text: how long did it take to ge a message from the telegraph? how long (hours,minutes...) both wrong.  before telex, messages had to be queued when switched between offices, and this could take a couple of hours or more.  overseas could take many hours or even more than a day.  since telex and cablegram came in (1930s in the us) messages took less than an hour, and were hand-carried from western union offices by messengers on bicycles.  typical speed of morse code messages is 5 to 12 words per minute depending on the operator.