New-York tribune., 1880-02-14
LOCAL MISCELLANY.
NEW RULES FOR CODE MESSAGES.

NEW RULES FOR CODE MESSAuho'
sxRIous INJURY TO coMMERcE-PRorosEDA ACIios
OF The PRODUCE EXCHANGE.
The Committee on Trade OF the Produce EA-
change which has been considering protest
.na;nst the new rules of the Western Union Tele-
graph Company for the government OF code mes
sagesr to take effect April l. reported to the Board OF
Managers Yesterday. The Objectionable portions OF
the rules are "The maximum length of charge
able word will be fixed at ten letters. Should
word contain more than ten letters, every Ten OF
fraction of ten letters will be counted as word
"Code messages must be composed OF words ID the
English, French German, Spanish itahan Du'ch
Portuguese or Latin languages. Proper names u. g."
names of persons and places will not be allowed Ill
the text of code messages except in the manner
they are use in ordinary messages" Inc ehecV Va
these rules it is claimed, will be to entail large
amount of labor and expense upon the commeIcl"i
classes and the time being too short for the eX
change of codes. merchants are threateneu mlcn m
an interruption of their regular code-corTespondehce
TO the great detriment of their interests. a.,
The committee called Oh the managers OF the
Western Union Telegraph Company ana was III
formed that the new regulations had been commu-
nicated to them by the Anglo-American Company
nv a c,rcnlsr dated London January II; that they
demonstrated and requested the withdrawal OF the
rules that the Anglo American Company, noweyer'
in reply stated that il was Impossible 10 recohslder
modify or postpone the rules o. -
owners OF the lduO lines IHIOuRH
and the private companies owning the cable lines
TO other countries than the United States, have
united i'm common organization for the purpose Oh
establishing rules governing the interchange OF
messages, and binding upon the melnbers oil tnelr
union. These rules are fix6 and modh fled at Inter
national Conventions of delegates from the re-
spective Governments and companies, held ONLY
once every three years and there Is no organization
IN existence for altering the rules once adopted dur
ing the recess between those trlennla conventions
The Anglo-American Company, not being mem
ber of this union, has no voice III the making OF us
rnles and nominally is bound to submit to them
only so far as the forwarding and delivery or ITS
messages are concerned. Practically, however all
Ills business as well the business of the Direct
Gable Company and of the new French. cable is
subject to these rules since all its connections, IN
cluding even the English land lines, are under the
control OF the union.
The rules under consideration were adopted
August /. 1879 by the International Conventlon
then held in London. The Anglo American Com
pany is supposed to have assented to them ABOUT
that time, but, for reasons not known on TINS sde
failed to promulgate them until last January.
The report recommended resolution that the
Produce Exchange "strOngly condemns the arbl-
trarv and oppressive action of the European Gov
erunents and private companies having control OF
our cable connections in establishing new and un-
necessary rules for the government of our code-cor
respondence thereby iufllctipg great hardship and
expense on the commerce of the wOrld and that
this Exchange also blames the AnglO-American
Telegraph Company for the delay in the pr0mul ga
tion of their rules whereby the said injury has
been aggravated"