The New York herald., 1870-03-29
AUTOMATIC TELEGRAPH SYSTEM
Little's Invention and the Western Union
Telegraph Company.

TO rnB EDITOR or THE HgRsLD;- 4
The editor Of the official organ OF the Western
Union Telegraph Company. winch is issued from the
executive rooms OF the great hJdra-headed monop-
oily continues 10 evince great deal OF uuhappiness
ana s0me uncalled for Ill nature because you have
kindly permitted me to expose through the HERALD
the shallow and baseess attempts OF the executive
oiicers and the understrappers OF that company 10
prevent the introduction OF one OF the greatest tn
ventions OF the world with the single exception OF
the printing press for disseminating knowledge.
Tho editor OF the OMctd Journal In the last issue
OF that mendacous sheet, does entirely too much
honor IN writing TO the public about "craigs AuLo
matlc Telegraph" 1 only wish | possessed the
genius and scientific knowledge to produce an IN.
veniion possessing the merits OF Mr.. Lilte's auto.
matic telegraph motor ana composing tablet, which
are destined, beyond the shadow OF doubt In my
mind. 10 work complete revolution In the tele-
graph ana also in the postal business Of the country
The Journal charges thar | have seized upon
certain features OF old system OF telegraphy long
since commended BY the editor, and brushed up to
accomplish my "reyenges anu make money! This
IL but another form Of the assertion SO constantly
reiterated In the Journal during the past few
months, the cue having been given TO the editor
In the last annual report OF the president the
pany to his stockholders, 10 the eject that The Little
automatic telegraph inventions were nothing new
ana nothing more than had been thoroughly tested
by the Western Union Company and its predeces-
sors and had IN The language OF the president boen
found TO be utterly valueess either In competition
or IN connection with the Morse hand-Key system.
lhe president asserted, and his literary tools and
poke stlcks' have reasserted in every conceivable
form. otcialy and unofficialiy boldly ike men OF
prlncipie and In mean insinuaIlng way, ike
penny.ainers or true soldiers OF fortune Us they
]. That the Western Union Company owns all the
automatic telegraph machinery IN the country.
q That the company had given 1t all a .'long,
thorough aud expensive trial. and found u utterly
worthless
be worked upon wire strung upon poes with other
wires.
q. That Its transmitting speed does not exceed that
Oh the Morse hand Key, except upon short circuits
D. lhat It Is especially united for press reporting
because only one station can receive at the same
tip,e with several other statements or alleged facts
Of less importance.
To this long bill Of indictment reply
l. The western linton Company does not own any
system OF automatic teegraphy whatever. The
company did agree 10 purchase The baln- nummas.
ton invention, bat protesting nd out before pay
ing the money, that the patcntees had pamed or
upon them worthless invention they are now try
ing to fnd legal means to eyade the performance OF
contract hlch they eXecuted with their eyes wide
open.
2. The company have not given the Balm. HumInas-
ton or any other system OF automatic telegrapby
"lonX. thorough and expensive triai,r for
the reason, among Others, that the company have
for any trial OF that KIND to enable any man
OF tho least particle OF practical teegra phi Judgment
the Western Union Telegraph Company have made
"ong, thorough and expensive trials" OF any au-
tomato machinery they have ever had the control
OF they must be Set down greater lgnorulnuse3
than bad supposed them to be.
8. Tne Little automatic machines have been
worked without the ieast dinicuty over one ana
iour wires strung upon poles bearing TOUR rve
otner wires, worked by other systems, during fair
dry weather aud during heavy tnunder and raln
storm.
4. The tests actually made OF the Little automatic
telegraph machines, IN single circuit OF over
| 1900 miles, proved cOnClusveiy that we
could transmit steadily throughout the day, IN
tnat circuit, over 200 words per minute, or
| or the HERALD); whie there IL authentic testl-
mony to prove that the average rate OF speed OF
| lug the day does not exceed eleven to fourteen
words per minute. or seven to eight hundred words
"a @ ns sn s 6 % e1%
| In direct circuits, except under very circum-
| distance tnsn about 800 miles, ana wholly npossi
bic for them To DE worked over 500 miles without
tards the writing TO such an extent that should
eight or ten repeaters be useu, rs would neces-
sary to enable the Morse machines 10 be worked
| through wire 1000 miles IN length, the hlgnest
| rate OF speed that could be hoped for would not
exceed 400 or 500 words per hour, day by day.
8. Twenty years OF unequailed press reporting
and an intimate personal knowledge OF all the ma
chnery Of a newspaper, a. printer, publisher and
reporter, and also or the business or t0legraphy as
operator builder aud owner oi lines ana speaKina
| with full practical knowledge OF the Little auto
matte system, say, without hesitation or equlyoca-
tiOn--
j. Tnas by the Little automatic system OF tele-
grapny one or one thousand stations can be served
simultaneously over one wire one hundred or one or
two thousand miles In length.
2. We can transmit by our new system one days
proceedings OF C0nKreSS-say L., 900 words, or I've
| columns OF the HERALD--to every town, rain or
shine and into every editorial room IN every town,
connected by slngie wire from washington 70 Bos.
and ST. LOUIS, and duplicate II every hour OF q
month, and all this can be done with the services OF
one girl In eacn office where the report required
to be dropped. This same service could not be per-
formed BY the Morse or any other system known to
the managers or the western Union Company or the
grinder OF It's hand organ by the aid OF twenty wires
and twenty high salaricd operators at Washington,
and the same or more at every station or editorial
room where the report mlghS be required 10 be
dropped. In other words with new automatic
system ana with the services OF ono gIrl Wash
York, Boston, Buffalo, Cincinnati, Chicago and st.
Louis land to as many intermediate stations may
he desired) az much newspaper report be
transmitted by twenty high aaareu Morse operators
| and twenty wires, the same number Of operators
beng also required at every report station on the
whole llne
3. The advantages az to speed OF the Little
automatic system as compared with the Morse sys-
TEN for press reporting snort circuits Is
| twelve and long circuits, with many drop sta
ions, TO fifteen or twenty. In this statement
discard the preparation composing OF the report
and also copying 1t out with pen ut the several
! drop s;atIons-nrst, because as the reporter can
prepare or compose his report with one OF our
he can compose with pen, IL Ii not doubted that
editors VIII instruct their reporters TO thus prepare
their reports and thereby do nineteen wenteths OF
the actual work OF telegraphlng and saving ifty
| to seventy-iye per cent OF the expenses Of
| telegrapmng; and secondly, discard the copying
with pen At the several stations editorial rooms
Tor the that t0rs and compositors may and
no doubt will prefer TO take report IN the telegraph
characters It comes from the automatic machines
and thereby save valuable time and the expense OF
| copying which Will be wholly unnecessary, our
machines deliver the report In plain black cnarsc-
iers, the reading OF which may DC learned by any
person OF ordinary intelligence In from two 20 four
hours time, and with very small amount OF daily
4 practice ne can read writing well as the best
! OF ordinary manuscript THIS IS entirely practca-
| graph cnaracters-dots, dashes ana spaces
| are always made with unerring regularity
and exactncss. which ~ quite impossible
by the Morse hand key enbossina processes. Bur
should editors prefer 10 have us prepare compose
their reports adapt them 10 process OF trans
| mission, and should they also prefer 10 have the
same delivered To them IN manuscript, the advan-
fages TO expense or our Little automatic system,
az compared with the Morse system, would be as