# The Word "Stop" and Telegrams **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [January 6, 2020, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-word-stop-and-telegrams/846041 "2020-01-06T20:13:23Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![dolphinboy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dolphinboy/32/330_2.png) [@dolphinboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dolphinboy)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2020, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-word-stop-and-telegrams/846041/1 "2020-01-06T20:13:23Z")
I’m sure this has been asked before, but I can’t seem to find an answer to it. Back in the day, Western Union would apparently charge you by the word and punctuation mark for a telegram, but you could use the word “stop” free instead of using a period that you had to pay for. That makes no sense to me so there has to be a good reason why it would work that way unless the whole thing is just a made up story. Does anybody know the straight dope on this? ---
**Author:** ![AHunter3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ahunter3/32/368_2.png) [@AHunter3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AHunter3)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2020, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-word-stop-and-telegrams/846041/2 "2020-01-06T20:20:25Z")
It’s my understanding that no punctuation was available, period (heh!), so they’d let you use STOP in lieu of the nonexistent period. If so, what you heard is incorrect ("…instead of using a period you had to pay for"). ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2020, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-word-stop-and-telegrams/846041/3 "2020-01-06T20:26:50Z")
That was my understanding, too. It’s based on what my mother told me, and she was old enough to have used telegrams (or at least, seen her parents use them.) ---
**Author:** ![bob\_2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bob_2/32/3341_2.png) [@bob\_2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bob_2)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2020, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-word-stop-and-telegrams/846041/4 "2020-01-06T20:33:14Z")
They had ‘short codes’ for some frequently used words. (QR codes?) Was there one for ‘stop’? ---
**Author:** ![markn\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@markn\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/markn_1)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2020, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-word-stop-and-telegrams/846041/5 "2020-01-06T20:37:48Z")
There is a prosign for the period character, but I don’t know if that is a recent innovation. Even if it is, it has always seemed strange to me that no one created an ad hoc period char back in the heyday of the telegraph, which would have saved time in every message. ---
**Author:** ![dolphinboy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dolphinboy/32/330_2.png) [@dolphinboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dolphinboy)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2020, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-word-stop-and-telegrams/846041/6 "2020-01-06T20:39:03Z")
I found this from the History Channel… “Because telegraph companies typically charged by the word, telegrams became known for their succinct prose–whether they contained happy or sad news. The word “stop,” which was free, was used in place of a period, for which there was a charge. In 1933, Western Union introduced singing telegrams. During World War II, Americans came to dread the sight of Western Union couriers because the military used telegrams to inform families about soldiers’ deaths.” I used to trust their information, now I don’t know what to believe. ---
**Author:** ![CookingWithGas](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cookingwithgas/32/485_2.png) [@CookingWithGas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CookingWithGas)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2020, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-word-stop-and-telegrams/846041/7 "2020-01-06T20:47:56Z")
Wikipedia has an image of a [1903 telegram](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Telegram_style#/media/File:Telegram_from_Orville_Wright_in_Kitty_Hawk,_North_Carolina,_to_His_Father_Announcing_Four_Successful_Flights,_1903_December_17.png) from Orville Wright that clearly closes with a period. Another site claims to [debunk telegram myths](https://itelegram.com/telegram/Myths_About_Telegrams.asp) by saying > [@](#): > > Morse code originally had only capital letters and no punctuation. This generally was not much of a problem, but during the first world war when telegrams were widely used in the military, a misunderstood message could be disastrous. The custom arose of using the word STOP between sentences in military telegrams so that any ambiguous phrases would not be misinterpreted. The custom caught on with the public. Even after punctuation was introduced, people continued fashionably using STOP between sentences in telegrams even though they didn’t have to. However, they offer no cites to back it up. OTOH [NBC News](http://www.nbcnews.com/id/11147506/ns/business-us_business/t/stop-telegram-era-over-western-union-says/#.XhOcC2RKhhE) reports that > [@](#): > > People would save money by using the word “stop” instead of periods to end sentences because punctuation was extra while the four character word was free. I find that specious and makes no sense. Although I don’t see punctuation when I look up Morse code, clever operators could certainly find a way to transmit a period more cheaply than sending a four-letter word. ---
**Author:** ![CookingWithGas](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cookingwithgas/32/485_2.png) [@CookingWithGas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CookingWithGas)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2020, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-word-stop-and-telegrams/846041/8 "2020-01-06T20:49:12Z")
> [@dolphinboy](#): > > I found this from the History Channel…[…]I used to trust their information, now I don’t know what to believe. Yeah, I also found shows on the History Channel about aliens that visited Earth millions of years ago. ---
**Author:** ![Bijou\_Drains](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bijou_drains/32/2814_2.png) [@Bijou\_Drains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bijou_Drains)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2020, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-word-stop-and-telegrams/846041/9 "2020-01-06T20:49:16Z")
> [@dolphinboy](#): > > I found this from the History Channel… > > “Because telegraph companies typically charged by the word, telegrams became known for their succinct prose–whether they contained happy or sad news. The word “stop,” which was free, was used in place of a period, for which there was a charge. In 1933, Western Union introduced singing telegrams. During World War II, Americans came to dread the sight of Western Union couriers because the military used telegrams to inform families about soldiers’ deaths.” > > I used to trust their information, now I don’t know what to believe. Pretty sure they used telegrams in WW II because so many people died. Now they send out an officer or two to notify the family in person. ---
**Author:** ![markn\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@markn\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/markn_1)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2020, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-word-stop-and-telegrams/846041/10 "2020-01-06T20:58:28Z")
> [@CookingWithGas](#): > > Although I don’t see punctuation when I look up Morse code, clever operators could certainly find a way to transmit a period more cheaply than sending a four-letter word. The Wikipedia article shows several punctuation characters: [Morse code - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morse_code) It says the period is ._._.\_ ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2020, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-word-stop-and-telegrams/846041/11 "2020-01-06T21:04:16Z")
When my mom died, my sister showed me some things she’d found, including a telegram my mom sent to her mom. It read, “WE GOT MARRIED STOP WILL BE HOME SOON”. (My parents eloped) ---
**Author:** ![markn\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@markn\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/markn_1)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2020, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-word-stop-and-telegrams/846041/12 "2020-01-06T21:14:09Z")
If the word stop were really free, one could presumably send a telegram consisting only of N copies of the word stop for no cost. This could suffice for simple messages. I highly doubt that this was the case. ---
**Author:** ![Kiwi\_Fruit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kiwi_fruit/32/12_2.png) [@Kiwi\_Fruit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kiwi_Fruit)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2020, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-word-stop-and-telegrams/846041/13 "2020-01-06T22:01:47Z")
I think the STOP would be sent as a BT digraph, i.e. no pause between characters in Morse code. Printed telegrams often have the character = between sentences or at the end of the message. In Morse code, that’s the same as BT. -…- ---
**Author:** ![Bear\_Nenno](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bear_nenno/32/3358_2.png) [@Bear\_Nenno](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bear_Nenno)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2020, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-word-stop-and-telegrams/846041/14 "2020-01-06T22:03:09Z")
> [@Bijou\_Drains](#): > > Pretty sure they used telegrams in WW II because so many people died. Now they send out an officer or two to notify the family in person. They used Western Union because it seemed like a good idea at the time. It was used until Vietnam, when people started realizing how undignified and inhumane it is to receive such a notification from a telegram. The current practice, at least in the US Army, is for a Casualty Notification Officer (usually a senior enlisted person) to deliver the news in person while accompanied by a Chaplain. After the notification, a Casualty Assistance Officer (again, usually a senior NCO) contacts the family to help them through all of the logistics, financials and paperwork involved. The Casualty Assistance Officer is assigned to that family for as long as the entire process takes–sometimes up to 6 months or longer. ---
**Author:** ![Mk\_VII](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Mk\_VII](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mk_VII)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2020, 10:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-word-stop-and-telegrams/846041/15 "2020-01-06T22:42:44Z")
> [@markn\_1](#): > > The Wikipedia article shows several punctuation characters: [Morse code - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morse_code) > It says the period is ._._.\_ I’ve sometimes seen that rendered in telegrams as AAA I always understood STOP to describe what it is; a full stop (‘period’ is not used in British - or if it is it means something very different) ---
**Author:** ![ASL\_v2.0](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asl_v2.0/32/3525_2.png) [@ASL\_v2.0](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ASL_v2.0)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2020, 10:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-word-stop-and-telegrams/846041/16 "2020-01-06T22:49:16Z")
> [@Bijou\_Drains](#): > > Pretty sure they used telegrams in WW II because so many people died. Now they send out an officer or two to notify the family in person. But alas, the family often finds out via Facebook or other social media first. ---
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2020, 11:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-word-stop-and-telegrams/846041/17 "2020-01-06T23:26:27Z")
> [@CookingWithGas](#): > > Wikipedia has an image of a [1903 telegram](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Telegram_style#/media/File:Telegram_from_Orville_Wright_in_Kitty_Hawk,_North_Carolina,_to_His_Father_Announcing_Four_Successful_Flights,_1903_December_17.png) from Orville Wright that clearly closes with a period. I’m more intrigued by the spelling of “Orevelle” Wright on that telegram. I suppose it was dictated but not read. ---
**Author:** ![Mark\_Finn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/34f0e0/32.png) [@Mark\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mark_Finn)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2020, 12:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-word-stop-and-telegrams/846041/18 "2020-01-07T00:27:20Z")
Telegrams were traditionally charged by the word. What was to stop senders from combining words e.g. ITSABOY JOHNDOESMITH MOMANDDADWELL ? ---
**Author:** ![Melbourne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5e925/32.png) [@Melbourne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Melbourne)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2020, 2:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-word-stop-and-telegrams/846041/19 "2020-01-07T02:11:53Z")
But there was a minimum charge. So the cheapest telegram would have been only words, no punctuation, and below the minimum word count. Also, although telegrams were charged ‘by the word’ long words counted as more than one word. ---
**Author:** ![Mr\_Downtown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Mr\_Downtown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr_Downtown)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2020, 4:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-word-stop-and-telegrams/846041/20 "2020-01-07T04:54:01Z")
Certainly by the 20th century, telegrams included punctuation. You can find many images online. It appears the “STOP” was an affectation used when reading one aloud, as in a movie. I’m pretty sure I learned this on this very forum a few years ago. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-word-stop-and-telegrams/846041.md?page=2)