Telegrams?


I was zipping around over at Slate when I came across an interesting story

Do Diplomats Still Use Telegrams?
Don't they have e-mail like the rest of us?

By Brendan I. Koerner
Updated Thursday, Nov. 11, 2004, at 10:41 AM ET


The New York Times reports that German Chancellor Gerhard Schröder sent President Bush a congratulatory telegram on Wednesday, urging cooperation on issues ranging from security to climate change. Do politicians and diplomats really still send telegrams?... If you'd like to follow Chancellor Schröder's lead and send your own congratulatory telegram to 1600 Pennsylvania Ave., you can attempt to do so using Western Union's online telegram service. But it'll cost you $14.99, and there's no guarantee the deliveryman will pass muster at the White House gates.


Well, the article said that the US State Department would be phasing out cables as of the end of 2006. But clicking on the link to Western Union - and an interesting page comes up from the site....


The end of an era for sure. And a little earlier than the 2004 article from Slate. So now, if the Blackberry/NTP lawsuit shuts down the Blackberries in the US - there won't be any telegram to let anyone know. Et Pace Requium, Samel Morse.

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