TELEGRAMS ABOUT RACING
HOW THEY ARE FRAMED. AN EXTENSIVE BUSINESS. AUCKLAND, Dec. “. A “Star” representative was told this morning that an impression that t.iere was a leakage of information particularly racing information —from Auckland telegraph office was entirely wrong. Most of the racing telegrams coded, and the operators had no means' olf knowing what the messages really meant. On the Murray [ multiplex machines, the telegraphists had to work at high pressure, and they could not leave the! machine unless they were specially, relieved. “The whole, thing was over-exagge-rated and was very inopportune,” said one of the members of the staff this j morning. He added that lie was afraid it would tend to undo much of the
good work in endeavouring to secure better salary conditions. There were not more than twelve men involved and the betting amounts recorded over the tapped wire were so small as ton be .beneath 1 the contempt of any Auckland “bookie,” except one dealing in small bets. .If the men caught could be bought to book, they would have to suffer disciplinary punishment. There was no doubt that the “little breeze” would have the desired effect', but in future the term “listening-in” would produce a peculiar feeling. The heavy backing of Lydia last Saturday did not concern the telegraph men. His concluding remark was: “From many years’ experience as a telegraphist who docs not deal in racing or attend race meetings, 1 can safely say that the prevailing idea that many, good things arc picked up from inside j telegraph information is nothing hut a fa liner.”
The Post and Telegraph is regarded as the least inquisitive of Government Departments, and, as a business organisation, it is out to get all the revenue that is offering. Seeing that horse
racing is the national sport of New
Zealand—somebody once ironically described it as the Dominion’s leading industry—it provides a continuous run of telegraphic business on almost every working day of the year. Betting telegrams are not received, but there is nothing' to prevent the public gently coding their messages. Should one care to telegraph to a friend on a race day or thereabout that “Willie wants a blue shirt,” or that “Tom likes green apples,” it will be safely freighted to its destination, as officially there is nothing to connect such apparently-in-nocuous messages with betting telegrams. There may also be people wir ing a succession of messages, which read, “Fifty cases whisky, twentbrandy,” or “Buy ten barrels of cider” A polite department does not inquire into the reason If or thirsts which appear to he unquenchable. It is permissible to wire the napio of a racehorse. There is a way also of wiring both the name of a racehorse and the amount which an investor wants to put on it. One could walk to the counter at the General Post Office this morning and telegraph to a friend at Ashburton the words “Dutch Money.” The sender would then have merely to walk to the nearest branch post office and telegraph the words “Fi e pounds”. ThvMi messages would go. The relation of one to the other is apparently not a matter of departmental concern.
It is a fact that of late some race horses' met with very solid support in Auckland immediately after teleg’M’pic messages had come through concern-' ing them. There are a'variety of explanations. The recipient of the message may have told his best friend in a stage whisper.. A laying-off process might have set flie ball rolling, and more than likely quite a number of people got a similar good tip and told fill and sundry. It lias been a rather Hectic week for the telegraph staff at the Auckland Post Office. Last Saturday and Monday, when races were oil, a telephone line v sed by members of tlio telegraphic staff was tapped. Conversations over the wire were carefully recorded. An inquiry followed, and the result is being awaited witli considerable interest. Although the inquiry has been regarded as one of those periodic “storm in a teacup” affairs which occasionally trouble Government departments there is, nevertheless, the feeling in the service that it was rather a mean sold of game to play. It was stated this morning that the tapping of the wire, should he able to enlighten the departmental beads considerably in connection with the domestic arrangement and frugal method of living of the telegraph minor officials. A suggestion has been made that the inquiry was launched as the result of complaints bv Auckland bookmakers, but that has been repudiated. The reason is at the moment more or less a departmental secret.
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Hokitika Guardian, 11 December 1929, Page 7
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771TELEGRAMS ABOUT RACING Hokitika Guardian, 11 December 1929, Page 7
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