Telegram for America (1953)

[Music] [Music] [Applause] even before the familiar Telegraph key came this first mors instrument whose spark set Fire To The World of communication sure Western Union was boots and Saddles the golden spike in the railroad tie singing wires and The Growing Pains of a great nation but everybody knows that Commerce St Union did a job the telegraph wire tied the cattle markets of Kansas to the tables of the East hitch the cotton Mills of New England to the southern plantations and the New York Cutting tables other methods of communication were slow and tedious the telegraph was the only means of Rapid communication it was direct it was fast it kept pace with the nation's expanding [Music] frontiers all late what do you read what do you read all late they're all late what do you read what's your paper mister GL hey yeah hey what's this Joe what's what blank pages where's the news huh what do you know they're all blank sorry Joe a sorry Joe's customer it would have happened if we hadn't arranged it there's plenty of news today but it's still in the making all right Madam we'll send that out right away I don't mean to be personal sir but congratulations oh thanks did you mean to say whether these twins were boys or girls sir H how could I have forgotten that they're boys and you want this sent as a regular telegram of course oh sure this is news well who else would like to get the good news well this goes to about eight different people I have a lot lot more writing to do here that won't be necessary you just put down your list of addresses and we'll see that they all get the message oh SW sure Fred Brown twins are news Western Union is about to make it official and while you think of all the people who should know about Alice and the twins hundreds of other telegrams are being sent and received in other ways in the 10 block business area around you [Music] high above the city a busy executive receives a telegram by desfa a compact Telegraph machine that operates by faximile and brings message transmission right to his desk [Music] he places his reply on a cylinder and with a push of a button the reply goes direct to Western Union in his own handwriting an ultr modern Telegraph method that is close to Magic 50 stories down Western Union serves another man whose job demands fast and accurate communication hello Western Union I like to send a telegram Mr JL Roberts Tomkins structural steel company Templeton Ohio construction here ahead of schedule urgent you wire immediately earliest arrival structural steel while urgent words speed from an engineer to his home office a steady flow of words flashes to Western Union from the communications room of a large business firm a battery of tele printers handles swiftly the mass of urgent detail behind the daily operations of a major business to save time to pack more hours into the day to get on Fast orderly record the many details of a busy Enterprise no less important is Telegraph service to the smaller business whose need for Rapid Communications is well served by The Familiar call box at the turn of the handle the summons arrives at the branch office recorded on tape the experienced clerk knows at a glance where the call originated and dispatches a messenger to the customer who is telegraphing an order for a 20ton crane and all the while people come and go in the telegraph Hub of the neighborhood say how does this sound cut surprise shorle in Big Town caught short of cash 25 would help please Telegraph care of Western Union thanks love to all Bob great all right thank you very much and we will Rush these out right away good oh and uh good luck thanks okay let's send it it's a typical day at Western Union behind the counter the mechanical nerves of the system change words to holes on tape and the holes on tape to electrical impulses speeding over the wires here is the Urgent order for the 20ton crane to the Western Union operator impartially and impersonally sending an almost endless flow of words the contrast between 6B babies and 20 ton cranes passes by almost without notice now the operator starts the St gr a quick tap of the keyboard and another punch the key signals that will guide the message automatically to its destination [Music] now it's gone already arriving at Syracuse highspeed message center for the territory in which the telegram originated and a link in the chain of mechanized centers throughout the country good news travels fast and with a speed of life this good news now in Syracuse is automatically being flashed onward to St Louis message center for the delivery office guided only by the two key signals punched in New York swiftly accurately practically nonstop along with thousands of other telegrams coursing through these wires flashing through in Round the Clock succession and now over the high-speed transmitter the message appears before the operator in St Louis on both printed and perforated [Music] tape as it arrives she notes the destination and click with the push of a button the words are on their way to Cumberland [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] Missouri here they are arriving in printed form ready to be gummed down on the familiar yellow blank a happy group of words announcing a double blessing to waiting grandparents yes sir twins 6 lb each Alice doing fine think I'll recover love Fred it seems to take longer to tell than it takes to do this passage of a message by Western Union and at the very same time we follow this message the order for the 20ton crane has reached its final destination Preston California thousands of miles farther away reached it and already delivered because distance means nothing when it's at the end of a telegraph circuit the sailor's request for Shore leave money from Dad gone off at the same time as the telegrams about 6B Twins and 20ton cranes delivered in Basset Maryland by one of Western Union's newest developments telecar a modern message center on Wheels which receives telegrams By Radio in fact simile while cruising in outlying areas virtually a telegraph Center at the door door step and in less time than Would Be Imagined the Sailor will have the money he wants through the speed magic of a telegraphic money order this is the network of interconnecting highspeed message centers linking together the vast Western Union system from coast to coast and from the great major message centers spring a multitude of connecting circuits directly linking thousands of towns and cities large and small throughout our country with this vast ultramodern automatic Telegraph system the finest fastest in the world yes we call it Speedway for Words a Speedway extending far and wide within our Shores and even Beyond to and from any part of the globe meanwhile a typical day continues from babies to butter back in Cumberland the supermarket chain wants 500 cases of butter now at the market price now trained fingers fly over the keyboard the tape flows and instantly the order is fed into the great automatic Network in a matter of minutes the butter order is on the floor of a large produce exchange 70 million housewives are concerned with every move in this Marketplace for the price tags of the nation's grocery shelves are determined here 500 cases 95 the sale goes up on the big board and over the Western Union circuits the transaction flashes instantly to produce Growers and Shi across the land in every type of marketplace from butter to bonds Western Union records the nation's sense of values to provide service to as many as possible today's Western Union reaches the American people in different ways those in small communities may know Western Union Service through its agencies and Railway stations like this where a young lady sends a meet me telegram the busy housewife to send a greeting or congratulation message may call for telegraph service and simply say charge it to my phone please the hurried man who wants to talk away his Telegram and get going sends a reservation telegram from a convenient direct coin box cabinet the late traveler who finds his day too short for all his business telegraphs for a morning appointment calling on Western Union at his hotel to work for him while he rests and here the the occasional user of telegrams who lives in communities away from the center of things knows the Dependable local drugstore as Western Union's representation to millions of sports fans Western Union is the answer to what's the score wherever the bat cracks against the [Applause] ball wherever grid iron grates collide wherever Big Time punches fly Western Union is as much a part of the sport scene as the umpires and referees whatever the news wherever it happens Western Union speeds the story to its national press centers serving the world's top newspapers with lightning fast reports geared to press deadlines wherever disaster strikes Western Union is on the job to restore contact bring word to and from the stricken and martial relief of the hungry and homeless in scores of crises in the nation's history the copper wires of Western Union have been worth their weight in gold of all the many places where Western Union serves the American people it is perhaps here where Representatives speak and act for 150 million citizens that Western Union serves the greatest number in the Senate Press Room correspondents compiled the daily hard copy record of significant speeches ballots legislation and Committee Action almost as soon as it happened s through on the spot facilities Western Union delivers this record to front pages in the Free World but there are more than outgoing stories Western Union in Washington is a funnel into which Americans pour their messages of support or protest to their leaders the opinions of grassroot Voters who rightly believe that the elected man is a public servant when great issues are at stake the people speak their minds in a flood of telegrams that may total tens of thousands in 24-hour period through its highp speed centers and other facilities Western Union stands ready to carry far greater traffic than the nation demands one section of its system operates by microwave beam transmission from Towers like this in Washington more than 2,000 telegrams can be sent and received simultaneously on a single radio beam traveling with a speed of light through other Towers strategically located along the Route how else does this Western Union of today serve specially designed private wire systems when there is a need for Communications in volume such as the private bank wire interconnecting 188 banks in 54 cities providing direct immediate and confidential Communications for all banks on the network here is an outstanding example of modern telegraphy serving the nation's great Industries yes Western does more than serve the individual 24 hours a day 365 days a year at all times this battery of teleprinters presents a permanent record of the origin and destination of every message exchanged over the private wire system contracts confirmations instructions purchase orders Financial transactions not one detail has been left hanging in the air filed in memory or left a chance it's all in black and white in the Pentagon brain Center of America's military might the permanent aspect of telegraphic communication conforms to the traditional demand of the military for realistic records the Army and Air Force use private Telegraph systems to coordinate their vast organizations operated by specially trained service Personnel theirs are among the greatest communication centers ever designed and serviced by Western Union [Music] hey they're all here they're all late what do you read they're all here hey hey what do you read hi Joe hi yeah that's more like it Joe it's got news yeah I can't figure out why that last Edition was blank a break I guess it's all there now all right the things that happened to people and the things that people made to happen there's just one blank space in this edition of the paper but that will be filled in the next Edition because the story is happening right now a reporter is taking notes in the Research Center of Western Union and what he is looking at will make the story that will fill the last empty space in the newspaper the story is a familiar one to Western Union a new one to the reporter it's the story of an endless search for improved facilities to serve the communications needs of America the news Peg of the story is one of the finds of that search high-speed faximile transmission and reception of both words and pictures in a matter of seconds 3500 words are sent and [Music] received here is a look into the future of communications a long way from the early key that clacked out Dot and dash messages here is modern telegraphy at work sending and receiving in faximile placing all of a vast system at the user's elbow here is telegraphy today hurtling millions of words across thousands of miles automatically guided and controlled by the magic brain of an almost infallible system [Music] speeding messages to destinations with just the push of a button to better serve America everywhere to bring distant friends and business customers within Arm's Reach through the swiftness of the yellow blank a long way from the old hand to hand relay from point to point slow and at the mercy of human [Music] error here is the thin white ribbon of words unchangeable accurate moving the message it carries Lightning Fast visible transcript of the sender's thoughts actual record of what has been said here is telegraphy on Wheels roaming the streets of outlying districts to bring Telegraph service right to the front door the radio beam Tower and its amazing capacity of 2,000 T at a time on a single radio beam that's a long way from the one telegram on one wire of a century ago [Music] from this Telegraph center of the world headquarters of Western Union in New York comes a telegram a telegram for America what union is proud of its record through the first 100 Years A record of service and progress which in the needs of today and plans for tomorrow keeps Pace with the Temple of a fast moving age