The DeSmet leader. (DeSmet, Kingsbury Co., Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1891, 1883-12-29
THE KEY-W0RD TO WEALTH. :
How Telegraph Operator Caught
On to Fortune Disguised In
Armenian,

Louisville Courier-Journal
Later the reporter met an old operator and
was talking about this same matter Of cipher.
- curious man has no right to be tele-
grapher," said he. 1--WE are forbidden to
talk about what passes through our hands,
and il man were to try TO catch the mean
Ing of the queer and mysterious things he
reads he would have no time for business.
remember once when was in Chicago hear
ing some OF tho men talking about n big
strike that one Of the boys made. His name
was John Gilmore, and he is a wealthy New
Yorker now; lives on his money and spends
It like IA lord has his fast trotters, his servants
In livery, his trips abroad, and all that. The
way Gilmore got his money, 40 they say IN
Chicago, and never heard of his CONTRA,
tng it, was this: You are not old enough Z.
remember tho vast speculations ~ the
war produced, when men bet N
the result of a battle by buying bona
or cotton, when princely fortunes were made
in an hour and squanderod in day, when
beggars rose in a month to Monte Christos
and ut the end Of another month were beg
gars again. You can have no conception Of
the fierceness Of speculation; it was something
like the war that was raging. Everything
those days was sublime. Men spcoilated like
gods and robbed each other like epic heroes
The mighty conflict that was raging made
men distrlst everything. Well in thosodays
cipher dispatches were more In vogue than
they are now. Every speculator had sep
arate kind of cipher for his broker, and half
our work was done in this language OF shadows
We knew nothing Of what wo were doing,
whether il were battle won or market
broken whether it was the nation or the stock
market that was paved. The was ut that
time wealthy old specuator in Chicago
named Armstead, of Armstrong, or some such
name as that, who dealt only in cotton and
gold He seemed 70 have some secret source
Of information at Washington, and never
failed 10 profit by every battle, no matter
whether the south or the north came out
visitor. All his dispatches passed through
Gilmores hands, and all Of them were signed
'Spartica.' They were never over dozen
words, These words had "a peculiar sound.
They seemed like a language to Gilmore.
There was nothing Of that hashness of manu-.
factured words about them that one always
sees in English ciphcrs. Gilmore covcrtly
! copied one Of them and took it to learned
friend of his. The gentleman read IL
AMI then said: the words are Armeni
an, but they make no sense. 1t is a mere
| jumble. There is not a word Of il under
stood Gilmore was in a quandary. lie
went back u his table and the next day TO
ceived another telegram from Armstrong
He compared 1t with the copy of his former
message. 1t was precisely the same with
| the exception of one word. He happened Il
! come across friend, who was a sIecuator
and asked him casually about Armstrong
The friend told him that yesterday he hac
bought cotton short, but that day bought II
| long. That was all Gilmore wanted to know
| He consulted his learned friend and learned
from him the Armenian words were for Ions
and short. He knew that the cipher WORD
that had been used on the second day ipus
have boon long, and the previous day short
The fact that the word didn't mean long ir
! Armenian did not trouble him. 1t was tn,
key word to the cipher. BY the word he got
think, six cipher letters, and easily got tn,
balance. lie soon understood what was sale
MS readily as Armstrong did. He mad,
money rapidly. II Is said that on the resul
| Of the battle OF Gettysburg alone he mad
$l50,OO0. Ho knew the result before any on
on change He doesn't speculate now
Come around during the races and I'll Civ,
you some tips" said the old operator; "yo,
know we get all the tips"