Salt Lake evening Democrat. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1885-1887, 1885-10-10

pointed to a pile Of books on his desk and
remarked that they were the cipher sys-
TENS OF various corresponding banks, and
that much of the business communication
between banks is being done by cipher.
Banks generally get up a separate system
for each bank with which they deal ex-
tensiyely. The cipher books are carefully
guarded in the banks vault, and even
the code orders are verified back and forth
by other code words, systematized for the
purpose, before a transaction involving
much money is contaminated. Some
houses have foreign connections, and the
steamship companies use very elaborate
and extensive cipher systems. In such
systems, over cipher word column, it
may read: "Can you secure-bundles of
hides and find room for the same on the
next steamer? If SO, telegraph us rates and
particulars" At one side of the column
of cipher words will be found column
OF figures running from one up into thous-
ands. The figures indicate the number
of bundles or quantity, and the entire ex-
preston quoted above, together with the
number of bundles referred to, may
read simply, "Bones." If the message
Bones" is sent from New York City to
Melbourne, Australia, by the way of the
Eastern route, it will be 13, forty cents
being charged per worldly the Atlantic
cables, and $3.50 per word by the East
ern or Indo lines. Written out in full
the original twenty-four words would cost
$72.
The Atlantic cables are more liberal in
their treatment of ciphers than the land
companies. The cables confne word
to ten letters generally, but accept Of
three cipher letters, whether they make
sense or otherwise. That is, rxy or zbq
pass as single word. Three figures also
count as word, but when figures and
letters are mixed, as, for instance, 6qk,
or g5m, each letter and figure is charged
for as distinct word. This is done to
prevent too great a liberty being taken
with cable dispatches. Nearly all civil
lied nations, including China and Japan
and the nations of South America, per-
NIT messages to be sent and received in
cipher. Russia and her dependencies
are the exceptions. kilograms to or from
Russia, Bosnia, Bulgaria, Servia, Rou-
mania, Montenegro, Herzegovina and
Siberian points must be in open language,
that the censors of the wires may read
and investigate them at their leisure.
The most expensive all-wire message
sent from New York City is one to some
of the interior South American towns.
They cost by direct cable and by the way
of the Eastern $500 per word. To go by
the coast lines and cables saves consider
able on this rate, but when these lines
are out of order the message has to take
a transatlantic trip. But message can
be sent to distant Bosnia or Servia for
only 81 cents per word, 40 cents of which
is claimed by the cable companies. To
reach Japan costs about 1910 per word
and China the same amount. Khartoum
can be reached at 95 cents. Turkey at
81 via Malta, or 81 cents via France.
Messages to the various South American
countries run from $1.40 to So. Siam can
be reached for $3.50 per word, and ST..
Petersburg for So cents.
In view of the figures given it will be
easily understood why the commercial
world takes kindly to the cipher system.
-Neau York San.