THE FIRST OP APRIL.

Dominion, Volume 6, Issue 1713, 2 April 1913, Page 6

THE FIRST OP APRIL.

STORY OF A COLLECT TELEGRAM.

Unless tho waller contained in it is scurrilous, libellous, abusive, or obscene, a telegraphic message may, bo accepted by a loi'wjvrdinyr officer l'or • transmission. Ami yesteruuy was tho first of April. A Wellington business man icccived the fol- 1 lowing i unfeigned telegram yesterday and ' paid to the boy the sixj-tneo the latter demanded: "l'ay for this you April fool." 'I'lio telegram was a collect one, hence the sixpence and the joke. The receiver of the, message did not !-o much mind tho joke, but he strongly and naturally objected 'to paying -fornt. Ho madi a complaint to this effect in this office, saying that such telegrams, if allowed, would j» capable cf such abuse as to become an , intolerable nuisance to business men. ' Mi> W. li. Morris, btcrctary for tho l'cst Ollice, said when the matter was referred to him last night, that lie did not think the message camo within the description of forbidden matter. Neither could the recipient recover his sixpewo unless ho declared, and satisfied the office, that Hie message was not for him. Mr. . Morris • did not think tho forwarding officer had exceeded his duty in sending tha message collect, provided ha knew tho transmitter, and oould recover the cost of transmission from him in the event of it hsing refused at the other end. Doubtless tho officer regarded it as a harmless, if somewhat stupid, joke.