In 1860 the U.S. Congress arranged among the telegraph companies a competition to create a national line. The winner was Western Union. Before transition to remittances Western Union company rendered services on sphere of cable communication. Thanks to cooperation with Western Union the Associated Press at the end of the XIX century took almost monopolistic position in the U.S. market news. Number of active holders of "Golden Card" of Western Union amounted to 9.5 million people worldwide.