Cleveland daily leader. [volume] ([Cleveland, Ohio]) 1865-1873, 1866-08-11
OUR CHICAGO LETTER.
More about OttaWa-GOssip about Tel
egraphy-The Grain Trade-Irish-
men in OttaWa-CriminaI Items.

: More about OtGawa-6sOssip about Tel
egraphy-The Grain Trade-Irish
men in OttaWa-CriminaI Items.
Especial Correspondence OF the Cleveland LEADER.
MORE ABOUT OTTAWA.
CHICAGO, August 7, 1866.
Next to the Starch Factory in interest
is the shop of the Illinois and Mississippi
Telegraph Company, where telegraphic
instruments, insulators and kindred fix
lures are made. Although not SO extern
sive in its proportions as it might be, there
is but one larger establishment of the kind
in the country.
The Company established the factory
Tor the use of its own service, but manu-
factures largely for other lines as we'll
The machinery is very delicate and of the
latest patterns, and the work turned out is
worthy of the highest praise. The most
interesting process shown Us was the in
sulatiOn of very fine wire by covering it
with silk thread. The work is done with
almost infsllable accuracy, with great deli
cacy and with very great rapidity. The
army pocket instruments were exhibited,
the smaller of which were especially beau
tiful. Packed in hard rubber box about
the size of an ordinary snuff box the
operator carries with him the equivalent
of the entire fixtures of an ordinary office,
batteries and all, and has only to tie his
connecting wire to any line at any point,
and open communication with San Fran
cisco or London at once.
The wooden shields nowused to protect
the glass-knob insulators are in consider |
able demand, and are manufactured and |
shipped by the cord Before the intro |
duction of these shields the company |
found it necessary to replace on its own |
lines twenty thousand knobs year, bro |
ken chiefly by boys and men who loved |
such targets 'not wisely but too we'll"
The defects of the Morse alphabet were |
alluded to in our conversation with the |
foreman, who related an illustrative in
cident deeply impressed upon the memo
ries of the Directors. A new York mer-
chant had ordered Of a Chicago cor. es-
pondent large shipment of flour. The |
correspondent telegraphed the purchaser,
allow shall 1 send it ?" and the purchaser
answered, "Send by sail"-meaning,
"Send by the lakes" In the Morse al
phabet the letter is represented by three
dots, the first of which is separated by
Sights space from the two following-thus
-. 1t should be remembered that the i'm
proved practice of telegraphers is to read
messages arriving by sound, instead of de-
pending on the indexed paper as former
ly. Tie closest attention Is necessary to
detect by the ear the very slight in
terval which alone distinguishes .. from
.. The receiving operator in this in
stance did not detect the interval, and
thought he was receiving ..-, which is not
the symbol for s. but thesymbOl for r, and
so wrote out as the order from New York,
"Send by rail-" The difference in the
freight bill when the flour arrived was of
course appalling, and the telegraph COM
pany were compelled to make the pur-
chase good.
Another instance noted was the some
what unusual word eyy-ie. This word oc-
CURED in dispatch recently received at
the Chicago office, and, although correctly
|
were found susceptible of SO many per-
mutations of combination, that not an
operator in the office, it is said cnuld de
cipher it. The House Printing telegraph, |
whose messages are all as plain as any
other printed matter, would have long
since superseded the Morse lines, if its
machinery ha0 not been so delicate and
complex. Very few operators are more
e, ! /
when House instrument is out of order,
if merely slightly unadjusted, only ingen-
ious and delicate-fngered men can get it
right again.
The Illinois..and Mississippi Telegraph
Company is a vigorous and prosperous
corporation. Its capital stock is nearly
81, 900, 900, the majority of which, has
from its organization been owned by its
President, Hon. J. d. Cation, for nearly a
generation the Chief Justice of the Su-
preme Court of Illinois. The company
now operates ten thousand miles of its
own wire, extending through Illinois,
Iowa and Missouri, north of the Missouri
river. The residence of Judge Cation and
the headquarters of the company are at
Ottawa, he immediate executive control
being in the hands of the Secretary, F. d.
Gather, Esq. The working superintend-
ent is located at Chicago. The lines are
doing a very large and profitable busi-
ness.
THE GRAIN TRADE
OF Ottawa is one of its chief features
From the friendly collector of the (canal)
port learn that the shipments of corn
this season would not fall short of three
millions of bushels, if the canal should be
kept open as usual until December LIST.
In 1861 and 1862 the aggregates fell but
$50, 900 bushels short of this amount. The
collector aas been kind enough to prepare
and send mo since my return COMPARE
tive table which win be of interest to far
mers and grain merchants.
Statement of Grain cleared at the Ca
nal office, Ottawa, La Sale Co, Ill, upon
the Illinois and Michigan Canal, for the
years $50 to 1865, inclusive, and from lst