The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1883-07-21

ABOUT THE ASSOCIATED PRESS REPORT
Mr. Farrell, one of the strikers, explained
to the reporter 1--WE never claimed the AS
sociated Press report would be interfered
with to any great extent. On what is called
the Western press report circuit the lines
are connected by an invention known in
telegraphy as repeaters. All this report on
the Western circuit is sent from Cincinnati
not as most people suppose from Washing
ton. Of course newspaper men know how
it is These lines by means of repeaters, are
connected SO that Kansas City, St. Louis, In
dianapolis, Terre Haute, Evansville, Louis
vile, Nashville, Memphis, New Orleans and
Little Rock are all Oh that one circuit, and
require only one man at each of these places,
and one man at Cincinnati to send it. This
strike interferes with commercial business,
which cannot be handled in that way. The
press report is handled during this
emergency by the chief operator
in each of these offices, and though it
continues to come. it is no indication
Whatever of any abatement of the strike. The
weather report is handled in the same way,
and there ought not to be any trouble with
that except, perhaps, unusual delay, The
associated press report will not be handled as
rapidly as it should be, but it will be done
fairly we'll"
THE STRIKE OF 1870.
1.-THE strike of 1870" said one of the Broth
erhood, twas very different affair from this.
1t began in San Francisco, and it was
three weeks before it struck indianapolis.
Why, the boys here don't know to this day
what they struck for"
"And you do know now?'
"Yes, we think we do. strike now is
matter of much greater magnitude than then.
At that time we used the same wire for Gin
cinnatl and Chicago and sent only from sixty
to one hundred messages day to Chicago. 1t
was big day when we sent hundred, Now
the average is from 800 to 900 day. I'M
derstand the markets are badly troubled
now, the reports coming in very slowly. So
slow, in fact, that an old operator told me it
reminded him Of the early days of telegraph
OF course they have all the men upstairs
they have use for. What's the use of send
ing messages unless there's somebody at the
other end of the wire to take them~
SMILE OR TWO.
Some of the operators now at the wires
are a little rusty. They have the theory,
but are out of practice. Yesterday a super
intendent and a manager undertook to con-
verse over the wires. 'I've got business with
you," clicked the manager. "I--I-I-I. Go
ahead, frite stow" came the answer. Write
slow" was meant; and are both dashes, t
being short.
inexperienced operators get and h
mixed. P is five dots and h four. An Evans
vile operator asked who was at this end of
the line, and Manager Butler, who recog-
nized an old acquaintance, said he was. The
answer came, Papa, go ahead" which was
finally interpreted as ''Ha! hal go aheadp
j. A Fuller non-striker, working direct
Chicago wire for L. c. Hopkins & Co., unwit-
tingly gave the signal for the strike to Chi
cago. He clicked to the operator at the open
board: Have you heard anything about
General Grant dropping dead?' The Chicago
operator dotted little while, then "73"
("best respects'') and "good-by'' came, and
he jumped the board. Fuller then clicked
to the operator at the Metropolitan Grain
Exchange, in Chicago: whats the matter
with that fellow? | asked him if he had
heard that General Grant had dropped dead,
and he quit on me-" The second man wired
back to Fuller: Here we so. Good bye"
And that was the last of him.
DUMMIES.
"There are only eight operators upstairs, :"
said striker to the reporter 1.-THE rest are
dummies"
"What do you mean by that?" inquired
the reporter.
You've seen minstrel brass band march
through the estreets-forty, count them--each
man with an instrument to his lips and each
one making the lookers-on believe that he
was doing his best, when tine truth was that
not more than half dozen horns were
going"
"But that half-dozen blew strong?'
'Yes, and so do the half dozen or so up
stairs. The others go tum-tum."
MESSAGES BY MAIL.
81 understand" said striker, that the
Western Union Office here is patronizing the
postof1ice more literally now than ever be-
fore. You see, when they take message
they tell the sender it may be delayed Well,
business of this sort that comes in late in the
afternoon or at night, if they can't send it
over the wires they can send it by mail, rs
St. Louis, Cincinnati, Louisville, Chicago,
Cleveland Toledo and Pittsburg are all
reached by the night trains. They can do
this and take their chances, and perhaps the
answers can be wired back" The reporter
fears this is a stretch OF imagination on the
part of the striker, but gives it for all it's
worth.
BROTHERHOOD TRICK.
"The Brotherhood" said one OF the at
taches Of the Western Union, were up to all
sorts of tricks, They worked to get as many
men into the organization as possible, and
made use of many very small and barass-
ing methods l dropped on one of their
tricks When a Brotherhood operator semi
to a member of the order if the receiver was
"a slow man he sent slowly; if he wasns