The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1906-11-11
TELEGRAPH OPERATORS JOKE
In Fun He Sent a Cable Message TO EN-
perOr Napoleon.

The story OF Billy Holtham's costly
Joke illustrates that the laugh is not always
on the side of the joker" said W. B. Bas-
sett, an old time telegraph operator to a
reporter Of the Kansas Citv Star.
the incident occurred a short time
after the civil war, when Holtham was
assistant operator in Denver, Col. In those
Jays two operators did all the work Of the
Denver office. Holtham opened the Office
one morning, took the daily paper and be-
gan reading about the war between Ger
many and France. All at once the desire
to perpetrate a practical joke seized upon
him. Taking the pencil from his pocket
he indited the following cablegram upon
one of the Office blanks:
TO the Emperor Napoleon. Garden Of
the Tuilleries, Paris. France: Colorado will
not accede to the cession OF Germany to
France. Please let Bohemia alone, Gov.
Gilpin or any other man.
"Holtham called up Omaha and sent the
cableRram 10 the man on duty there, just
az he would have sent a bona ide cable
gram.
Omaha was the repeating Office for all
Eastern business. Holtham then tore up
his copy and threw the remains in the waste
I AAkeJ. linen ne a uOWh dIN AT uCN.
He supposed that the man on duty in Omaha
would, Of course, see the joke and after
laughing himself over 1t would throw his
copy into the waste basket. But the Omaha
operator was a man who o everything
seriously and hanging the c~ablegram IN
the New York hook thought nothing more
about 1t.
This happened about the middle Of the
month and nothing more was heard OF tle
fateful cablegram until about the middle
| Of the following month when Mr.. Wood
ward, the Denver manager OF the Western
Union Office, received the following mes
SAGE from the secretary Of the cable COM
pany in New York;
Please come down with the dust.
Woodward scratched his head, but could
not solve the enigma and replied
Don't understand your message about dust.
Please explain.
-In due time an answer was received
saying:
"Your cablegram to Emperor Napoleon,
Garden Of the Tuilleries, Paris, France. signed
Governor Gilpin or any other man. sls7.SO
In gold. please remit.
AT this ~juncture Billy Holtham stepped
In and pushing the message toward MIN
reHIaTkou'
what do you suppose that New York
IDIOT means by thatr
sHoltham read il and, turning. pale,
blurted out; Why, / sent that thing TO
Omaha as a joke, supposing the man re;
oeivInK IL there would see the point and
throw his copy, into the waste basket as l
did with NINE
s'Joke!' replied Woodward, angrily. DO
YOU understand that gold Is o worth
Just two 70 one and the cost OF your little
Joke In ts7br
Manager Woodward wrote a letter to
the cable authorities explaining the matter
10 them and asking that the cablegram be
cancelled, but they were inexornble and
demanded payment In full. At that time
cable grams were enormously high and
payable In gold at that. The result was
that poor Holtham had to make the amount
good and the telegraph company permitted
him TO pay $50 a month until the whole
ann was paid. Fortunately operators were
then paid SIPS a month salary n IL was
not AZ hard upon Holtham TO hquidate
the obligation IA IL would be upon q telegra-
pher at the present day. with salaries so
greatly reduced.
THE late Edward Rosewater, who was
manager Of the Western Union ofioe at
Omaha when the incident took place. &C.
CURED copies OF the cablegram n OF all
the correspondence relating thereto and
nut the whole thing In a frame and II In
no doubt somewhere among hn collection
| OF Geographic curtostties..