The Elk County advocate. [volume] (Ridgway, Pa.) 1868-1883, 1882-08-31
COndenslng a Telegram.

There was big smash on the rail-
road at Dallas Center, Iowa. To an
neunce his escape from horrible death
one OF the passengers, tall man with
thin neck, handed the telegraph ope-
rator the following message:
Mrs SARAH II. Fo1lINsBEr, DALLAS CENTER,
lowA;-My Dear Wife: left the city early this
morning, after eating breakfast with Professor
Morton, live man In the temperance cause. l ex-
pected to eat dinner with you at home. But we
were delayed by terrible railroad accident on the
railroad, and narrewiy escaped being killed: one
passenger was terribly mangled and has since died
but am alive. The conductor says cannot make
morning, but can get there BY O'Clock this even
Ing. hate to dssppoint you, but cannot help 1t.
with love for mother and the children, am your
| loving husband, RoGEn K. FoLLINsBEE.
The operator read it, smiled, and
said: "You can save considerable ex-
pense and tell all that is really neces-
Sary, 1 presume, by shortening this
message down to ten words. Wehave
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 I shorten this for youp"
"No, oh, no." the man with the
shawl replied, "Tn 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 q 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
Gin 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 to
my wife. I have not been able to con-
dense it into ten words, and do not see
how it can be done without garbling
she sense Of the dispatch, but if you
ran do it you will oblige me greatly, as
do not wish to incur any really un-
necessary expense"
And with that he handed the opera
tor the following expunged edition of
his original message:
Mrs SARAH Il. FoLLINsBEE-My Dear Wife
EFT the city-this morning after eating-Profcssor
Morton ave-cause l expected to eat-you at
home. DELAYED n terrible
pccident the railroad. I--being killed-terribly
hanged and since died; the conductor--cannot
Dallas Center-but I can.-I hate-mother and
children. ROGER x. FoLIINsBEE.
The operator smiled once more, and
in his quick, nervous way that grows
but of his familiar association with
the lightning, made a few quick
dashes with his pencil, and without
adding or changing a letter in the
original message, shriveled it down to
its very sinews, like this:
SARAH H. FoIIINsREE--Dallas Center, Iowa
Left city 'smorning; delayed by aecident home
'seyening. ROGER K. FoLL1NsBEE.
There, that is all right" he said, in
the CHEEKY, magnetic way these opera
tors have. Fifty cents, sir; only
twenty-five cents if we had our own
wire into Dallas, sir; we'll have one
next spring, too; saves you several
dollars, sir. That's right, thank you"
And the man with the thin neck and
hin hair went and sat down on a
hair by the stove, and stared at that
operator until the rescuing train came
dong as though he was worker Of
miracles.