Probably dumb question:

If they didn’t have modems or routers, and the machines send and receive only by 110v current, does that mean there were dedicated wires across long distances between cities, carrying electrical pulses between sending machines and receiving machines?

Say it's 1959 and the Associated Press in New York is sending 6-bit copy to its member/subscriber newspaper in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. Is the copy actually traveling 1,400 miles on a dedicated AC or DC wire? If so, what was the wire's voltage?

Are the phono plugs in that 1942 photo of the New York Times wire room zapping careless daydreaming copy boys?

Thanks in advance.