FEATS IN TELEGRAPHY.

Kumara Times, Issue 1519, 10 August 1881, Page 2

FEATS IN TELEGRAPHY.

We all regard the Americans as a go-a-head people ; and indeed, riot without good reason. A correspondent to tlie Christchurch Press writes T have before me a copy of the Chicago Times of May 22nd, 1881, and if I had never heard anything of America before, and was never to hear anything of AmCridk again, I think I should be able from this paper alone to get a tolerably good idea of America and, American character, Ihe copy of the Times before me consists of 176 long columns of closely-printed matter, on almost every subject under the sun. Special ■ telegrams are there by the score, and amongst them is one which is nothing less than a marvel. In consists of th? entire New Testament (the. revised version of course) word for word, from the beginning of Matthew to the end of Revelation. This immense telegram occupies nearly eighty-nine columns, and is a feat in the art of telegraphy that has never been equalled. The time occupied in its transmission from New York to Chicago was from 5 to 11.30 o’clock p.m., nineteen wires being used up to nine o’clock, and twenty-one after that hour. The number of words was 83,715, nearly 84,000. After this I shall be surprised at nothing I hear respecting America. When a paper of 176 columns of closely-packed matter, including amongst many other things of great interest a special telegram of 83,/15 words, can be had in America for it really does seem as if nothing was beyond the enterprise of the cute Yankee.” Mr Meddings, the Superintendent of Telegraphs at Christchurch, has supplied the Press with a few figures which, without detracting from the merit of the above feat, yet go to show that the time occupied in sending the message was not by any means good—in fact it was beaten double by the local operators during the transmission of the Financial Statement. The Chicago message consisted of 83,715 words; 19 wires were employed 6|- hours, and 2 wires 21 hours, equal to 128£ hours work for 1 wire. This would give an average transmission for the whole message of 651 words per hour. The Financial Statement consisted of ] 1,000 words; 1 wire was occupied three hours 5 mi! nutes, another 3 hours 15 minutes, and a third 1 hour 10 minutes, or a total for 1 wire of 7 hours 30 minutes. The Statement therefore came through at the rate of 1466 words per hour—-a feat which reflects to the credit of our local operators.