NECESSITY OF A TELEGRAPH CODE.
Sir James Anderson, continuing his notes in the Electrician, on mistakes, in telegraphy, says that the moist difficult thing in the service is to make clerks spell instead of read messages.- The eye in reading recognizes, or thinks it recognizes, words which resemble each other, and the.. local knowledge or train of thought in the mind of the operator also influences him when reading instead of.spelling. In this way such words as "Blackwatch" become " Blackwater," " Broadgrove,"" "Broadgreen;" "Eastbourne," "East"bower;" " Foxholme," " Foxhorn," etc! Clerks are fined for these mistakes, which arise from their own carelessness. In the English language there are about 16,000 words suitable for telegraphic purposes. , French, German, Latin, Hindustani and Italian hare together at least 50,000 of a safe telegraphic character. There are, therefore, about 66,000 words which merchants and others can use without artifical or fictitious combination. Sir James Anderson advocates the adoption of an authorised code of 50,000 words from the six languages.mentioned, for which the single charge would be made believing that these would be sufficient for the requirements of commerce ; and if more were needed they might fairly be charged 'extra. Something of the kind is becoming necessary; the occupation o& the lines for the repetition < of words wrongly transmitted is not only a-loss to the,companies,)but inconvenient^ to the public, other telegrams being delayed while mistakes are remedied.—Fall Mall Gazette.
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Thames Star, Volume IX, Issue 3002, 28 September 1878, Page 1
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231NECESSITY OF A TELEGRAPH CODE. Thames Star, Volume IX, Issue 3002, 28 September 1878, Page 1
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