The Anaconda standard. [volume] (Anaconda, Mont.) 1889-1970, 1895-12-04
GETTING A MESSAGE
How the Presidents Address Comes
Over the Wires.
THE OPERATORS LONG SHIFT
A Triumph OF Modern Enterprise
Is the Distribution of the
the News - How IL Is
Done.

Yesterday at noon, in washington
congress assembled and, after rev
formallties, received from President
Cleveland his annual message. Inc
clerk of the house read II and the SEN
ators and representatives read for
themselves from printed copies with
which they are furnished. or lounged
and chatted in the cloak rooms. Inc
reading Of the message has become
matter of form in congress, for the rep
resentatives of the people are given
copies which they may read for them
selves, instead of listening to the clerk.
Yet this annual reading goes on and Tor
an hour and a half the clerk reads
aloud arousing only the echoes IN the
halls of congress.
This morning the Standard places in
the hands of its readers a verbatim
COPY of the message as II was read
yesterday in Washington. The handling
OF a presidents message Is one OF the
triumphs OF modern journalism, and OF
modern times. In former days II was
weeks and months before the policy or
the president was known. but now the
world reads the message ssoon as
most of the congressman.
This is due to a great extent to the
recognition of the power OF the press
by the chief executive of the nation,
the country with advance copies. under
conditions best explained by the follow
ing telegram. which was the introduce
ton to the message as II came over
the wires Tuesday morning:
New York. Dec. 3-The following
message of the president of the United
States is sent to the press OF the coun-
try through his courtesy, in advance OF
its presentation to congress, and Is
transmitted free with the compliments
of the Western Union Telegraph COM
pany, the only conditions being that
managers are required TO get written
guarantee from responsible person
connected with each paper or press as
ISOLATION that the message will not In
any way be made public or used ex-
cept to be put in type until release
message from our manager at WASH
ington, NJ. Marean, is received. and
managers are hereby instructed to
withhold the message from any paper
or agent refusing to give such written
guarantee until such release message
has been received.
"w. B. somerville,
Supt Press Service. w. U. T. Co..
The written guarantee Is promptly
forthcoming and then the message fol-
lows. How 1T came over the wires is
an interesting story.
The telegraph operators at the Stand
ard office didn't go to bed till o'clock
yesterday morning. The presidents
message each year causes quite as
much furry in telegraph offices as
general election.
1t can easily be imagined that the
transmission OF from $1,000 to 10000
words in addition to regular press re-
ports to every daily newspaper in the
United States involves an amount of
telegrap hic labor and wire facilities
that is astonishing. There Is certain
class OF telegraphers who work only on
two occasions each year; one is election
day and the other the night on which
the presidents message Is sent. The
balance of the time they are on the
block"
1t may be interesting to some to trace
the message from its origin in Wash
ington to its final resting place on the
Standards pages. When II is filed In
Washington II is sent at once to New
York, which office supplies the New
England and Eastern states. New
York sends 1t to Chicago, which is the
main telegraph Office or the United
States. At Chicago probably 100 or
more copies are taken and these are
distributed among the different Sec
tions-the South, North and West.
Thus while Ii may be received in Chi
cago by only sufficient number of
men to make the necessary copies. II is
being flashed by hundred fast senders
TO Florida, to New orleans. to Denver,
and in fact to all points where a tele-
graph line runs.
The copy which was hung on the
''West hook" was sent to Omaha, and
is the one that the people of this Sec
ton are reading this morning. Omaha
sent 1t to Ogden, perhaps by human
machinery, but more likely by means
of the Wheatsome automatic telegraph.
The latter system is capable of a wire
speed OF 300 words a minute and is OPP
Grated by means of long strips OF tape
punched full of holes and slits-the
holes for the dots and the Sits for the
dashes. The holes and Sits are repro
duced at the receiving end on similar
strips in ink. The characters are then
copied by young women into plain Eng
lish and given to the Morse" opera
tors in Ogden.
1t will require a little explanation of
how II came from there to Anaconda.
One wire in the Standards telegraph
department Is used for the associated
press reports from the Ogden Office.
That made one wire. The Standards
special wire to Butte was connected at
that place with 'quadruplexed" wire
to Ogden. Willie Wheaton received on
the first mentioned wire. and Johnnie
Derks on the latter. The message was
sent to Butte and Helena at the same
time IL was sent to this Office.
The transmission began on the
quad" at IL o'clock and on the sin
gle" at o'clock. The senders at Og-
den were evidently pretty sleepy for
they didn't average much more than 20
words a minute. while 1t should have
come at a speed OF so. The message
was divided into sheets OF about 100
words each; there were 1856 sheets.
These were sent in a very badly mixed
way; for instance. 80 would come and
an hour later sheet 10 showed up. When
the 1856 sheets were all in they were
given to the editors 10 be arranged in
rotation and the telegraph operators
work was done.
THE DEATH VALLEY.