dricejb@drilex.dri.mgh.com (Craig Jackson) (09/26/89)
Somebody asked what 'telegrams' were used for today. I don't believe that true telegrams exist in the U.S. anymore, meaning written communications handled on both ends by Western Union, but 'telegrams' still have a special place in U.S. legal usage. Twice, I have sold houses when I was out of town when I accepted the offer. In each case, the real-estate agent instructed me to send a telegram indicating acceptance. In both cases, I actually called the telegram in to the 800 number; in the most recent case, the telegram was actually delivered by mail, WU no longer having any messengers in this area (Boston). I've never checked this usage with a lawyer; it could be that the real-estate agents were just using old practices. But some of them hadn't been in the business long enough to be familiar with real telegrams. Craig Jackson dricejb@drilex.dri.mgh.com {bbn,ll-xn,axiom,redsox,atexnet,ka3ovk}!drilex!{dricej,dricejb}