CHAPTER XXVIII

TELEGRAPH CODES

The heavy cost of telegraphing to places abroad, especially to countries such as India, China, and Australia, where the rates are comparatively high, has caused merchants to devise ingenious arrangements with a view to telegraphing the maximum amount of information by the minimum number of words.

These ingenious arrangements are what are known as "Codes." Every large merchant has his own "code," specially adapted for his own business. These codes have been built up gradually, and improved from time to time so as to minimise the number of words required to be telegraphed. Owing to the keen competition in business nowadays, and the narrowing down of profits, each merchant tries to keep the cost of telegraphing as low as possible. Therefore, any merchant who can devise a code by means of which he can conduct his telegraphic correspondence in fewer words than his competitors has a "pull" over those competitors. This is especially important in the Eastern trade, where business is transacted almost entirely by telegraph.

In addition to these private codes there are a number of printed codes, adapted for special trades or businesses such as Bankers, Shipowners, Shipbrokers, Wheat and Flour Merchants, &c. Some of these printed codes, such as the Al and A B C Codes, are adapted, or may with some slight alterations or additions be adapted, to most businesses not of a special character. These printed codes are usually arranged alphabetically. In private codes the arrangement is generally by subjects.

In preparing foreign telegrams from a private code it is necessary, therefore, to have the contents of the code at one's finger ends, so as to know exactly where to look for the sentence or information one wishes to send. The translating of a telegram, however, is a much more simple matter, except when the code is a complicated one, as all one has to do as a rule is to look in the code for the word telegraphed and write the sentence attached. Both the preparation and the "translating" of foreign telegrams is generally

done by the principals of the firm, or by experienced assistants—it does not form part of the ordinary routine of office work.

Despite the fact that the rules of the International Telegraph Convention admit of the words of eight languages being made use of, only about 320,000 words can be safely used for code purposes, firstly because for extra-European messages no code word can be employed which contains more than ten letters, and secondly because of the large number of words which have to be rejected owing to similarity and the consequent liability of a word being “mutilated," as it is called, i.e., one letter being substituted for another and therefore conveying a wrong meaning. Practically only words containing not fewer than seven letters and not more than ten are available.

From what we have already said it will be gathered that there are two kinds of codes, viz., Word Codes and Figure Codes. Many codes are combinations of both words and figures.

Word Codes. We begin with the Word Code, as it is the simpler of the two. In this kind of code a word stands for each sentence, price, numeral, &c., to be telegraphed. Of course, the sentences, prices, numerals, &c., have all to be arranged before-hand and the code words allotted to them, and both the sender and the receiver of the telegram must possess a copy of the code.

We will begin by arranging a small code for, say, a merchant engaged in the East India trade. In this trade, business is done by telegraph almost exclusively. It will, of course, be understood that this is only a very small portion of the code.

The following example shows how this code would be used :

:

Telegram received from W. Stephens & Co., Calcutta (registered telegraphic address :-" Hercules, Calcutta "), by Brown & Co., Manchester (registered address :--"Menelaus, Manchester ") :—

"Abattoir, balustrade, captivate, eagerness, garnet."

meaning "Buy 25 bales 45 in. grey shirtings, 15 × 12, 9 lb., at Rs. 3·14 c.f. & i. Calcutta, shipment as soon as possible, gold heading."

In such a code, provision would also have to be made for sterling prices, and for shipment in any month.

The preceding is a very simple code; in fact, no firm with any experience of code telegraphy would use such a code.

A shorter way of arranging this code would be as follows:

The remaining portion of the code would be as before-"factotum” to "general."

By means of this code the telegram of five words on the preceding page could be compressed into three words, thus:—“Accident, becoming, garnet."

Both this and the previous code may be extended indefinitely. In a real code provision would have to be made for all kinds of goods shipped, for a large range of prices and terms of shipment, and for a variety of other information.

Figure Codes are not quite so simple as Word Codes, but they present no difficulty when the arrangement, or sequence, of the figures is understood. The principle consists of taking a number of phrases which experience has taught us are frequently required, and assigning a numeral, or two or more numerals, to each. These numerals are afterwards placed in consecutive order so as to form groups of five figures or more, and are telegraphed in groups of five figures, or in words (taken from a Code Book) representing each group of five figures. Until a short time ago only three figures were allowed to pass as one word in extra-European telegrams, and words representing the figures were then almost invariably used, but since the limit for figures has been increased to five, telegrams are sent in both words and figures. The safer plan, however, is to use words, as any mutilation is then more easily discovered.

On the following pages are two specimens of Figure Codes. The first is an adaptation of the Word Code on the previous page. By taking the figures 33, 05, 4, from this code, and combining them into a group of five figures, thus:

33054

it will be seen that the telegram which required five words in Code No. 1, and three words in Code No. 2, could be telegraphed in this way as one word.

The second Figure Code is used in the same way. numerals 2, 07, 04 (combined into 20704) would mean 'Cicero' not arrived yet, charter cancelled."

Thus, the

"Steamer

These examples show the great saving to be effected by the use of Figure Codes as compared with Word Codes.

Of course, the codes here given are merely short examples, but they suffice to explain the general principles on which Telegraph Codes are formed, and will enable any intelligent person to construct therefrom a Code adapted to his own requirements.

In an extended code it would be necessary to use three, or perhaps four, figures for the first section; three or four figures for the second section; and two or three figures for the third section. Ten numerals (i.e., two groups of five each) would then be required. By this means almost any kind of order could be telegraphed in two words.