New-York tribune., 1911-12-29
Commercial and French Com
panies Establish New Schedule
for Dispatches in "Plaln
Language"
TO GO INTO EFFECT MONDAY
Western Union, Which Adopted
Deferred Message" Plan on
Dec. 6, Says No Further
Adjustment Is Deemed
Necessary at Present.


into effect on deferred messages Decem-
he- by the Western Union. the Com
...-c,a1 cable Company and the French
Telegraph Cable Company yesterday an
,ounced that beginning January l. l9lZ
messages written in plain language
u.ould be accepted at a reduction OF 5O
nor cent from the charges for an oral
nary message. These messages are not
N he subject TO any artificial delay III
,ransnoission or delivery, but will be
DELAYED only until the cables are cleared
of ranking messages. Ranking messages
a, was explained by George G.. Waro
yice-president and general manager OF
the company. meant full rate messages
The new rate from New York TO London
will be 1917 cents a word.
This rate cutting war was started by
the Western Union when it put into
effect at midnight of December ., two
new forms Of cable service which 1t des-
;erated as cable letters and weekend
letters. The cable letters permitted the
r1Iblic 10 send messages of twenty WORDS
subject 10 a possible two days delay, at
the rate of ~ cents a word, available
for social and commercial purposes. The
Weekend letters were messages OF thirty
words al five cents a word TO be trans
mitted Sundays. when commercial Dusl-
ness was suspended.
The Commercial Gable Company's new
rate is a fiat reduction of 20 per cent
according TO the announcement made Dy
Mr.. Ward and applies to cable tolls on
non-code messages between this coun-
try and Great Britain and Ireland.
Until further notice" the statement
saws. "only messages for Great Britain
and Ireland can be transmitted at the
reduced rate but we hope TO announce
extensions to other countries shortly.
He explained that the arrangement
had been made possible through the
adoption of the new policy by the postal
department Of England, as announced in
Parliament by the Postmaster General
The control OF the telegraph lines In
England, he explained, was in the hands
of the government, and the Postmaster
Generals announcement said that the
reduced rates would be applicable, be-
ginning on January l, 10 all cable COM
ranies communicating with Great Brit
ain.
The messages at the reduced rates Will
he held up only twenty-four hours at
most. If at the expiration of that time
they have not been sent owing 10 the
volume of full rate business keeping the
, bles busy. the reduced rate messages
will take rank as full rate messages and
be sent along with the regular business
without further delay.
According TO the statement, messages
must be written in French or in the Ian
guage of the country Of origin or OF
destination. There must be an address
and a text, the signature being optional
with the sender. The statement also
prescribes that the text be written en-
thely in plain language, without figures,
commercial marks, groups Of letters, ao-
breyiations or mutilations. Genuine
words spelled according to established
usage. with not more than fifteen let
ters will be charged as single words.
The French Gable Company in its an
nouncement states that it will begin its
service on New Years Day, accepting
plain language cable messages for Eng
land, France and Germany at half the
rate of code messages full rate business
10 take precedence over the reduced rate
dispatches. The messages will. carry all
the privileges Of a regular cable and viii
be forwarded by land telegraph as soon
as possible. They must be written in
French or in the language of the coun-
try of destination or origin AMI all alb
breyiations must be avoided.
II was said at the offices Of the West
ern Union last night that a notice Of this
reduction in rates by the Commercial
Gable Company had been received and
noted The rates set forth in it, il was
said were not looked upon by the West
ern Union as being any more favorable
than their deferred messages, put in
operation on December 6, and that there
fore no further adjustment Of Western
Union rates would be deemed necessary
10 conform 10 the new schedules adopted
BY the rival companies
On Tuesday the German Postoiiice an
Eounced The establishment Of a deferred
cable service at half rates. TO become
effective on January /. This service eX-
tends 10 the United States the German
African Colonies. various Chinese cities
and the British colonies.