Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1909-08-08
LONGEVITY OF HORSE CABLE CODES REVISED
Soldier Served With Equine Strange Letter Combinations
Seventy Years Old. Barred by Operators.
"OLD BILLY" AGED So TOO MUCH FOR EXPERTS
Score More Than Economy Messages Long Made
Average Span Of Life. Business Study
WAYS TO TELL HORSES AGE DIFFICULTIES HAVE GROWN
Wrinkles Words Must
and Double Letters Count
in Old
|T00 MUCH FOR EXPERTS
Economy in Messages Long Made
Business Study.
DIFFICULTIES HAVE GROWN
Words Must Be Pronounceable Now
and Double Letters to Count
as Two.

Importing and banking houses which
use cable codes in their foreign business
have been forced In the last few weeks
to examine them with care.
In particular they have been obliged
to make sure that the words they send
are pronounceable. and that they no
longer count as one letter such combina-
tons as "ch." "ae." and ''ue." which by
custom they have considered themselves
entitled to reckon a single letter.
The blame for this revision is generally
placed on the American cable companies
doing business in New York. 1t is said
that they have become jealous Of the ex-
traordinary economies which scientific
code constructor can effect for business
house. and in consequence they have de-
termined to enforce petty restrictions.
AS a matter of fact. large as the Amer
lean companies are. they are tied hand
and foot in this matter.
Cable Regulated Abroad.
Americas position in the cable world Is
somewhat anomalous. In spite of its
enormous business, it has nothing to do
with the regulation of International mes
sages.
1.-THE regulations for all cable mes
sages." said George Clapperton of the
Commercial Cable Companies, ''are drawn
up by the International telegraph con-
vention. This was established in 1873.
and. as you can readily understand. con-
sidering the political condition of Europe,
there must be some international agree
ment to insure the safe passage of mes
d., D1tn chstvx
via Berlin.
The United States, standing outside
OF all these diplomatic compiled tons, has
had no need to join such a conference,
but it is none the less forced to abide by
it's regulations. Our cables, for example,
land in England, and we are obliged to
take only such messages as the British
government will forward.
The British government follows the in
ternationa1 rules. In the formation of
which it has voice. and we must accept
its rulings. although the company had no
chance to express its views directly, and
the American government, as 1t has no
department Of telegraphs. is equally pow
erleSS.
Policy Less Liberal.
The last international convention was
held at Lisbon last year and adopted a
less liberal policy than the London con-
vention of 1903. Before 1908 business
men who wished to use codes were con-
fined to words of not more than ten let
tiers found in the dictionaries of eight
languages = English, French, German,
Dutch, Latin. Italian, Spanish and Por-
tuguese.
But they complained that they were I'M
duly restricted. so the London conven-
ton removed the dictionary requirement
and agreed to the use of any combination
of ten letters which was pronounceable.
Immediately the most wonderful words
began to be fired at the unfortunate
companies. How some of the senders
could twist their mouths to articulate
some of the punches Of consonants which
separated the few novels passed their
comprehension, but for time they as
at syllable twisting than cable operators
and accepted all that was presented to
them.
Bat then the expert code makers found
out one or two anomalies in the reckon
ing of letters. They learned that the
German telegraph officials counted 'ch"
as one letter, because 1t had its own SYM
boil, and were equally lenient with regard
to modified "a and u" Consequently
code users unblushingly asked the cable
people to pronounce and send as one
word of ten letters such weird COM
bination as "chaechtuempchuech."
Doubles Cut Out.
IL was nOTo IMAM ilcSH anu DlOOO COuiU
stand, and first the British postmaster
general sent out warnings two or three
years ago that such combinations must
be reckoned at the cipher basis Of Ave
symbols to a word, and then last years
Lisbon convention authoritatively cut out
the CHI and modified vowel privileges
and insisted on absolutely pronounceable
words.
LAS a matter Of fact" said Mr.. Clap
perton, these cable codes have enOr-
mously increased the difficulties of our
work. The more man uses his brain
in transmitting message the greater
chance he has of going wrong. Here is
an example. The word we had to send
began Ihad.' The operator took 1t for
shad.' and We had to repeat the mes
sage.
THE cable signs of Il and IS are much
alike. and the man used his brain. in
stead of being a mere machine. If or
binary syllables were used instead of the
marvellous combinations of letters we now
get. both sending and receiving would be
very much easier
The importance of these slight changes
In the cable regulations, or in the more
rigid enforcement Of those which have
been neglected. is shown by the fact that
houses employ codes which have cost
from $1,000 to $4,000 to $4,000 to COM
pile. The old days of a system drawn up
by clerk are long since past. and spe-
CidiiStS are employed VINO can OcViSc d
method which will cover every possible
contingency of business. and yet to the
initiated betray it at once IL there has
been the slightest error in the transmits
sion Of the most extraordinary conglom-
Grafton of letters.
Difficulties Presented.
1t is done by the use of code figures
as well as code syllables. An actual ex-
ample was quoted to a reporter by e. E.
Peterson Of the National CIPHER Code
Company. A firm has to send this mes
sage:
shipment to Queenstown. Falmouth
or Plymouth for order to discharge at
a safe port in the United Kingdom or on
the continent between Bordeaux and
Hamburg, both included. Rouen excluded.
or direct to q port within said limits, II
ordered from port Of call, to port In the
United Kingdom. contract price,
1t will look uo its code book and find
that 94143121 precisely symbolizes this.
The message goes on mo. North
spring wheat, Duluth for which 141