Herald and news. [volume] (West Randolph, Vt.) 1878-1943, 1899-11-09
TELEGRAPHY IN CHINA.
the Celestial Operator Has
10 Contend.

The great difficulty about operating
telegraphs properly in this country Il
the lack of police In the greater part o.
the empire. The authorities. who are
perhaps as hostile to innovations as the
common people, do nothing for the eff
fective protection Of the lines. and ma.
licious persons are free 10 overturn the
posts, break the insulators and cut the
J wires. Besides, this fanaticism finds
very natural encouragement in the GU
pidity of the race, as the posts fur
nish excellent frewood, and the wires
can be utilized in a hundred ways.
They are especially appreciated when
they are Of copper, and, therefore, we
may predict that long-distance tele-
phone communication will not be estab-
ushed In most of the provinces for a
long time 10 come.
Nevertheless, when the authorities do
desire TO act, they reach excellent re-
suits very quickly; the excessive severi-
~ OF the penal code in China gives
them an opportunity. The following
anecdote is told of an event in the en-
virons Of Shanghai. The lines there
were continually destroyed; the Taotai,
who was in frequent relations with the
Europeans and had become tired of
hearing their complaints, declared sim
ply that for each post pulled down
head should be cut of among those of
the inhabitants who lived in the vicini- J
~. AS DEGREES of this kind are exc
cuted very literally in China the result |
was that in spite Of the fatalistic spirit /
of the Chinese and their indifference to |
death, the posts were afterward let Sc
verely alone. But such radical meas /
ures are not taken everywhere, and tel
egraphic communication would be
often entirely interrupted If the great
ports were not all connected by sub
marine cables, owned by Europeans.
which, from their situation, escape the
Of evil-doers.
As tho Chinese written language Is
not alphabetie, and as each word In II
Is represented by special character.
none Of the telegraphic system gener-
lily in use can be employed in China.
Usually each character is represented
BY a number, and IL is this number,
which has never more than four figures,
hat is transmitted.
To bring about this result code OF
9 pages has been established. each page
laving ten columns Of 20 characters,
o that e,sO0 characters are disposed of
ii the words commonly used are m
erted and few places are kept blank
or new ones. When a dispatch is 10
9 sent an employe translates it into
CURES, and al the receiving station an
lverse operation puts II back into Chi l
csc characters OF course this 10
ather long process, but il is simply
ecsssary TO employ enough persons,
I'D in China. as with us, the educated !
Unemployed are numerous. Owing TO !
lis system the Chinese telegraph lines
ave greater capacity than our own. In
he western tongues FIVE or six signals :
} the average are necessary TO express o
word; In China four are sufficient. f,
Is true that, on the other hand, the Il
ances OF error are greatly increased, 4
Id the sending OF message by means g
numbers gives generally very little
while II is complicated by :.
double translation, which is evident ;,
dangerous.-Cosmos. a