“But let us inquire if we are benefited by this rule of strictness. We see that very few acknowledged cipher messages are forwarded. There are people who can make messages apparently in plain text but which are actually cipher, and in the various attempts to get much into little there lies the germ of many disputes between customers and receiving clerks. The truth is, we make nothing and lose much. Many who were our best customers now use the line only in cases of emergency, whereas they would use it daily if our terms were liberal. The U. S. government and the representatives at Washington of all the foreign governments are determined to use us as little as possible. We are reviled on every side. The government, the press, and all the people will do all in their power to encourage a competing line. Something must be done to arrest this feeling. Why not try reduction for three mouths, and see what the effect will be....
“I remain, my dear Mr. Deane,
“Very truly your friend,
“Cyrus W. Field.”
Mistakes made in the transmission of messages by cable were of course more annoying than other telegraphic errors in proportion to the costliness and delay of correcting them. One cablegram as received at the Western Union office, New York, read: “Letter thirteen received; you better travel.” The first change was from “you” into “son”; and it was delivered in Paris, “Letter thirteen received; son pretty well.” By this time the message had become unintelligible, and therefore useless. A serious complaint was naturally made when instead of the cable message reading “Protect our drafts” it was “Protest our drafts.”
In a letter to London on February 4th he says:
“I think there can be no doubt if the several telegraph lines between London and New York were under an efficient management the business could be done much better and enormously increased, and I would work energetically with you, Mr. Morgan, and others to secure this object if it can be done in a satisfactory manner. I consider it of great importance that this business should be under the control of persons that can comprehend what it can be made.”
On the eve of sailing for England, on February 18th, he wrote to the Hon. Hugh McCulloch, Secretary of the Treasury:
“I have undoubted confidence in the good faith of our government that it will pay the principal and interest of every dollar of its bonded debt in gold, and shall do all in my power to make my friends in Europe think as I do.”
The day before this had been sent to him:
“Washington, February 17, 1868.
“My dear Sir,—Accept my thanks and best wishes. I have only to say that the wise men whom you will find in the East are not very wise in expecting that our troubles will diminish while they insist upon concessions which we cannot make.