Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1885-09-26
TELEGRAPHING nv CIPHERN.
Coed Reasons for ft sometimes.

Coed Reasons fer Il sometimes.
AN ABSOLUTE NECESSITY AMONG BANxxRs,
BROKERS' AND BIG oPERAToRs-soAE COW
ERNAxNTs PROHIBIT CIPHER DIsPATCHH2
From the New York Sun.
Last Tuesday the countenancs OF the opeE.
ator In charge Of . branch office Of the Western
Union Telegraph company, located On Broad
way, ABOVE Canal street, indicated amusement
tmctored with disgust as he surveyed mes
sage neld at arms length. The message was
written on one Of the companys ordinary
blanks, and read:
70 10 sosn nc, Caovaat. 1Srs Elephant cbrrol SAT- Lass
1abggortza. lzaboptxag cxmrtzulyo grmltpaait,
! s,ppy Iscgkpmolb oozkmrabsy, cqmtgdbaim.
In the corner was written, "paid 81" That
was Its unfortunate feature, for it was not the
alphabetic tumble of the message that excited
Office pinned to the disguised dispatch. The
1ote stated that the operator had been charged
$3.50 for the message, and warned him to be
careful In future about accepting cipher dis
Patches at q lower rate than that OF q full word
matter how they were placed; but I'll know
operator, and then added: srh f next atN man ian
English will hear from me-"
The rate to Salt Lake city is 81 for the first
ten words, and seven cents per word in excess
of That number.
"No, we do not accept ten letters for q word,
no matter how they are placed" said an ofacial
to stop that and charge for the letters in cipher
dispatches at word rates. This cipher business
Is troublesome to the operator and makes slow
work. Besides that, mistakes are possible. We
take cipher messages now at rates as stated,
but we do not hold ourselves responsible for
their correct transmission"
"How about code words?"
ANY word to be found in Webster's goes at
regular r rates, whether in message that reads
discEiminate against the cipher"
Us much telegraphing done by secret
Lots of it. Merchants do it to reduce ex-
Penses, and others, from school girls up to the
s Dlg market manipulators, do great amount OF
The use ofcode systems is greatly on the in
crease Some make up their own, but the
majority Of business men have systems spe-
cia!iy printed for them, or make them up out
OF the cipher books, which are to he had of all
commercial stationers.
eran o the OF tine
when asked about cipher systems took the
qGest1Sner 70 the fourth story Of printing
with intensely black eyes was found e cutting
three dictionaries to pieces with a huge pair OF
s shears; The dictionaries were in English,
spanish and German, and the little man cut
long strips of words from them, which he
pasted on paper, and then drew lead pencil
"He is connected with a South American
steamship company, and is preparing copy for
HpneF for his the
dozen Of the books, but the cost win be over
$500. After we strike OF the required number
I ws aoy the do mot
panies guard their secret ciphers man
guards the apple of his eye. 1t would never do
of their codes, or the company would often be
forestalled in the market. We do considerable
cipher work for exporters and importers, and
men in the iron and foreign trade, as we'll as
foi steamship companies, but we never allow
the work, when OF the press, to be seen by any
COMING epea inn % fS are
men of New York. There is great saving of
expense in the use of the wires and less chance
sending fully written dispatches. Some GUS
toners are very secretive about their systems,
and others do not appear to care anything for
concealment. We get up a cipher system on an
interchangeable plan by which not even the
printer of the book can know the meaning of
the code WOrdS'
''Wh hat is the expense?"
Cipher systems, or codes, as they are called,
When they are made to order, cost from $50 up.
when very extensive we make a novelty in
book form. consisting OF a system which be-
comes secretive by the selection OF a number.
body"
At the office of Hatch & Foote, the bankers,
a small cipher book was exhibited to the re-
porter. 1t contained names Of stocks, with
orders to buy or sell, quantities. advice, &C., adj
TO be represented by a word or two.
IT,.
Emmerson. I'VE give the books to our custom
eps: 1t Is a saving of money in telegraphing,
and an easier and more certain way Of commu-
nlcation We have no need of a secretive sys-
tenn IN our general business, though the large
operators use private codes"
This was on inquiry found to be the case, but
any attempt to get a view of the private codes
was regarded as the trick of a stock sharp.
Cashier Quinlan, Of the Chemical bank
marked that they were the cipher systems 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 extensively. The cipher books are
carefully guarded in the banks vault, and even
then code orders are verified back and forth by
other code words, systematiZed for the purpose
before transaction involving much money is
Some houses having foreign connections and
the steamship companies use very elaborate
and extensive cipher systems. In such systems
over a cipher word column. it may read: "CaD
you sscure-bundles of hides and find room
for the same on the next steamer? If SO, teIe-
graph us rates and particulars" At one side of
umn OF figures running from one up into the
thousands. The figures indicate the number of
bundles or quantity, and the entire expression
the message Bones is sent from New York
eastern route, it will cost SO, 40 cents being
charged per word Ey the Atlantic cables, and
500 per word by the Eastern or Indo lines
words would cost $72.
The Atlantic cables are more liberal in their
treatment OF ciphers than the land companies
The cables confine word to ten letters gen.
orally, but accept of three cipher letters.
whether they make sense or otherwise, for q
word. That is, rxy or zbq pass as q single word.
Three hgures also count as a word, but when
figures and letters are mixed, as, for instance 6
ok or 10, each letter and figure is charged
for as a distinct word. This is done to prevent
too great liberty being taken with cable dis
patches: Nearly all civilized nations, including
China and Japan and the nations of south
America, permit messages to be sent and re-
ceived In cipher. Russia and her dependencies
are the exceptions kilograms to or from Rus
sia Bosnia, Bulgaria, Servia, Roumania, Mon
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
$500 per word. To 60 oy the coast lines and
cables saves considerable on this rate, but when
these lines are out of order the message has to
take a transatlantic trip. But a message can be
sent 10 distant Bosnia or Servia for only So
cents per word, 40 cents of which is claimed by
about $40 per word and China the same
amount: khartOum can. be reached at 95
contS. Turkey at 81 via Malta, or 81 cents
via france. Messages to the various South
American countries run from 81. 40 to $3 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 cipher systems.
Hotels In America and ENGLAND.
Fn0m BlackwoOd's Magazine