[CW] Is this the right answer to the Origin of CQ?

[David J. J. Ring, Jr.]

Is this the right answer to the Origin of CQ?

ARRL has this on "CQ".

The telegraph call CQ was born on the English Telegraph over a century 
ago as a signal meaning "All stations. A notification to all postal 
telegraph offices to receive the message." Its meaning was close to the 
present meanings of QNC and QST. Like many other telegraph terms which 
originated on the landlines, CQ was brought over into radio and used as 
a general call to all ships by the Marconi Company. Other companies used 
KA until the London Convention of 1912, which adopted CQ as the 
international general call or "attention" signal. CQ still means, 
literally, "attention" but in amateur radio its meaning is perhaps more 
accurately described by Thomas Raddell who compared it to yelling "Hey, 
Mac!" down a drain pipe. {Thomas Raddell was a Canadian author who had 
served as a wireless operator at Sable Island Radio/MSD).

An interesting page with call signs and very good information with the 
exception of D call signs being DeForest, they were D for Deutschland 
(Germany),  http://paullee.com/titanic/pv.html

But why the letters CQ? From the French, sécurité, (safety or, as 
intended here, "pay attention"). Later, the origin of the abbreviation 
was  changed to the phrase "seek you."  (I have my doubts on the 
accuracy of this especially when it's stated that the origin was changed 
to "seek you" - but I have no documents to back it up other than 
knowledge it was used on telegraph lines as a call to ALL STATIONS.  I 
know that in 1912 there was a book of fiction, "CQ or in the Wireless 
House" written by Arthur Train,  and published by "The Century Company" 
of New York in 1912 that has mention in it's title and pages of "CQ". 
https://www.google.com/books/edition/C_Q_Or_In_the_Wireless_House/Vv4cAAAAMAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=cq&pg=PA11&printsec=frontcover 
He mentions Poldhu Radio in Cornwall sending CQ CQ ZZ ZZ" or "Calling 
All Stations (this is) Poldhu Radio (ZZ)"

The British would have used Continental Morse, so the sound of their 
"CQ" would be what we hear on the radio.  CQ was used in commercial 
readiotelegraphy as a general call, and as it says above was codified in 
ITU treaty in 1912, while CP was codified to mean "Call to Specific 
Stations" thus CQ was to every station, and CP as in "CP KESO" was 
solely addressed to stations covered by the collective call sign KESO - 
which as you've probably guessed is the call sign of "ESSO and EXXON 
ships".  WAUS was all USA ships, NADN was all USA ships during the Gulf 
Wars,  NCU was "All USCG Units" etc.

73
DR