Telegraphy the sense of a system that can transmit arbitrary messages over arbitrary distances. Lines of signalling relay stations can send messages to any required distance, but all these systems are limited to one extent or another in the range of messages that they can send. A system like flag semaphore, with an alphabetic code, can certainly send any given message, but the system is designed for short-range communication between two persons. An engine order telegraph, used to send instructions from the bridge of a ship to the engine room, fails to meet both criteria; it has a limited distance and
The Numbers Gang initiates are encouraged to stab a warden or even to attempt to take his eye out of the socket. One of the most compelling messages that the numbers gang members like to send to the warders, is by holding up a mirror toward the warden. This deviates from the traditional practice of holding up an image of an inmate. The message the numbers are said to be sending is "We are what you are. You are an army, we are an army. Where you have a head of the prison, we will have a judge. Where you have a head