The Manitowoc pilot. [volume] (Manitowoc, Wis.) 1859-1932, 1881-12-22
THE TELEGRAPH.
FAMILY ANNOUNCEMENTS, LOVE LETTERS,
AND FRIENDLY CHAT By THE WIRES.

"One queer telegram that / remem-
ber," said the Western Union Telegraph
Superintendent, "was this: John Henry
arrived by l A. NJ. train. Baggage in
good condition. Weight. eight pounds.
Queer messages pass through our hands
continually, but we dc not often recollect
their contents. A message may cause a
smile at the time, but is sent and then
forgotten. Operators do their work me-
chanically. The words are licked off at
their finger ends, and are forgotten at
once
"Do you ever get regular social letters
for telegraphic transmission"
"Tbat has become matter of frequent
daily occurrence, and often they come to
us in regular -epistolary shape, beginning
with Dear sir and ending with Yours
truly Of course the telegraph company
is quite willing to adhere to epistolary
forms, for they make 80 many more
words to charge for. Some time ago we
had a regular, downright love letter by
telegraph. It was from some fellow
travelling in the South-a drummer,
guess-to his sweetheart at home, and it
began with MY Darling Lizzie, and
went on to say that this would show to
her how fervently and devotedly he low
ed her when he could not even wait for
the mail to tell her how she was in his
thoughts night and day, and SO on for
several hundred words. g That sort of
thing is unusual, of course. If it was a
regular way of lovers, we might find our
selves called into court occasionally as
witnesses in breach of promise cases, be-
cause the originals of the letters are in
our custody"
Ullman- Meyer case?"
"No, said the Superintendent, laugh
ing. But Hebrews, as a class, use the
telegraph for social purposes more large
ly than any other people. 1t is a COM
mon thing for us to send out telegraphic
announcements of betrothaI, and get a
flood of congratulatory kilograms in re-
ply. Telegraphic birthday congratula-
tions are also of frequent occurrence, and
the Purim festival also brings out crop
of kilograms between friends and rela-
tives. Sometimes message will simply
read, 4 drink your health We get such
even for cable transmission.
''The use of the telegraph for social
purposes has become very large, how
ever, among people generally" the tele-
graph man went on. cit constitutes
about 40 ror cont. of our domestic busi-
ness, and about per cent. of our cable
business. Most of our half-rate night
messages are of that character. How is
Ida this morning2' man will ask his
relative in some other city. Every day
telegraphic queries of similar nature go
across the ocean. The telegraph brings
people into one community, and, aside
from the expense, there is no more
trouble in making such inquiries than in
sending around to neighbor's house to
| find out how sick friend is getting
along. Sometimes man visiting here
on business will send short letter to his
wife by telegraph every night. Want of
form and ceremony is excusable in tele-
graph messages, and busy men to whom
the expense is no consideration are get
ting more and more in the habit of pre-
ferring the telegraph to mails, even when
there is no necessity in the world for
such expedition. Fellows who come to
town on larks sometimes can't wait till
they get home to tell their comrades of
the good times they are having. Their
messages have high flavor at times. but
we rarely make any objections. Even
profanity goes by wire sometimes.
"Since the Introduction of cipher codes
the amount of business correspondence
transferred from the mails to the wires
is very great. About 60 per cent. of our
business kilograms are now in cipher,
and by means of the codes in use great
deal can be condensed into little.
| Where business man used to send by
mail he will now write cipher letter to
go at half rates at night. He can write
at the close of one day. business and the
telegraph puts his letter to his cores
pondent's desk before business hours of
the next day. In fact, the transfer to the
telegraph of matter that used to go by
mail has been so great since the adoption
of the 'half-rate night system six or seven
years ago that the amount of business
increases faster than facilities can be pro
vided. Business kilograms fuctuate il
quantity from day to day, but taking the
year by seasons, the amount of work re-
mains pretty steady. But in summer,
when people are travelling about for
pleasure, the increase of social commune
cation is tremendous. We have to in
crease our staff of operators along the
coast watering places fully twenty per
cent. Lots of little offices are opened
that there is no demand for in the winter
months. People send gossip, love, con-
gfatulations, regrets, jokes, condolences.
appeals and money by telegraph.
A LITTLE boy remarked, 81 like grand
pa because he is such a gentlemanly
man; he always tells me to help myself