The Olneyville times. (Olneyville [Providence, R.I.]) 1887-1917, 1907-05-17
TELEGRAPH OPERATORS JOKE.
In Fun He Sent a Cable Message TO
Emperor Napoleon.


The story OF Billy Holtbam's
costly joke illustrates that the laugh
is not always on the side of the
JOKER" said w. b. Bassett, an old
time telegraph operator TO a reporter
OF the Kansas City Star.
The incident occurred a short
time after the Civil War. when Holt
ham was assistant operator in Dem
yer. Col. In those days two operat-
ors did all the work of the Denver
ONCE. Holtham opened the Office
one morning. took the daily paper
and began reading about the war be-
tween Germany and France. All at
once the desire 10 perpetrate a prac-
tical joke seized upon him. Taking
the pencil from his pocket he indited
the following cablegram upon one
of the Office blanks:
ITO the Emperor Napoleon. Garden
of the Tuilleries, Paris. France: Colo
rado will not accede 10 the cession
of Germany TO France. Please let
Bohemia alone, Gov. Gilpin or any
other man
"Holtham called up Omaha and
sent the cable TO the man on duty
there, Just as he would have sent a
bona fide cablegram.
Omaha was the repeating Office
for all Eastern business. Holtham
then tore up his copy and threw the
remains in the waste-basket. Then
he sat down and laughed. He sup
posed that the man on duty in Omaha
would, of course. see the joke and
after laughing himself over IL would
throw his copy into the waste basket.
But the Omaha operator was man
who took everything seriously and
hanging the cablegram on the New
York hook thought nothing more
about it.
This happened about the middle
of the month and nothing more was
heard of the fateful cablegram until
month, when Mr.. Woodward. the
Denver manager of the Western
Union office. received the following
message from the secretary of the
cable company 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
I'm due time an answer was re-
ceived, saying,
Your cablegram to Emperor Ma
poleon. Garden of the Tuilleries.
Paris, France, signed Governor Gilpin
or any other man, $1S7.50 in gold !.
please remit
''At this juncture Billy IIoltham
stepped in. and, pushing the message
toward him, Woodward remarked:
What do you suppose that New
York idiot means by that?'
"Holtham read it and, turning
pale, blurted out: why, | sent that
thing to Omaha as a joke, supposing
the man receiving it there would see
the point and throw his copy into
the waste basket as | did with mine.
'Joke.' replied Woodward, an
grily. DO You understand that gold
is now worth just two to one and the
cost of your little joke is 1882
Manager Woodward wrote letter
to the cable authorities explaining
the matter to them and asking that
the cablegram be cancelled. but thew
were inexorable and demg nded pay
ment in full. At that time cable
grams were enormously high and
payable in gold at that. The result
was that poor Holtbam had to make
the amount good and the telegraph
company permitted him to pay $50
a month until the whole sum was
paid. Fortunately operators were
then paid S125 a month salary. and IL
was not as hard upon Holtham to Ii
quidate the obligation as 1t would
be upon a telegrapher at the present
day, with salaries SO greatly reduced.
"The late Edward Rosewater, who
was manager of the West Union Of
flee at Omaha when the incident took
place, secured copies of the cable
gram and OF all the correspondence
relating thereto, and put the whole
thing in a frame, and IL is no doubt
somewhere among his collection OF
telegraphic curiosities."