealth and enter prise to build more lines. I would not vote for a special privilege to a company of this sort. I am in favor of the amendment offered by the Senfrom Iowa. I think this billwould be of very little use without an amendment to make it free to all; because I believe that if we organized a single company for this purpose, it would sell out to the present monopoly, and thus add probably to the cost of transmitting dispatches. You might grant this privilege to an individual company every year, and still they would sell out before the next year, and probably make money, and the result would be to increase the burdens of the country; but if it is free to all, and we keep it free to all, the laws of trade, and the laws that govern competition, will bring telegraphing within reasonable rates, and that within a reasonable time. The interestsvat stake in this matter are too vast, too important, to allow them to be at the mercy of a single corporation.