The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1877-03-21
Brother Talmage on the Telegraph
Operators.

II there s any class of mon who more
than another nccd preaching to, we should
say they must be the telegraph operators, II
whom there are thousands in the country
Brother TALNAGE, therefore, perhaps did
well in directing his pulpit uttcranccs to
them last Sunday. We fear, however, that
the telegraph people will not derive much
benefit from the discourse, for il was more
than usually full Of clap-trap, profanity,
and sensational effects. Still, Brother TAI
MAGE preached the sermon, the house
was full, and the audience was apparently
Sratiilcd with the performance
Telegraph operators perform very use
full function for modern society, and when
they are expert at the business, they are able
to get fair salaries. OF late years here, as
well as in England, many young women
have qualified themselves to work the tcle-
graph instrument, and thus have had opened
10 them new field of labor, and one for which
they are very well fitted. This Is happy
circumstance, for anything that tends ~
enlarge the sphere of womcn's employmcnts
is a great blessing. But, after all, they can
do only a limited share of the work. for they
can never compete with men in some OF its
departments. One of the remarkable things
| about telegraph operators is the facility
T they acquire of taking down messages By
the ear alone. The clicking Of the instru-
m"nt Is II language Ia them which they
readily interpret in written words.
Telegraph operators ought TO be sober,
conscientious. and trustworthy men. They
mold places of peculiar trust and rcspon-
sl'hlity, and on their discretion, fidelity, and
ability 10 hold their tongues much depends
Probably the most of the messages they
send produce little impression on their
minds, prthev must get To work mochan-
irnlly and almost automatically. Still. If
I th"y ar" bad fellows or Of a go.sipina turn
of mind, they may make Il great deal II
trouble. Therefore the preacher should in
cnlcatc in them the nccessityof strict honor
in the performance of their important trust
Brother TALMAGE says that "mcn talk too
much, and women too" Unqucstionably
this * true. Ii people should hold their
Tongues except when they have something
really valuable To say. or something kind.
sympathetic, or helpful to utter, we should
all be better OF; but then Brother TALM.GE
would be- silenced ncar; altogether, and he
could not make his living 50 easily as he
/ does now.
] l'lONli'i iNLhNti- 0fN llld' SUM IftIil'
think working the Geographic instrument is
a. easy a. playing on the piano. while it is
/ really II hard thing To do. OF course, il is
hard thing to finger the machine for hours
/ together, but II IS not any harder than 20
| play the piano well. In both cases the oper-
ator must practise long, patiently, and con-
/ tiuuou7ly before he can be expert at the
business. We do not believe that there l.
/ Geographic operator in the country who has
/ worked harder than Mme. ESsIPOFF, for in
stance whp besides what she does in pub
/ lie, has probably practsrd in private at the
piano several hours a day. We SEQ that
she attributes her remarkable hand and
/ wrist power to her constant and unrcmt-
ting use Of mere exercises, and that is
not easy work by any means, though If one
wishes to be- IA trst-rate piano player he has
/ got to go through IT, Great manual dcX-
terity is only acquired by long practice until
the hand does its appointed task with per-
feet ease and certainty. Telegraph opera
tors, like printers, must train their fingers
to work with nic-ty and rapidity.
Brother TALMAGE says 1.-THE world Is
! being talked To death, and the American
/ telegraph u helping to abatc the nuisance"
We do not see that They seem TO talk just
a. much in Congress as before the days of
MoRsE, and perhap. they talk the more be-
cause of the telegraph, for they are con
sfous that their words of wisdom are being
taken down by stenographcrs, and that the
| telegraph operator stands ready 10 transmit
| their utterances to an admiring world.
What has this art done Tor litcraturc?"
asks Brother TALMAGE. We at once reply,
nothing, though he contends that it has been
/ the enemy of great, long sentences, aud
whole pack Of bounding adJcctiyes after one
/ poor noun" This, however is not true Peo-
| PIE who do not know that simplicity and
clcarness are therequstes of good literary
STYLE and that you burden instead Of
strengthening your sentence by too many
qualifying words, have not learned to write
/ better because of the telegraph, though to
save the extra charge for additional words
| they may labor hard to get their despatch
within the required ten words. Brother
| TALMAGE, if he will allow Us to say 50, is
one of these people, for We have long OBJ
served that there are more words than yglu-
able ideas in his sermons.
| Brother TALMAGE says he Is "glal TO
know that GOD is coming to take possession
Of the worlds Geographic Instruments"
COP alrondy has them, as all other things
and all men, in His possession, and He it is
who has furnished that Uncomfortable fluid
which moves them, and which is one of the
most marvellous creations of His omnlpo-
tent mind The remark of Brother TALMAGE
savors Of profanity, and shows that he does
not stand In that awe Of the Maker of the
universe which should distinguish those
who presume to present His teachings to
sinful men.
Concluding his catchponny Sermon
Brother IALMAGE undertook an elaborate
figure of speech, "A dangerous thing for even
! wiser and better equipped men than he to