This item from September 1874 consists of a note from Western Union President William Orton to Eastern Division director Thomas T. Eckert, along with Eckert's reply. The note relates to the appointment of Gerritt Smith as the company's assistant electrician. Smith, who at the time was chief operator at Western Union's main office in New York, worked with chief electrician George B. Prescott on experiments involving Edison's quadruplex telegraph.

Courtesy of the AT&T Archives and History Center.