In 1860 the U.S. Congress arranged among the telegraph companies a competition to create a national line. The winner was Western Union. On the market was placed about 765 million of ordinary shares of the company. On the first day trading on the exchange the company's shares rose by 3.3% and the cost was $ 19.96. In the 1910-1920 years. Western Union is actively engaged in researching, innovating in the field of data transmission. In 1884 Western Union has become a joint-stock company and was brought to the stock exchange. The company has entered in the first American stock index Dow Jones.