CODES FOR CABLING.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 172, 14 April 1908, Page 5

CODES FOR CABLING.

THE THREATENED RESTRICTIONS. ; , VIEWS OF WELLINGTON BUSINESS MEN. -Local business circle!! have received with feelings akin to dismay'tho news that an attempt is to be made, at-the International Telegraph Conference in Lisbon nest -June, •to restrict .tho .use of code language in cabling. The positioiv is that sincc ISO3i it has been, permissible to writo cable messages in any sort of artificially constructed "words, . so long: as. each word . consists of - not' more than ten lotters and-can bo pronounced in at-least ono of the eight recognised languages. This last . stipulation seems to bo rather liberally interpreted..- Before 1903 none but dictionary words in theso languages could be used, and it appears that certain cablo companies aro agitating for tho. reinstatement of that-condition. To the man in tha street whose efforts to condense his ideas do not go beyond the wording of a sixpenny telegram tho full significance, -of ' tho threatened restriction is not at onct apparent. But to the merchant who is accustom'ed to convey a whole about prices, , freights, and the movements of a market; in, a single word ■it means a great deal. -■ i. ■ • ■■ ...■■•

Ingenious Codes.' • As . soon as the coucossion of 1903' was' announced, many new codes were devised to take [ advantage of :• it, and the cost of cabling was reduced to such; an -extent • that tho effect was felt in business circles all over-tho world. ; . A new codo costs/money; a good :o'ne,; it'is stated,''may bo 'worth £1000-to its, inventor, and; hundreds ' of thousands liavo been . spent in', this way-. since 1903. Considered merely as a monument, of human ingenuity, i. a- cable. codo ■is .a .thing of in-, terest. It-is printed ,in a big book, and consists chiefly of- appalling columns of uncouth words and loss obtrusive of'figures.' It is often constructed especially for a particu.lar;tradb, ot even to .meet: tno, special needs v of ;a particular firm, and many:ingenious. devices are '.used.'; 'For instance, one may see in. somecode vbooks .many columns of "words"; 1 of i five letters and ''every.! one. ending. .with a ''hyphen. .Further on are as many "words' 1 ;of-the.same length, and,each begins with a hyphen.'. The sender of a .cablegram .by,this code-may take any word list and join, it to any word from thn other list; •; This is only one of many economical which /would be impossible if dictionary words only , were allowed! Sorao Wellington- firms use , constantly half a dozen' or more difforent>ccdes. 'according as tlicy aro - cabling to different firms' in London; or elsewhere. ... :■

rq»i»BMiiatiTO called on several Wellington firms' which have largo over- ■ 'C 3. coDnections,aiid asked them what difference ..the;proposed, reversion to-the fornior restriction"of code language would make to • ..lbem; and .to the community through , them'.- ■ yi&Ns 'oi ■ Mr;; John vDUthis. ;;V ; Mr. : , John Duthio said that since the increased: facilities were taken 1 advantage 'of ■By Jlossrs. J. Duthie aj>d Co., Ltd., they had sent a. much lpger numbcr of messages by. ca,blo. direct result of the concession, which was really . equivalent ;to ' a cheapening of the>. rates, and it had caused their annual expenditure on. cablegrams to increase byi,7s per-, cent., .Thus ■ it seemed to him that tho cable companies must: have benefitted by" the concessions.' r, His 1 , firm had that mistakes .' were ; made '■. any -more frequently U v er J?° ueTO system than under the old one.,«; They 'were enabled, to undertake busiwhich they could not: otherwise have touched., By cabling , Homo for quotations they were m a position to'tender, for work which thoy would elso have, left to others,' aud this, had brought much additional business. Thoi, oyi'iiig to . tho increased competition among tenderers,: the'l-public, or' local bodies undertaking ' bridges 'and other, .largo works, ..received .tho benefit of tho economv" thus-effected, v So also-with tho • information as to prices of hardware which was constantly received, by. cablegram , and -distributed over the ■ Dominion. If tho old 'restrictions on code language were', revived, much of these advantages would, be; lost, and great inconvenicncevwould .-resultr; <Mr. Duthie: hoped , i pstma ster-Goneral : would make representations'in; the proper quarter with a view to the retention of 1 tho, existing concession '

Mcssrs/Lovin and Co., Ltd, < The offices of Messrs'. Levin and Co. ■ vLtd vne, nest: visited.; and ;here also a:' similar bool-A? #i ken v It, was." stated -that".the £ooks of. this company showed that its expenditure on cabling had very greatly increased smco tho'uso' of artificial or "gibberthat tZ> ? aUo r?u- 'v U ha *- b een found that the, compiling .of .the messages took, more fame and required more, care.than when the dictionary. restriction" was-; in force', . and - it was concluded that/ the , experience' of- the telegraph, operators must;be. similar. Nevertheless/this drawback, as far, as- Levin and - . concerned,. -had been', more than counterbalanced by, the immense; economies effected, and..by the .resultant 'opportunity-, of keeping : m : much, closer" toiich'.with business Thus it; had b'ccomi; worth ge mc ? sa ? os daily mtK"Lori- & %, mpvolD ents of the market in New Zfealand hemp.. This was but a single example of a . great expansion that had taken ; pi«ce m :heir cabling business with thoPalooq Eastern Extension lines, since the 1903 concesswn, was granted. . In. the opinion' as a wbnl' ,?°' J bus 'ness interests nnnlo \u , in< i udms thoso of the cable companies -thamseJves, must suffer. seriously if the present • . facilities wero curtailed. New Zealand trade w as: too small a fraction of 8 commerce to carrjv decisive weight- at international congress, but its voice, through, the medium of the Chambers or Commerce .and the, Government., should ceip to swell the volume of protest already beginning to-arise in-other countries. - .

The Loan and Mercantile. • i _Tho. acc J-Mtant at the Head Office, of tho t) ew Zealand. - Loan and Mercantile:, Agency Co., : Ltd.," stated that, in addition to ' the standard code books, nearly every big.firmmerchant companies,' banks, etc.—had private code systems, of their own, and any alteration ,n systems at, present, in, vogue, both public and private, would entail considerable expense. - Further, it took, some, time to bccomp familiarised with a. new code. So'far as repetitions were concerned, these were with them less Wquent at the present time than they,were beforo, and he attributed; this to the excellence of':the "half-word"- system which was; more economical and less subject to • mutilation than tho , codes to which it was.suggested,.they should.revert, and this in spjte of tho fact/that'their own code book, ffas.praeticilly full of, unpronounceable words. LAND SETTLEMENT IN OTAGO. ... , (»I TEI.EGRAriI SI'ECIAr. CORUFSrONnjtNT.V ' a + o ' Dunedin, April 13/! . At Balclutha to-day, the Hon.*R. M'Nab ims waited,upon by a deputation, who asked ;he Government, to purchase the Cliftoii istato of 1563 acres, and, failing Clifton, the Dtahomorao Estate of 5406 acres. .The Minister said that, though-tho Govfirnment generally asked some indication'of the feeling of districts.-,it. was.hot. necessary in this case; when thoy looked at \the. number-of'.applU cants for: the Otekaike and other; estates . -it was' quito. plain that there must be in Otago a great -number, of people .wanting jand, 'and unable to got it. Ldoking at tho figures, ho believed .this,number; was largely on the\increasG,jn the South, probably becauso for many years past;tho,trend had been in tho direction of the North, and prices had-gone to .such a figure. that a man of reasonable means had to come .-South to got a suitable-sized-,farm', at'a g reasonable figure. He would communicato v/itli' tho chairman of tho Land Purchase Board, arid get him to view the property, and; report to the Government." • / The ability-to make and keep friends is one of the most potent elements in business and professional success. TVhero one .roan takes pride iii the fact that he never asked a favour in business;.;'there are. thousands who, look upon their " friendships as tho strongholds and safeguards, of their business life.—"Town, and Country," Now York.