The Forest Republican. [volume] (Tionesta, Pa.) 1869-1952, 1882-09-27
COndensing q Telegram.


There was a big smash on the rail
road at Dallas Center, Iowa. To an
nounce his escape from horrible death
one of the passengers, tall man with
a thin neck, handed the telegraph ope-
rator the following message:
MRS SARAH H. FoLLNsBBE, DALLAS CENTER,
lowA.-My Dear Wife: l left the city early this
morning, after eating breakfast with Professor
Morton, live man in the temperance cause. ex-
pected to cat dinner with you at home. But we
were delayed by terrible railroad accident on the
nasseSvsr was terribly msngIed and has since died
but am alive. The conductor says l cannot make
connection so as to come to Dallas Center this
morning, but can get there by o'clock this even
Ing. hate to disappont you, but cannot help it.
With love for mother and the children, am your
loving husband, RoeER K. FoLLINsBEE.
The operator read it, smiled, and
said: You can save considerable eX-
pense and tell all that is really neces-
sary, presume, by shortening this
message down to ten words. We have
no wire directly into Dallas, and will
have to send this message part of the
way over another line, which adds
largely to the cost of transmission.
Shall shorten this for youp"
"No, oh, no." the man with the
shawl replied, "Ill fix it myself"
The tall man with the short panta-
looms went back to the desk with
his message. 1t was a sumner, for
fact, and the man heaved a de-
spairing sigh as he prepared to boil his
"letter" down to ten words. He
sighed again after reading it through
once or twice, and then scratched out
"Dallas Center, Iowa." as though
everybody knew where he lived. Then
he erased early" and drew his pen
slowly through breakfast with " and
"in the temperance" Then he
scratched over dinner WITH" and
went on to erase and narrowly es-
capped" And so he went ON through
the dispatch. Occasionally he would
hold it from him at arms length, after
making an erasure, to get at the gen.
eral effect. And at last, after much
scratching and erasing and with many
sighs, he came to the window and said
:" Here is this telegraphic dispatch tC
my wife. have not been able to con,
dense it into ten words, and do not see
how it can be done without garbling
the sense of tl- dispatch, but if yoI
can do it you will oblige me greatly, a:
/ do not wish to incur any really un
necessary expense"
And with that he handed the opera
tor the following expunged edition O.
his original message:
MRS. SARAH II. FoLLINsBEE-My Dear Wife
left the city-this morning after eating-Professo
Morton alYe-cause expected to eat-you a
home WEI VVpr aValh hv
accident on the railroad I-6eng killed-terribl
mangled and since died; the conductor-canpo
Dallas Center-but can.-I hate-mother an
children. ROGER X. FoLLINsBRE.
The operator smiled once more, an,
in his quick, nervous way that grow
out of his familiar association wit
the lightning, made a few quic
dashes with his pencil, and withou
adding or changing letter in tn
original message, shriYeled it down t
its very sinews, like this:
sARAn H. FoLIINsREE-Dallas Center, Iowa
Lett city smorning delayed by accident: hon
seVenng. ROGER X. FoLLINsBRE
"There, that is all right" he said, i
the CHEEKY, magnetic way these oper;
tors have. FIFTY cents, sir; onl
twenty-five cents if we had our ow
wire into Dallas, sir; Wen have on
next spring, too; saves you sever;
dollars, sir. That's right, thank you
And the man with the thin neck an
thin hair went and sat down on
chair by the stove, and stared at tn;
operator until the rescuing train can
along as though he was worker
miracles.