To save time and money and to increase understanding and ease of handling communications a precise cable designation system is necessary.
Smooth HCO Communication depends upon close adherence.
All cable messages between and amongst HCO Offices must be consecutively numbered from each office.
The numbers begin January first of any year and close December 31st at midnight. To begin the system start with the number at one.
After the cable number comes the Letter designation of the HCO Area office (as given below) so that the beginning of the text of a cable from Washington DC would be 344DC — 344 being the cable number and DC being Washington DC, the originator of the cable. Letters must not be the same for any two offices.
R — Cable personally originated by myself. The number preceding it is the date sent, e.g., 16R means originated on the 16th day of the month by myself.
WW — World Wide — International Executive Division. These are numbered consecutively.
UNITED STATES ………… US, NEW ZEALAND …………… NZ
UNITED KINGDOM ……… UK, AFRICA …………………….. AF
AUSTRALIA ………………. AU, FRANCE .........……………… FR
SAINT HILL ………………. SH, SEATTLE …………………… SE
LONDON ……………………. L, HAWAII ………………….. HAW
WASHINGTON, DC ………. DC, MELBOURNE ……………… ME
LOS ANGELES ……………. LA, PERTH ………………………. PE
NEW YORK ……………….. NY, SYDNEY …………………… SYD
MIAMI …………………….. MM, ADELAIDE …………………. AD
TWIN CITIES ……………… TC JOHANNESBURG …………. JB
PORTLAND ………………. PRT, CAPETOWN ……………….. CT
DETROIT …………………. DET, DURBAN ………………….. DUR
AUSTIN …………………… AST, PORT ELIZABETH ………… PEL
AUCKLAND ……………….. AK, PARIS ………………………… PS
When a specific person is to be reached the message starts with that name, usually the shortest first name of the person in the receiving office or the hat to be reached is used. Example:
Persons sending cables should sign the cable with their name followed by the name of their post abbreviated. Example:
The final form of a message would be:
If the cable message is to a comm member designate the cable as per the Comm Member System.
When a message is replied to, the sending office designation is retained and a number giving consecutive times it has been used is added after the office letters of the sending office, such as:
There is no reason to say 344DC1 because the 344DC is always "message one". When 344DC2 is replied to the next message becomes 344DC3.
This is a vital action. We have several times had an office receive three or four cables all on the same subject each correcting the last and have been unable to determine even from the cable company which was the last message and therefore the correct one.
344DC as above would be answered from Saint Hill:
Another cable, still concerned with the same books from DC would be:
meaning the Telex Operator was told to correct and did so. As 344DC is still available in the cable file the texts do not need long descriptions to continually identify the message or people involved. This means greater clarity and greater economy.
Cable messages must be meaningful. Don't let economy rob the meaning by too close wording for if the text arrives unclear, two more cables will be needed to explain it.
Example of Error
Who is arriving? Where? So we'd have to send: –
meaning the telex operator and the recipient are in the dark. This would then have to be replied to with the text that should have been sent in the first place: –
The two needless messages are nothing to sneeze at at the current cost of cables. Yet they become necessary because the sender failed to realize the text was inadequate.
All Org cables are repeated in routine airletter despatches carrying the same numbers as the cable as confirmation that a cable was sent or a copy of the cable from the telex, with "Confirmation Copy" written along the top of it, is sent to the org concerned by airmail in the usual org mail.
[Note: SY for Sydney has been changed to SYD per by L. Ron Hubbard HCO P/L 25 June 1966; DB for Durban has been changed to DUR per HCO P/L 10 February 1969.]
[Note: This Policy Letter was cancelled on 11 April 1973 and replaced by HCO P/Ls 8 April 1973, How to Write a Telex, 9 April 1973, Telex Numbering, 10 April 1973, Org Designation System, 10 April 1973-1, Org Designation System Addition, and 15 April 1973, Telex Confirmation Copies, in the 1973 Year Book.]
[Note: When originally issued this P/L included Dispatch Briefing, deleted in the 4 Jan. '66 issue. It is included in this footnote as of interest in the evolution of Scientology Organizations.
The most basic form of written dispatches is given in the Central Org Color Flash and Dispatch system. These are numbered only if they are put into HCO lines between offices.
They are then given the next consecutive number of that office and so enter HCO lines numbered.
To enter HCO lines they are usually briefed on HCO color paper (orange) and numbered. In any event they are numbered. Sometimes they are briefed and cabled or telegraphed. But they are always numbered.
Dispatches when converted to airletter are handled as follows:
The original is numbered and held in a folder in a basket stack along with other dispatches being briefed on that date. Two copies are inserted behind the airletter. The airletter is started by the notation:
LA to L 613-619
(the dispatches included in the letter). The first dispatch is given its number and a briefed text –
613LA the text follows
614LA the text follows, etc.
One copy of this airletter is held in the folder for later files, one copy goes to the HCO Continental (or the continent of the originating office) and the airletter is mailed. No one is to use any lines but the HCO Communicator's lines in sending dispatches to me and only those things that are my personal business such as Washington dispatches and Advisory Council Reports are to be sent through the HCO Communicator's lines.
When this airletter arrives in London, it is presented to me as itself, but any message for another person is taken off of the airletter by the receiving HCO Communicator and put in the dispatch lines. When it is answered, the answer is added into the returning airletter dispatches.
The original airletter is presented to me in company with two airletters and one sheet and carbons so fixed that there is a carbon of anything written on the airletter.
The new airletter is as follows: 613LA2 Answered
614LA2 Answered, etc.
The answering airletters (one original and one a carbon) do not repeat text. The original of the answering is mailed airletter back to originating office. The carbon of the answering airletter is mailed to the HCO Continental office of the originating office. The orange carbon of the answering airletter is clipped to the original briefing airletter and held in London files.
The HCO Continental of rice has received a copy of the original brief airletter. When HCO Continental receives the answering carbon airletter it clips the two together, the dispatches and the answer, and is apprised of decisions and actions taken in and about area offices..
In any Continental office there is always also an area office. That the two are near together does not excuse failure to follow communication procedure as HCO Continental files will soon be wholly separate from area files and even when in the same town they will be in different buildings.
When any office originates airletters, this proce cure is followed except by HCO Continental offices where only the original and one orange copy are sent and the original and one orange of the answer are returned.]