CHEAP TELEGRAPHY.

Dominion, Volume 3, Issue 777, 29 March 1910, Page 11

CHEAP TELEGRAPHY.

MARVELS OF THE CENTRAL OFFICE IN LONDON. . INDIA IN ONE SECOND. . , -Early, in February the Central Telegraph Department, St. Ma'rtin's-le-Gfrand, celebrated tho'fortieth anniversary of-the- transfer of, the'telegraphs to the General Post Office. The transfer took place, after long and ' repeated' applications to Parliament, on February 4, 1870. There still remains a small number of officials who were ' actually engaged in the Department at the time of tho transfer. Chief amongst these is Mr. A. E. Eames, the present Controller, and in addition there arc twentyeight men and seven women who havp seen continuous service since 1870. By the courtesy of tho Controller a leading official was placed at the disposal of "The Daily News" representative, and piloted him through the labyrinth of busy rooms humming with .tho working of hundreds of instruments sending messages to all parts of the globe. ■ Many interesting details were Warned .of the wonderful establishment. When .the transfer was made forty years ago, the Government took over tho three leading telegraph companies then in existence—the United Kingdom Telegraph Co;, the Electric Telegraph Co., and the British and Irish Magnetic Co. Sir Henry C. Fisher was Controller of the ■ Department/ (he' re-' tired ten years ago), and Mr. F.. J. SkUdamore was secretary. ..The grates for telegraphing just previous to .tho transfer ruled according to ■ distance. For instance, the United Kingdom Telegraph Company's charges were,, for 20word messages to Birmingham,-Is., to Leeds Is. 6d. These charges did not include addresses, ( which were free. But the Government soon altered this rate to ; a universal charge .of' Is., per '2Q : \vords message, for.any distance, addresses also being free.. This rate continned until.October li .1885, when the sixpenny telegram, with a minimum of twelve words, including addresses,'made its entry, with no .little sensation. The innovation sent up the number of telegrams at the' Central Office from : about 50,000 per day .to' 70,00.0/ .In 1890 -the had.. nieii ;to '100,'0p0, per' ,day; and continued increasing,up -to.the' present 'time; '.'.when,'"', an.';'; average,, of 120,000 messages'is dealt .with.- .;. ■. " The now.doparture also had the effect of increasing ina vory marked-degree the number of holders of -abbreviated addresses. This increase has continued until there are now about-30,000 registered telegraphic addresses. ill' London abrie; Probably' the' largest number of 'telegrams.' dealt, with at • tho '.Central Telegraph Office on any particular,,da.y was on Juno 25, 1902, when the postponement of the Coronation was. announced. The great -total of 314,126 was then-reached.' ■■■.'., ■•'.;■

:Nearly!lialf' telegr3ma : are -for onward transmission,', and each of -these • 'represents- practically two 'telegrams— ono received andone sent. Theriurnber of local'telegrams from; orio part of London fox'-doliybryVin. an-. other ranges,tfroih'. 20,000 t0'.40,000'; a'3ayV : lii ..the Cpntinental" section,j.jhoij .trp,ffio :6Ver,".tii6 ranges from 20,000.,it0,,i25,0p0.. telegrams' a,day.; '■ '. .•'; : - -~.- ::y: 'rh r '.,-.. ,'.!.-'• "'• C ""..•'■-.•. .'.- The news, department is one of -the largest.'- Frequently, on busy:.■''• Parlia-' mentary-nights, as many as half a million words are sent over theSwires; Tho record was reached,when Mr; Gladstone iutrodu'eed his .'Home Eulo '. Bill; the grand,...total ; of; 1,000,000. words-, being them reached!: .:',;.,,'■ '•:',. ~" .;•'•:'. --~ ; ; i ..--' .Naturally; there must be a large staff; to- deal-: with such business. .It- nurflbers' over 4500; employees, who take,, in salaries about half 'a sterling per- annum. ,' The.normal hours, of duty are oight for day work; and seven for, night work; ~;' ; ,-.'■ ..-•' . In the' huge' instrument rooms hundreds of operators were,:busy clicking messages, to every part of the United Kingdom and abroad. On the long, narrow tables are 1100 sets of.,apparatus; On 'the ; iniand circuits' the instrument mostly r used;is tho Morse sounder,which about.'2s;words '■■ .a 'inihute;;: 'But ;'f6r;,'!bscdjtiorially..;jfe.ayy; ;arid Icorltinlipus" traffic/the'J-M'beatstorib' Automaticinstrument is 'used:; " ,''"' ; Qri foreign cable circuits.Hughes and. Baudot 'instruments r 'are.used,-.; the'.'lat:'; ter the 'inveiition'of '.a : French :electr r icall engineor.,,. The : opera tor.'sends .signals by depressing the'keys of a keyboard, of, which there are five! The "lino"; is.-- given to several telegraphists consecutively for, a fraction."of a! second,, so, that as .many!as six:, operators' have the independent and,practically .simultaneous use, of the same wire.- Such a system is,described' as.multiplex,;andis economical as regards wires. At the time the "Daily, News" representative was present tho line was being'worked to' Paris and' Amsterdam, and at, the adjoining, -table. Hughes.' instruments wero dispatching messages to Frknce, Germany, Italy, Belgium, Holland; and Austria-Hungary..:'.'" .'":,',■, ',■":''-..!, Long-distance telegrams ' .(ju'ently, dispatched! ,' On : one ''occasion,' With the .lines;open;all. along, tho route, a message.-was;..transmitted; to ; Galcutta in only, a second of-time,- bub-.this was only- for experimental:purposes. It, is -found, however,' from practice that' better .results' are obtained by re-transmission ' from:-town to town.' For instance, in the of a message to. America, the wire is "first sent from the Central Telegraph Office to Valentia in Ireland, from Valentia to' Newfoundland, and from there to New York. A large number of telegrams are now received and forwarded by telephone, the operator receiving the ' message over the' 'phone and then signalling it forward on the telegraph instrument. 'Pneumatic tubes' play-a great part in the telegraph system of the present day. These tubes run between the Central Telegraph Office to all the. chief city. post, offices, the House of Commons, and as far-away as Piccadilly, Regent Street, and the Western districts. Outgoing "carriers" containing written, messages are driven through the tubes'from the Central Office by currents of compressed air. Incoming messages are drawn in by vacuum to the Central Office. The system saves Ia . tremendous amount .of time and labour.