TELEGRAMS

Perhaps the most important thing to guard against in the writing of telegrams is a choice of words which, when run together, may be read two ways. As there should be no punctuation (and telegraph companies do not hold themselves responsible for punctuation) the sentences must be perfectly clear. There are instances where the use of punctuation has caused trouble.

In cases where punctuation is absolutely necessary, as for instance when more than one subject must be covered in the same message, the word "stop" is employed to divide the sentences, as:

Will arrive eight-thirty Wednesday stop telephone Gaines am coming stop will be at Hotel Pennsylvania

Therefore write sentences so that when they are run together there is only one interpretation.

Use no salutation or complimentary closing. Leave out all words that are not necessary to the meaning. Omit first-person pronouns where they are sure to be understood. Do not divide words in a telegram. Compound words are accepted as one word. Numbers should be spelled out, principally because it is more likely to insure correct transmission, and secondly because it costs less. For example, in the ordinal 24th the suffix th is counted as another word.

The minimum charge for telegrams is the cost of ten words, not counting the name, address, and signature. Nothing is saved by cutting the message to less than ten words. There is a certain fixed rate of charge for every word over ten.

In counting the words, count as one word the following:

I—Every word in the name of an individual or a concern as: Clive and Meyer Co. (four words) DeForest and Washburn Co. (four words also, as DeForest is counted as one word).
II—Every dictionary word. In the case of cablegrams, words of over fifteen letters are counted as two words.
III—Every separate letter as the "M" in "George M. Sykes" (three words).
IV—Every figure in a number as 598 (three words).
V—Names of states, territories, counties, cities, and villages.
VI—Weights and measures, decimal points, punctuation marks within the sentence.

To save expense in long messages codes can be used in which one word stands for several words. The Western Union has an established code—or private codes can be arranged. Five letters are allowed as one code word. A word of six or seven letters will thus count as two words.