The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1916-06-24
WOMEN ARE
 LOSING FEAR OFTELECRAMS
Thousands of Western Un- ion Night Letters on the
 Breakfast Tables Daily

In the present prosperity Of the
 Western Union Telegraph Company re- fected in the steady advance of it's stock, predicated upon an increase in net income for the last quarter of 80 per cent. over the same quarter in 1915 no small part has been played by the avidity with which the American pub lei has seized upon the use of the night letter for both business and social communication. While there is also
 a large use of the day letter, it's use had not approxinated the use of the night letter, which can be sent up to 2 o'clock in the morning from any
 part of the United States to any other part to be delivered at breakfast time, Six years ago there were no night letters. Tonight, unless some catas- trophe destroys the Western Union sys- tenn, it's lines will carry approximate ly 10000 night letters of fifty words or less. There will be about two thirds that number of day letters sent. Of the 100, 100000 messages a year sent over the Western Union lines, 12,- 000,000 are night letters, illustrating the remarkable growth of this auxi1- iary to the telegraph service. About 5000, 900 day letters are sent annually. This growth has taken place in the
 case of the night letters since 1910, and in the case of the day letters since 1912. The increase in the last year
 has been about 25 per cent and the company expects a like increase in the ensuing year.
 12,OOO,OOO Night Letters a Year. The night letter wa sstarted by the Western Union in 1910 because it
 wished to make some use of it's great facilities lying idle at night. It was decided to make the experiment of /! giving it's patrons the opportunity to send fifty words at night for the cost
 of ten-word day message, to be de- |
 next day. The idea took from the
 start. Business men found they could send to their traveling salesmen at
 the close of the days business impor-
 ant information which their men would | have at the start of the next days | business quicker than a letter, by ' days in some eases, and much cheap
 CT than the old rate of messages. Then
 the man away from home began to send his wife a night letter, which she
 read at breakfast the next morning. Business houses began to send ap-
 peals to customers by the night letter. l Then the Western Union went after I the business in earnest and now there
 are 12,00O,000 night letters annually. There is lot of psychoiOgy about 1 the night letter. In the first place the | Western Union figured that the busi- ness man who sat down in front of his pile of mail in the morning would give his first attention to the tele- grams. This belief was communicat- l ed to other business men, and the business men found it was good logic. l Now the use of the night letter has been developed until 1t is used for urg- l ing payment on accounts; used by politicians in the business of getting votes; used to ask contributions to war relief funds; used for placing or ders, and for a myriad of other uses.
 It is 8 part of the American business system.
 When it came to the social use of the night letter, it was found that the psychology of the telegram was again a factor. It had long been the GUS tom for the woman who received a telegram to handle it with the fire tongs and to pray a few moments that the news was not so bad as 1t might be before she opened it. For tele-
 grams formerly were used in ener- gencies socially, and the dread and fear of teIegrams had to be overcome. This has been in a. large sense achiev- ed, and now wives and husbands who are separated send tens of thousands or husband reads at breakfast and learns how the other half of the fam l fly fares.
 Women's Fear of TeIegrams. But the o1d-time fear of the te1e- gram has not been altogether over
 come by the night letter. Only this
 month, when the nationwide use of the night letter was suggested in con- nection with the celebration of Moth | CTS Day on May A, by which sons and daughters could send words of cheer to the "O1d Folks at ome," it wa suggested that the mothers would receive fear along with the telegram which would counteract the words of
 cheer they would read when they open ed it. It was at first suggested that special envelopes be used which would bear the words This is a Mothers