Lancaster daily intelligencer. [volume] (Lancaster, Pa.) 1864-1928, 1882-12-02
REFORM is NECESSARY
IN CUR TELEGkAPH:C Facilities

graphic Accommodations
N Z city the size Of Lancaster. and hay
ing TIE many important interests reuuir.
ing ;he frequent use Of the telegraph that
have made this place centre of industry
and Information, it is at least surprising to
contemplate the utterly inadequate means
provided by the Western Union com pary,
which virtually ccntrols telsgraohic COM
munication over the country, for the
hundreds OF people who have daily Occa-
sion to use its wires. Il had been hoped
that with the advent of tho American
Rapid company, the Western Union pso-
Pld would bestir themselves to ailord
better accommodations for their patrons,
but in this public expectation has been
disappointed. In many respects their
younger rivals have ec!ipsed them, notably
in the matter OF location, but the new line
being in . sense local, and extending to
only the large cities throughout the state
and country, the - Rapid y have not been
able to fully cope with their veteran an
tagonists i'll the race for popular patron
age.
The Western Union does an cnornlous
business. Indeed We have Lately heard
tho local manager MIR. Zecaer. speak in
gratified terms Of its steady growth during
the past few years, and Of the Increased
revenues the company gathers from this
place ; and yet the ACCOMMODATIONS pro
vided tor the transactions of this flourish
Ing ;oiesIap&ic business are E.!s,r..L... To
begin with. the central office .f Tie CONF
piny is Not at the right place. l. is siru-
atea i'll y cigar store, VIII re !,.s.e are at
al! tines ;Een .ou;:yi". ;.,i0u. smoking
II ;Sfo
ard while it IS not 4u%s..,,icu III. ii Q
place is altogether Uiuhj, c:;o:.tle in it's
"a,". !. = hnt ,.:t.ir.l IA. l!.:; ) >',ru!i
feel Il Ecsl:a;,cy ;:bon.! uiit".it.; = nuJ.+
rcom where there are stlau1. KEEL.
standing or sitting a:ounl. and whera
tho tunes Of tobacco arc certain to offend
their nostr:ls or settle in their ..uthins.
Ladies have occasion To U.S., tho telegraph
at times and they have rights which cvei1
so great Z monopoly as the Western Union
telegraph company should consider itself
bound to respect. Moreover. the location
OF the Office i'll such y public place as u
cigar store necessarily IS destroys tho pos
sibiiity OF secrecy which business men,
newspaper correspondents and others
sometimes lind desirable when they use
the wire, and this is serious cause Of
complaint that tho telegraph company
should ncE permit to exist. The place,
too, OK that portion OF it occupied by the
telegraph. is poorly lighted, ans! frequent
~ 1t Is necessary 10 so over to tho cigar
counter TO see to write message, while
the unfortunate operators have no light at
all i'll the little compartment boxed of for
them, and i'll sending = message
they have to almost feel the let
ters written ca the paper, Of strain
their eyes in tho effort to deciphsr the
woids in the sc,n:-darlHess OF the place.
AZ such rate the company will soor DO
called upon to pension it's employees on
account Of sight destroyed Or impaired in
the line OF their duty. This is point the
company should consider. Ttey may
find themselves to have been sa:iag at the
spioot only to lose at the bun.Eols.
Another abuse tha. cI:cs uut cor cor
rcction is the unreasonable hours for
keeping the Office open. The present ar
rangeFaent would b. G;sc:e.ii.abie to a
town in The backwcols, let alone q CITY
the s:.:; and pvetersions OF Lancaster, AID
within such easy distance OF PHILADELPHIA,
tito second city il the Union. Tic Lau-
caster Office is kept open from O'Clock in
the morning until 9 in the evening. (Ou
Sunday the office is open an hour in tie
morning and all hour in tao evening, and
closed during the remainder cf tie ,iay.)
II anyone has 4 telosraphic message to
send after ?. m, no matter how
urgent or important may be its
character, ho ci:;icr has 10 hold it until
the following morning at 8, or Kun all over
town in quest Of q telegraph, operator. Ii
no IS fortunate enough to fiou one
the latter being, as a general rule, from
the handsome young manager down
through his corps Of able anu good look
irg assistants, OF an obliging disposition,
Is usually willing to go to his office and
send tho Inessasc-fOc consideration.
That is, lie requires fee, aud usually q
good round one, for his personal services :;
holding, and 10 doubt justly, that he is
entitled to extra compensation for extra
work, being employed and Paid by the
company for 4 stated number Of hours
daily. The company, these tclegraphers
say, Will not pay them for cvorwork, and
so they exact what they consider f:.ir
compensation from the customers Is it fair
for great, rich, powerful corporation like
the Western Union telegraph company thus
to impose upon tho e1igencies OF tho pub
lie : Ii it Is not cxpcd!eIt to provide Ian.
easter with 4 isht operator, should not
the company at all events feel itself able
a.u willing TO pay ouc of its duy operators
Tor extra service after offico hours, when d
patron has Saen at the trouble OF LuD.inr
him up after search OF perhaps an hour
Or two? 1t is conceded that the Western
nion business has been largely augmen
ted within the past few years, and it is;
not to DC denied that much Of this Increase
Is Que to the New York and Philadelphia
morning newspapers, the business Of teie-
graphing important items Of news to the
press of those cities having grown LARGELY
within the same period. The CORRESPOND
cut oi all ous-of.tovn morning paper
gathers most OF the news he de-
sizes to transmit after dark. Some.
titles he is able to send OF his dispatches
before O'Clock at night, and if so we'll
thc goOd ne IS not required - fee the
operator. But frequently it happens the
Ubiquitous Rows gathercr runs across some
line fat item Of news as late as
ten or eleven o'clock, o. even mid
night. Then begins tho search
lor telegraph operator. lie is not to bs
!ou2d 1t his Office, Of coursc-sLat las
heen closed for two or three hours anl ia
The ordinary course or events will no: be
opened again till 8 O'Clock in tho morning.
But tho correspondent being persistent
and psIsevering person, usually succeeds
m hnding the knight Of the electric KEY,
oven If he Las to rouse him from his !
'iumoers and dra. him out of bed. Tho
tired telegraDher then accompanies the !
reporter aad sends bis dis
patch which may run from hundred to !. |
thousand words or moca, and occu
'y from ten minutes to AL incur |