John McLean

“ It was in the power of the Western Telegraph Company to form connections with other lines, so as to secure uninterrupted communications. But if these precautions have not been observed, and a supposed convenience or dispatch has been deemed a sufficient security for the co-operation of the lines connected with the Western Telegraph Company, and no contract, express or implied, is shown, the complainant is without remedy.
Men, unless legally bound to certain duties, may, from whim or caprice, indulge their supposed interests or resentments with out responsibility. ”

“ Those lines are free to transmit any messages that may be forwarded on them. But the complaint seems to be, that at the points where the operations of the Western Telegraph cease, whether it be east, north, or west, the messages are not forwarded by the Western Telegraph, but they are, by the means used, diverted from those lines, and sent by circuitous routes, or at least by lines of increased length. ”

“ It must be expected that great competition will exist in the transmission of intelligence, where telegraphic lines have been established throughout the country. But it would be difficult to find a remedy for these evils, whether real or supposed, which are not founded on contract. ”