The Hawaiian gazette., 1878-08-28
rhe inventor ersAe rhoaoxrapn.
Iae.s ; relsxs.pA rsnnas A.,snahs.. one CIV.


81 FIRST knew Tom Elisoo." said Mr., Stewart,
"in 1866, At that time was an operator In
tennessee Ton vss employed BY Coloeel
Coleman, the Saperie tenden, u the Wessern
uaion offee in Memphis. He was gawks boy.
aeoa, is or 10, and vas reading everything about
electricity that DO could pick up. tie bad
lean and hungry look, and always seemed To Be
aadsr The lndasnes Of some secret excitement.
tie bad GOT iato bis bead the idea OF sending
iaplex Dispatches. aud all his spare time Was de-
voted to experiments IN the oaiee Coleman
stood il fos some time. bat al last began To
sso~L He allowed that Tom was crazy, and
sand that any blamed fool ought to kaow that a
wire esnt he worked both WAYS az the S&me
time he declared ,ha, he woaldn', have Tom
patsesing aroand The ofieS With such Stiffness.
aud hoslly discharged hun IN disgust. The boy
went back home to soms iosn in Michigan. and
lost track 0f him.
Some time aftsrwari was transferred 10 the
Boston oaies. At that time wire No, l. as il
~as thsa called, was considered the crack wlro
Of the eoaatry, The fastest men. were working
It. Fer some cause the operator IN Boston re-
sigosd. IL was diHeulI to 6nd a man to take
his place, half dozen fellows tried it, bat
found i, too uaeh for them. ons AFTER another
they dropped it like hot potato. and sloped.
wiser than Shsn they esme. There was man
Ie the otfes named VI. F. Adams. He though.
the world u ron Ellison. and reeomms ndsd him
70 the place. voaehing for han as 6rst-elass
operator. q. +, M,lhksn. the manager, Isle-
grAphed to tue little lown ia Michigan, asking
ION II be would come on and accept the posi-
tioo, Ton answered yes, and slthOat further
words started for Boston Sia the Michigan
Central and Grand Truck Railroads In running
through Canada be got showed nnder, and was
kept on the track IN one spot tSeaIy.ioar hours.
cold add hungry. without bed. As usual. he
o~aed bat QUE suit OF clothes. and that Was on
hts back. Unfortunately. il Was Sumner suit.
He might have fs0zsn 10 death had be not bought
an old rough roundabout overalAt from Ca
muck railroad labossr. Bat he hnally got through
all right,
Il ~as in the Boston Office when he arrived.
aud | must say eontinaed Mr.. Stewart. bring
lag bis hst down upon the table. he was the
worst looking specimen Of humanity ever saw.
The modern telegraph tramp isn't marker. he
wore pair OF jeans bresehes SIX inches too short
for hlu, pair Of very low shoes, the Cauuck
jacket, and broad-orIumed butteruut hat. a
rehe Of bis life in Menphis. The wide rim vas
badly torn, aud hung down so that you could see
bis sar through the opening. There Was the
slightest trace of dirt on his upper lip, that be
called mOustaehs. His hair hadn't been combsd
for s week, aud De wore the blacklist white shirt
that was ever seen on the back OF a human
being. Ness0usly piuehing his upper hp-a
habit that he had--hs inquired for tue manager,
and ~as sent TO MIlhken.
Are you The boss 2 Ton asked. Mhlikeu
smiled and said be was the manager. Ton then
introduced hiusef and asked when thsy wanted
hIm to 90 TO work. Milhksn stared at han As
though be couldn't believe his ears. and said
Ar half past s. IL vas then well along 10 the
Aftesuoou. Tom began to look around the oisce
for a clock, ana Milksn said Young uan, you
have TO work pretty heavy wire TON gave
what b called his moastaehs al extra twist aud
with all the assurance in the world olurIed oat
All rig Z, boss Ill be here at halfpAsI s. He
siopsd so quick that il made Mulkenis head
swim
The operators burst into peal Of laughter
They had seen and heard everything. and their
remarks were anything bat complimentary 70
Tou- oh, said zoe Of theul-'he SOa'I last as
long as that Jseseyman thar tackled tue wire
the other day why, that fellow cant read by
paper, let aloHe BY sound.' shouted another A
/ lhlrd declared that Tom was the worst be ever
saw. and when fourth wondered whether the
walking between Michigan and Boston vas very
good' there was general roar.
Well" continued Stewart, 3 80 came. and
30 did Tom Everybody vas on the qui yiys.
Millikau vas just taking from the vault tue sup
I ply Of blanks tor the night operators As Tom
came ap De pointed to pile OF them. saying
/ lake What blanks you want aud | ail show yOC
| your table Ton innoeeatly picked up the
whole oanils. and followed MiIhksn TO his table.
| The operators began TO grin aud sHicksr. They
all thought be would get bounced after trying
| Ous message Ii was the No. wire to NsS
York. Jerry Borst, then considered one of tbs
I f2.fzst IN h.. ~ III
/ York end As Tom seated himself be heard The
call B, and. taruirg to MIlliksn, asked If that
vas the call f0r Boston I Is. replied the mana
ger. watching Toms movements With intense
curiosity Thsreupon Tom opened bis KEY aud
| licked the answer. L. L. Jerry began 10 .EhOou
/ EN- up 10 his best style. aud every eye Vas
/ tarusd 90 him he displayed no snxiety. bat
kept right along at his =OFk as though De had
bsea taking Jerry all bis lie For four mortal
hours dId Jerry keep it up hundred poands TO
the square Iuch, and fOas mortal hours did Tom
take II down 10 a hand-Sriting - neat aud plain
as reprint Fur the frat time 10 his life JsrJ
hEt rushed u until ne vas tired without a break
/ fsou the receiver. He vas aslonlshed. Wheu
be had finished, the following messages passed
1 between them:
From JzEzT.
| Who the devil are you anyhow?
| From TOM
In the new nau- Nv name - Tom Edisou
RsoN JEzET.
Well By "a ripper-Repl, you're the MAJ Tvs
I been looking for for the last tea Years, aud
/ you're the ouly man ever found that eoald take
ne Eithoat break Shake
And they shook. The astouishnent Of The
I boys ID the ONCE vas aaboandsd There sai
10 more Ching aor suicksring. Everybody vas
! Tome friend st once The next dag Millikec
/ picked up sheet Of To0's manuscript. and re-
/ aectTVely stroksd his long beard. 1 never saE
such pretty copy be said Hes a. good ar
/ opsrator a. I ever metz