The Tabor independent. [volume] (Tabor, S.D.) 1913-19??, 1916-09-28
WOMEN LOSING THEIR
FEAR OF TELEGRAMS
thousands of Night Letters
Sent Daily-12, 5000
Sent In One Year.
From the New York Times.

From the New York Times.
In the present prosperity OK the
Western Union Telegraph company, re-
Elected in the steady dvanc OF It's
stock, p~redicated upon an increase In
net income for the iast quarter or ~
per cent over the same quarter in 1915,
no small part has been played by the
avidity with which the American publlc
has seized both business n social
communication. White there Is also a
large use Of the day letter, its use a
not appropriated 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 art breakfast time.
Six years & there were no night
letters. Tonight, unless some catas-
trophe destroys the Western Union
system, its lines Will carry approx
mately 10000 night letters of so words
or less. There will be about two-thirds
h a number of day letters sent. OF the
loo, 000, 900 messages a year sent over
the Western Union lines, 12,000,0 900 are
night letters, illustrating the remark
able growth of this auxiliary to the
telegraph service About 10000 day
letters are sent annually. This growth
has taken place in the case of the night
letters since 1910, n in the case Of
the day letters since 1912. The In
crease in the last year has been about
rs per cent, and the company expects
a like increase in the ensuing year.
12,000,o 900 Night Letters a Year.
The night letter was started by the
Western Union in 1910 because 1t
wished to make some use OF its great
facilities lying idle at night. 1t was
decided to make the experiment Of Civ
ing it's patrons the opportunity to send
so words at night for the cost OF a
10-word day message, to be delivered
at the start of business the next day.
The idea took from the start. Bust
ness men found they could e to their
travelling statesmen at the close Of the
days business important information
which their men would have at the
start of the next days business quick
err than q letter, by days in some cases,
and much cheaper than the old rate Of
messages. Then h man away from
home began to send his wife a night
letter, which she cad at breakfast the
next morning. Business houses began
to send appeals to customers by the
night letter. Then the Western Union
went after the business in earnest and
now there are 1000, 900 night letters
annually.
There is a lot Of psychology about the
night letter. In the first place the
Western Union figured that the bust
ness man who sat down in front Of his
pile of mail in the morning would give
his first attention to the kilograms.
This belief was communicated to other
business men, and the business men
found 1t was good logic. Now the use
Of the night letter has been developed
until it Is used for urging payment on
accounts; used by politicians in the
business of getting votes; used to ask
contributions to wal relief funds; used
for placing business orders, n for a
myriad other uses. 1t is a part OF the
American business system.
When 1t came to the social use Of the
night letter. it was found that the psy-
chology of the telegram was again a
factor. It had long been the custom for
the woman who received a telegram to
handle It with the fire tongs n to
pray a few minutes that the news was
not so bad as 1t might be before she
opened Ii. For kilograms formerly
were used in emergencies socially, and
the dread and fear of kilograms had to
be overcome. This has been IN q large
sense achieved, and now wives and hus-
bands who are separated send tens OF
thousands of kilograms every year,
which wife or husband reads at break
fast and learns how the other half OF
the family fares.
Women's Fear Of Telearams.
But the old time fear Of the telegram
has not been altogether overcome by
the night letter. Only this month,
when the nation wide use Of the night
letter was suggested IN connection with
the celebration of Mothers day, on
May IA, by which sons and daughters
could send words of cheer to the "Old
Folks at Home" 1t was suggested that
the mothers would receive a fear along
with the telegram which would coun-
teract the words of cheer they would
read when they opened it. 1t was at
first suggested that special envelopes