Omaha daily bee., 1895-11-09
THE TEN-WORD TELEGRAM.
CudgeIIing the Brain to Keep Within
III

CudgelIing the Brain to Keep within
the Limit.
Although the price OF telegraphic messages
has been greatly reduced in the last thirty
years, the ten-word custom is still strong
upon the American people. An officer of the
Western Union company says the New York
sun, made two or three labOriOus Computa-
tons as to the average length of messages
other than those addressed to newspapers,
and found that it was a fraction under four
teen words. A like computation made sew
eral years earlier showed almost exactly the
same average There has been no very re-
cent computation on the subject, but there
is no reason to believe that the average
length Of telegraphic messages has increased
since the average was found to be between
thirteen and fourteen words. Users Of the
telegraph still resort to all sorts of de-
vices to keep within the ten words that en-
title the message to the lowest tariff rate
''Smorning" still stands for this morn
Ing" and "sevening' for this evening"
while there are twenty other abbreviatons
employed by way of economy. The small con-
Meeting words, the articles "a" and "the"
and all such supertuous decorations in Eng
lsh are still omitted from the ordinary liter
ature Of telegraphy. But the commonest and
least reasonable form Of this economy is that
which leads the sender of a message to leave
his though half expressed, often to the mys-
tifcatlOn and distress of the recipient Nine
persons out of ten treat the ten-word limit
as sacred and whether rich or poor sacrifice
consideration OF Clearness, convenience and
certainly the saving of a few cents.
There was sufficient excuse for economy
thirty years ago when the 25- cent rate ap-
piled to only the shorter distances and the
rate for each additional word was far above
the present additional word rate. The high
est rate for ten words to Western Union of
fees within the United States and the Brit
ish provinces is now 81, and the highest ad-
d!tiona rate 10 cents per word In 1866 1t
cost $l4.O5 to send a ten-word message from
North Sydney, N. S. W., to Santa Fe, n. NJ.
Such message between those places now
costs 81 The process of chespenng rates
has gone on in two ways, by Limitation of the
maximum rate of ten words and by extension
of the area of the 25-cent message. The
maximum rate In 1866 for ten words was over
Sl4; the maximum ten-word rate in 1872 was
50. The maximum was reduced next year to
$3.50. 1t would have been SO but for the fact
that the people of California, who were es-
gecially interested in the rate then used con-
stantly $3.50 gold piece, and the rate was
fixed for convenience at the denomination of
that coin. The maximum was next reduced
to 81, then to S1.50, SIPS and finally to 81.
Meanwhile the area of the 25-cent rate was
steadily widened, until 1t came to include a
whole state In New England and the middle
Atlantic states. Then came the 25-cent rate
from place to point in New England, and
from New York to any place in that division
The 25-cent rate is now extended to most
of the densely peopled states. 1t has not yet
reached Texas, parts of which are as dis
tant from each other Geographically as Port
land, Me-, and San Francisco. Lower rates
have been made for cities and 'heir suburbs
| and there was for a briet period a 15-cent
| rate of pretty wide application There is
| now a 10-cent rate between commercial ex-
changes where there is practically no dellv-
cry the sender and the receiver each being
| at the elbow Of the operator.
There are still many places in the United
States that can be reached only by the pay
ment Of high rate. Such are places not
on Western Union wires, reached only by
way Of small connecting lines, by telephone
or by messenger. There are many small
lines of telegraph in private hands. Some of
these have been built by operators upon
speculation. The Western Union company
has absorbed many such as they came to
have a business Of some volume.
While most persons are still under the
dominion of the ten-word telegraph limit
the telegraph is used much more freely for
business, and especially for social purposes
than 1t was thirty years ago. Men may hes
itate at exceeding their ten words but they
no longer feel the expenditure of % cents
for a dispatch asking a friend to dinner, or
inquirng for an invalid or ordering the3ter
seats, repcehensible luxury The frequent
use of the telegraph for such purposes is
spreading to all sorts Of people. 1t was once
n N IN hn oil do