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


Last Tuesday the countenance of the
operator in charge of a branch Office of
the Western Union Telegraph Company,
located on Broadway, above Canal street,
indicated amazement tinctured with dis
gust as he surveyed message held mt
arms length. The message was written
on one of the company's ordinary blanks,
and read:
To John Chalfant, Tufts Elephant Cor
rail- Salt Lake City, Utah: Eabggortza,
lzqboptzag, cxmrtzuloy, grmltpaait, lopxxy
zabx, racgkpmolb, oozkmarbty, cqmtgedb-
aim, hiayrtolbc, golzqbazz.
In the corner was written, "paid 81"
That was its unfortunate feature, for it
was not the alphabetic tumble of the
message that excited the operators dis
gust, but note from the main office
pinned to the disguised dispatch. The
note stated that the operator had been
charged $3.50 for the message and warned
him to be careful in future about accept
ing cipher dispatches at lower rate
than that Of full word for each letter.
81 thought ten letters constituted a
word, no matter how they were placed;
but I'll know better hereafter" sorrow-
added: "The next man that comes in
here with a lot of sausage-meat 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 a
word, no matter how they are palced,"
said an official at the company's main
office. eve have had to stop that and
charge for the letters in cipher Dispatches
at word rates. This cipher business is
troublesome to an operator and make slow
work. Besides that, mistakes are posi-
BILE. We take cipher messages at rates
as stated, but we do not hold ourselves
responsible for their correct transmits
sion."
GLOW about the code words?"
"Any word to be found in Webster's
goes at regular rates, whether in message
that reads SO that it is understood or
otherwise. We only discriminate against
the cipher"
"!s mitch telegraphing done by secret
methodist"
"Lots of it. Merchants do it to reduce
expenses, and others, from school girls
up to the big market manipulators, do
great amount of secret telegraphing.
The use OF code systems is greatly on
the increase. Some make up their own,
but the majority of business men have
systems specially printed for them, or
make them up out Of the cipher books,
which are to be had of all commercial
stationers.
Mr.. L. Parke CODY, the Adjutant OF the
Veteran Corps of the Forty-seventh regi-
ment, when asked about cipher systems,
took the questioner to the fourth story OF
printing establishment, where thin,
dark little man, with intensely black eyes
was found cutting three dictionaries to
pieces with huge pair of shears. The
dictionaries were in English, Spanish and
German, and the little man cut long strips
of words from them, which he pasted
OH paper, and then drew lead pencil
lines from the words to written sentences
"He is connected with South Ameri-
can steamship company, and is preparing
a copy for cipher system for his line"
explained the printer. eve will moi
print more than half dozen of the
books, but the cost will be over 5000
After we strike off the required number
of copies We destroy the forms, and dc
not even keep sample for ourselves
You see the companies guard their secret
ciphers as the man guards the apple Of his
eye. II would never do to let rivals OF
interested spectators get hold of theil
codes, or the company would be fore
stalled in the market. We do considera
BILE cipher work for exporters and i'm
porters, and men in the iron and foreign
trade, as well as Craftsmanship companies
but We never allow the work, when of
the press, to be seen by any one except
its owners. Cipher systems are coming
greatly into vogue with the business mel
OF New York. There is great saving o
expense in the use OF the wires and les
chance of misinterpretation and mistake
than when sending fully-writteh dis
patches. Some customers are very
seeretive about their systems, and other
do not appear to care anything for con
eealment. We get up u cipher system OIL
even the printer ofthe book can know tn
meaning of the code words"
"What is the expenseW
"Cipher systems, or codes, as they ar
called, when they are made to order, cos
from $50 up. Some run as high rs $500
. and even more when expensive. w
] make novelty in book form, consistin
of system which becomes secretive b.
the selection of number. Such are sol
NJ stores, and can be used by anybody"
AT the office of Hatch & Foote, til
/ bankers, a snail cipher book was exhih
> tied TO the reporter. II contained name
of stocks, with orders to buy or sell
quantities, advice, etc, all TO be repre-
!. sented by a word or two.
, "There il nothing secretiye about il,
: said Mr.. Emmerson. eve give the book
Q to our customers. 1t is saving OF none
in telegraphing, and IN easier and MOI
certain way of communication. We hay
no need of secretive system in our ger
i eral business, though the large operator
used private code"
This was on inquiry found to be I'll
case, but any attempt to get view Of IL
private codes was regarded rs the trick
stock sharp.
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