All telegraph offices are provided with regular blank forms, which may be had without cost, and it is better to use these when they are available.
The blank is properly ruled, with lines for the date, for the address of the one to whom it is to be sent, and for the message.
CHARGES
The telegraph company charges a fixed sum for a message of, say, ten words. These words do not include the name and address of the sender.
The amount of the charge is always dependent on the distance between the office from which the message is sent and the one at which it is received.
Every word over ten, in the message, pays an extra fee, dependent again on the distance.
Getting just what you mean into ten words may seem difficult when you have a lot to say, but it is surprising how you can boil the message down when each additional word costs five or more cents.
It may pay to practice this.
If it is actually necessary to make your meaning clear by the addition of more words, do not hesitate at the cost.
If you are known at the telegraph office, you can send a message to be collected from the receiver.