Does the expression "That spells trouble" derive from telegraphy?

[Gerald Cohen]

Might the expression 'That spells trouble' derive from the telegraph?
I notice the following item in the newspaper _San Francisco
Bulletin_:
May 28, 1913, p.14/1-2; 'May Rain May Be Good For Farms, ...'; col.
1: 'It is bad enough to have to rain indoors on a May day and listen
to the patter of the raindrops on the window panes, but it is much
worse to have to listen to the tap, tapping of the telegraph
instrument, as it spells out a walloping for your city's
representatives [i.e., the local Class AA baseball team, San
Francisco Seals].'

Gerald Cohen