Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1907-01-11
A TELEGRAPHER'S JOKE.
In Fun He Sent n Cable Message 10
Emperor Napoleon.


"The story of Billy Holtham's costly
joke illustrates that the laugh is not
always on the side of the joker" said
an old time telegraph operator to q
reporter of the Kansas City Star.
1.-THE incident occurred a short time
after the civil war, when Holtham was
assistant operator in Denver. In those
days two operators did all the work
of the Denver office. Holtham open
ed the office one morning took the
daily paper and began reading about
the war between Germany and
France. All at once the desire to per
petrate Il practical joke seized upon
him. Taking the pencil from his peck
ct, he indited the following cablegram
upon one of the office blanks:
ITO the Emperor Napoleon, Garden OF the
Tuiler!es. Paris. France:
Colorado will not accede to the cession
of Germany to France. Please let b.
hemia alone. GOVERNOR GILPIN,
any other man.
"Holtham called up Omaha and sent
the cablegram 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 wastebasket Then he sat down
and laughed. He supposed that the
man on duty in Omaha would. of
course, see the joke and after laugh
ing himself over it would throw his
copy into the wastebasket Bus the
Omaha operator was a man who {fOol
everything seriously and, hanging lthe
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
about the middle of the following
month. when Mr.. Woodward, the Den
YER manager of the Western Union Of
fee, received the following message
from the secretary of the cable COM
pany i'll 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
dus,. Please explain.
In due time an answer was re
ceived. saying:
Your cablegram to Emperor Napoleon.
Garden of the Tuileries. Paris. France,
signed Governor Gilpin or any other man.,
s1S7.50 in gold. Please remit
AT this juncture Billy Holtham step
ped in. and, pushing the message to-
ward him, Woodward remarked:
What do you suppose that New
York idiot means by that?'
'Holtham read it and, turning pale.
blurted out, Why, l sent that thing to
Omaha as Il joke, supposing the man
receiving it there would see the point
and throw his copy into the wastebas-
ket, as / did mine
Joker replied Woodward angrfly
DO You understand that gold is now
worth Just :wo to one and the cost Of
your little joke is 1872
Manager Woodward wrote n letter
to the cable authorities explaining the
matter to them and asking that the
caDlegram be cancelled, but they We're
memorable and demanded payment in
full. At that time cablegrams were
enormously high and payable in gold
at that. The result was that poor Holt
ham had to make the amount good
and the telegraph company permitted
him to pay $50 month until the whole
sum was paid. Fortunately operators
were then paid $12J n month salary.
and it was not as hard upon Holtham
to liquidate the obligation as it would
be upon a telegrapher at the present
day, with salaries so greatly reduced.
1.-The late Edward ROsewater, who
was manager of the Western Union
office at Omaha when the incident
took place, secured copies of the cable
gram and Of all the correspondence re-
lating thereto and put the whole thing
in a frame. and it is no doubt some
where among his collection of tele-
graphic curiosities''