HONORS AND REWARDS 179 
and in 1867 it was a pound a word. This enormous charge 
seems ridiculous today when only a few cents a word is 
charged. The high charges on the early cables was the con- 
sequence of the slow rate of sending messages—eight or ten 
words a minute. This slow rate was due to the disturbed and 
induced currents in the cable. 
Despite the exorbitant charges for cable messages, the early 
company took in $2500 to $3000 per day, and profits of a mil- 
lion dollars a year were made as the business increased. 
Horace Greeley and other newspaper men pointed out that 
lower rates would bring vastly greater income, as the early 
cables operated at only five to ten percent of capacity This 
advice proved true. When rates were reduced, the profits 
increased sharply. Duplex cabling was introduced in 1871; 
by this method messages can be sent in both directions simul- 
taneously on the same wire. From the early rate of about fif- 
teen words a minute, the speed of cabling has increased 
markedly. A single cable can now handle over two thousand 
words a minute. 
