The New Orleans bulletin. [volume] (New Orleans [La.]) 1874-1876, 1874-12-31
"TRE DESP0T OF TODAY"

THE !
"THE DESPOT OF TO-DAY"
Under the startling caption ''The Despot
Of To-Day" Old and Ne,e for January devotes
several pages to q review of the marvels of
telegraphy, and the rapid improvement made
In the past few years in the art Of transmitting
messages over the wire and as the science
has now become one of the essential elements
of our modern civilization, it is subject
which must interest every man, woman and
child in the United States.
It is well known that many years ago Ger
man savan discovered that two messages
could be transmitted simultaneously over
the same wire. It was long time before
this wonderful discovery was turned to
practical account, but to an American,
Mr.. Stearns, belongs the credit of hav-
ing overcome the neutral difficulties in
the way, and, both in this country and in
Great Britain, Stearns's duplex instrument is
in use, by which two messages may be sent
in opposite directions more rapidly than one
could be transmitted singly. This was q
grand discovery, and one to which the public
not unnaturally looked as the commencement
of a new era, not in the science Of telegraphy
alone, but in that still more complex science
Of economy. In other words, the long-suffer
ing public, reasoning upon the reduced cost of
transmitting messages, looked to a reduction
in the charges of the telegraph companies,
How they were disappointed is matter Of
history
past six months have developed the astound-
ing fact in natural magic that four messages
can be sent over a single wire as readily as
two, and that through messages and local
ones can be sent without interfering with one
another over the same wire. While, for in
stance, messages are being simultaneously ex-
changed between Boston and New York, two
more can be sent on the same wire between
Boston and Worcester; two between Worces-
ter and Springfield, and two between Spring
field and New Haven or New York, making in
all eight separate and distinct messages cross
ing and recrossing on one wire at the same
moment of time.
The reader is more or less familiar with the
story of telegraphic music. This is no mere
fight of fancy, but an actual fact. If the
waves Of sound proceeding from the human
voice, or some wind or stringed instrument, IS
made to strike upon a resonant surface Ike
the head of q drum, the vibrations may be
made to open and close an electric circuit or
the strings of an instrument may be made to
perform the same service. If the impulses
are received upon the strings OF another in
strument in harmony with the first, the notes
may be transmitted. The notes may represent
the letters of the alphabet, and each operator
can send three times as many messages an
hour as by the ordinary Morse transmltter.
The working capacity Of the line can thus be
enormously increased without interruption.
By Wheatstones automatic instrument, 10000
| words an hour have been transmitted, or over
six solid minion columns of the CHICAGO Trib-
une One column of the Tribune, or 1900
words, has frequently been sent between
Washington and New York in one minute
This seems almost fabulous, but it is fact for
| all that.
In addition to this, messages from Boston
and other Eastern cities to San Francisco are
now transmitted by automatic repeaters, in
stead of operators, saving an enormous sum,
and insuring greater accuracy. Eight years
ago comparatively little use was made OF the
telegraph. Now the business is already great,
and the rush at night has caused the estab-
lishment of half rates. With all these vast
improvements in the apparatus, and the mar
velous developments of the latent powers OF
the telegraph. there has come an enormous
reduction in the cost of transmitting dis
patches, This is matter of course. In 1867,
| It cost the Western Union Telegraph Com
pany 81, OOO,O 600 to send 5000, 600 messages
in 1874, it cost Sc, 755, 600 to send 16 ,OOO
messages-3OOp per cent increase OF business,
with less than 75per centincrease OF expenses.
It would naturally be supposed that the
charges had been lowered in something like
proportion to these wonderful figures, but
unfortunately, though there has been slight
average reduction, the rates from New York
to Pittsburg, Cincinnati, Chicago, New
Haven, Springfield, and other large cities, are
actually higher than they were in 1867. Be-
tween Chicago and New York, for message
of ten words, the sender is taxed 81 25-l24
cents q word. Compare this with the rates
in Great Britain. From Lands End, in Corn.
wall, to Kirkwall, in Scotland, distance Of
700 miles, q Geographic dispatch of twenty
words costs one shilling.
| From Cork, in Ireland, to London, Edln.
burg, Norwich, York, anywhere, the same, a
trife over one cent a word. Ten years ago
the telegraph was more used in the United
States than in any other country in proportion
to population; now rates have been reduced
in Europe and the use Of the telegraph has
increased Experience shows that high rates
limit the growth Of business and increase the
cost, for the expenses increase on each tele.
gram as the number diminishes, while both
at home and abroad it is settled axiom that
whenever the rates have been uniformly re-
duced SO per cent at one time, the business
mas increased lOU per Cent, Willie I0e eAPenSos
have increased but so per cent.
Five-pound buckets peach butter at Nc
Mains's, 572 and 574 Magazine street.
| Fiye-pound buckets currant jelly at Nc
Mains's, 572 and 574 Magazine street.
The Washington correspondent Of thu
New York Herald is responsible for the state
ment that Gen. Hurlbut, one of the Repre-
sentatives in Congress from Illinois, vel
known to the people Of New Orleans, and
who is q member Of the Vicksburg invesh
eating committee, frankly says that it is alb
surd to expect Congress to patrol the South
for it is evident that there will be no end te