Calloway's Code (Henry)
H. B. Calloway, a special correspondent for the New York Enterprise, was sent to cover the Russo-Japanese-Portsmouth war. After spending two months in Japan, he finally joined the First Army and managed to get exclusive information about an upcoming attack. However, due to the strict censorship imposed by the Japanese commander, Calloway had to find a way to send the information back to his newspaper without being caught.
Calloway decided to use a code based on newspaper English, where each word in the message was followed by a word that naturally came after it in journalistic writing. He sent the coded message to the Enterprise, hoping that his colleagues would be able to decipher it.
Foregone preconcerted rash witching goes muffled rumour mine dark silent unfortunate richmond existing great hotly brute select mooted parlous beggars ye angel incontrovertible.
The managing editor and other staff members struggled to understand the code, but eventually, a young reporter named Vesey cracked it.
It’s simply newspaper English. I’ve been reporting on the Enterprise long enough to know it by heart.
Vesey's decoding revealed that the Japanese army was planning to attack at midnight, with a large force of cavalry and infantry. The information allowed the Enterprise to publish an exclusive and detailed account of the battle, beating all other newspapers. Despite one minor error due to a cable operator's mistake, the story was a huge success and demonstrated the power of words and their ability to convey hidden meanings when used in the right context.
As a result of his contribution, Vesey's salary was raised, and the Enterprise continued to thrive as a leading source of news.
The old man says your salary is to be raised to twenty a week.
The clever use of code by Calloway and Vesey's ability to decipher it highlighted the importance of resourcefulness and ingenuity in journalism.