Back in the day, if you were to give a letter to a carrier pigeon, how would the pigeon know to deliver the letter to Maggie McDoodle over at 24-102 MacFerggle Street (or whatever)? How did the pigeon know who the proper recipient of the letter was? And was it common for pigeons to accidentally deliver a letter to the wrong contact?
I think you underestimate how long a telegram can be.
Not everyone who sent telegrams was as poor as Victor Hugo inquiring about the English sales of Les Miserables by sending a single '?"