Telegram for America

A man buys a newspaper, and finds its interior blank except for the crossword puzzle. That's what would happen if it were not for Western Union.

Of course that refers to 1956. Nowadays we have lots of means of getting the news out. It flows on optic cables and up to satellites in the sky. It travels on telephones. But in 1956, there was no optic cable, there were no satellites in the sky, and if you wanted to send information by telephone, that was a long distance call, and very expensive. And so people used telegrams to send news, or conduct business.

This industrial film was produced by Western Union to toot its own horn. It shows the latest methods of getting information by telegraph -- in 1956. It's all gone now.