The New York herald., 1870-03-08
AUTOMATIC TELEGRAPKY.


pany. acting In spirit characteristic OF the NAH
ayers Of the company he serves declines to permit
me to reply, through the Journal to HIS Dasetess
statements and insinuations OF last week against
the Little automatic telegraph system must again
frespass upon your kindness and beg you to allow
my reply to appear IN the HERALD.
The deluded stockholders or the western Union
Company have reason TO congratulate themselves IN
the factwhlch Is being developed IN various direc-
tons and through various agences-that . ray OF
light begins TO lluInine the path OF the benlghted
managers OF that concern, and should not be sur.
prlsed to learn soon that even the distinguish ed
literary and scientific mentor OF the company was
extollng TO the skies some ola system OF automatic
telegraphy owned by the company, aud we may
rely upon ms ready pen and fast" testimony to
prove through endless columns OF the "facial
Journal that there Is nothing good In telegrapny ex-
cept the said antquated automatic machinery.
A few months ago we we're told By the President Of
the Western Union Company In his annual report to
his stockholders That the company had thoroughly
tested the automatic telegraph systems. and had dis
carded them - "totaly impractlcable," and were
with great positivcness that automatic tee-
graphy could not be "proftably employed either In
connection or in competltionn with the Morse hand
key system. Now however, the editor Of the oicla
Journal acting under inspiration from his chief who
has improved recent foreign travel to pick up few
disjointed facts in relation to automatic elegraphy
admits that our Little automatic system has "value"
and that 'there are times when, by the accnmula.
ton of business, 1t could be utilized to advantage"
There Ia not the least doubt OF It, Mr.. Editor OF the
0fcial Journal; and since You have began brave
ly-thougn quite too tardilvt0 confess your sins,
cherish the hope that even the executive officers Of
lhe great monopoly may not be altogether past pray
ing for.
In this connection and to trace the source OF the
new light now Just beginning to flicker through tie
dark or the executive rooms OF the Western
Union Company, II may not be amiss to quote the
following from recent 0f1cal publication OF the
government director OF the telegraph at London
AFTER enumerating the various systems Of teegraphy
to be used upon the government lines, he says:-
Wheatstone's automatic and Hughes type.print-
Ing instrument Will be IN use at none but offices Of
the 1rst class, and those chiefly used for general
transmission VIII be the single needle, the bell and
the Morse.
Now, when 1t is considered that the English gov
ernment have determined to use the Wheatstone
automatic system in their '1rst classn Offices, and
rate 1t first Hughes second, and Morse after the slow
ana antiquated 'single needle" and "bel systems J
y not to be wondered tnas the President Of the West
ern Union Company and the grinder OF his Official
hand organ, should begin to "hedgo;' and II The
company can ind any way to escape paying the
$4,000 due on the Baln-HummastOn automatic
apology, have no doubt they Will yet bring 1t out
aud claim for 1t all the wonderful qualities when
their scientific mentor discovered IN 1t ten or fifteen
years ago when he declared tnat IL was capable OF
teegraphng al the rate OF about 20, 600 words per
hour or some twenty-five times faster than is Oro-
narlly done by the Morse hand key system. The fact
tnat this brilliant gentleman, mas since proved
to his own satisfaction aud the degut OF the
that II lS impossible TO telegraph by automatic
machinery through long lines at any greater
cnoah fhun Rnn hp hU ia ore Al
ten words per minute, In circuits OF 1000 miles
may be little embarrassing to him. but genius Of
his stamp, VINO has publicly proved that good
telegraph line can be Dult tor sixty dollars per mile
and that 1t cannot be built for less than $500 per
mile; who has proved that by the Bain-Hummaston
automatic system 500 words DC transmitted per
nour single wire, ana with equal clearness has
proved that not over ten words per hour can be ee
grapned BY that or any other system IN circuits Of
1000 mies-such genius. ! say, may be safely
srusued to lit himself and mis- employers out OF any
possible difculrics arising from of1clal un0nci&l
statements designed to mlsead stockholders, the
press or the pubic.
As the Wneatstonc automatic system stands at the
head Of all the various systems Of telegraphy in
England, IL may be interesting 10 the uIfiniuated to
explain that the composition OF messages for trans
an expensive and complicated machine OF five
hand keys TWO separate processes are required to
and OF course this makes the operation tas compared
with the Little stylus and tablet composer) SLOW,
tedious and expensive. The Wheatstone telegraph
characters consist 0l TWO rows Of small dots which
are very diicut all times read, and often quite
impossible, even by the besiexp perts. The two rows
lux, working through hoIes ln what Is tecnnica ily
called an Ink trough. Re uses electro mag
and reversed currents operating ON permanent mag
netistn and the unavoidable time required to dis
charge the cectrO-ma2 renders 1t impossible to
attain any considerable rate OF speed above tnat
expert Morse operators on American lines, and
using direct currents. But Wncatstone gains, by
using reverse currents decided advantage over tue
American Morse system, IN working through long
lines and atmospheric dllncuiLies.
by the Little automatic system messages are COM
posed and recorded in regular morse characters
with double the rapidty that possibly be accom-
plished by the W neatatone or any other practica
system OF automatic telegraphy. No error is posoi-
| bic except. through inexcusable careessness, and
| the characters-dots, dasnes ana spaces-be-
ing. unerringy Uniform and correct, black
| aud dlaunct, they are read correctly by
| ali Morse operators. and even Ivy inexperi
enced persons after few hours or days OF attention
to tue formation OF tue characters. In rapldity Oi
transmission OF composed messages the Little sys
tenn Is At least Six to Ten times, or more raster Lhan
the WheaisIone, and rom ten 10 nllesn Times, q
! are very SIMPLE in construction, and not more eA
/ pensiye than the Morse. The Wneatstone and All
| otner successful automatic machinery ~ c0mPii-
Gated and expensive; but Jet knowledge OF the TACT
tnaG The English government had adopSed tfis syS
TEN seems to have mad very modifying influence
upon president aud the 0icia organ 0f the West
ern Union Company.
| The 0ffcial Journal saYs:-nMr Craig CANNOT
convince Us or anybody ESQ tnat it IS easier ol
| simpler TO manipulate any mechanism by winch .
compound letter formed than tue depression OF tn,
House Key" IL tnS very AaZl seulenCc HAS ay luetu
ing, 1t Ia suppose, designed 70 mautain the idei
| inst the House printing Telegraph macnineS art
| superior TO the Little automatic machines. But TIM
Do dodRng the real question In controv ersy
my reply TO tue EDITORS previous article, III wnci
he asserted, IN blind ignorance Of the whole matter
that our AUTOMATIC system for composing messages
required much more mental and physical labor tial
the manipulation or the hand key OF the Morse ~ .
ten dsproved the ridiculous assertion by the state
| mcnt of young lady operative OF four years stAnd
| ing in the Western Union Company, who. AFTER lev
days. practice with our composing tablet, was aoi
! to write in q given time quite as many WORD
! as sue could write with the Morse hand Key, Ant
even with the experience OF only lew days sir wa
satiHed that there required much less oI menta
ana physical effort to manipulate the Little thai
was required to work the Morse hand Key system
| Driven from the only argument which has yes bee.
stated Of any shadow of iorce as against on
| new system, the editor 0f the Off1cial Orgal
now lodges behind the House printing sys
tem OF which it Is suncient to say til
machines cost about $1,000 each, aud requi
first class machiuist operator and an assistant q
work The instrument at sRe rate OF about twentyftv
| words per minute They cannot be roliabiy worke'
In circuits OF over 200 miles, and cannot drop owe
two or three copies Ut way olices. The Little ma
l ehf wf fifteen twenty five dollars