Juniata sentinel and Republican. [volume] (Mifflintown, Juniata County, Pa.) 1873-1955, 1883-07-25
Pirates of the Wires.

Pirates OF the Wires.
''Please tell me how to tap wire,"
said a reporter yesterday to Mr.. Moore,
an experienced telegraph operator.
That's a good deal like telling you
how to break a bank, but if should
tell you you couldn't do it. An expert
is required for the work of picking out
the one message wanted from hum
dred, stopping it and letting the others
go on to their destination. n good
many people suppose that it is only
necessary to cut the wire, attach anoth-
er to the cut end whence the message is
expected and run it off whenever it's
wanted. The instant such thing is
done the operator knows it. He throws
himself back in his chair and sings out
My lines grounded OFF goes line
man to find the break You see, the
circuit Is broken and the current run
off into the ground, and, although the
Taper can get the message through his
instrument il he happens by one chance
in a million to hit the second when it
passes, the interference will be instant
! ly detected"
Then how should 1 proceed 20 was
asked good-humoredly.
1t depends on whether you merely
wish to hear the message or whether
you want to intercept it and send an
other in its place. In either case the
great thing is to maintain the circuit"
What's the circuit 2" said the re-
porter,
The circuit is the course pursued
b. the current over the wire to its deS-
tination and back through the ground
to the place it came from. In the early
days of the science it was thought
necessary to maintain it by wire back
to the starting point. Since then we
have discovered that the current Will
pass back through the ground, like a
homing pigeon through the air. To re-
sumo, in order to merely overhear the
message it is necessary to make a loop
or V running from the wire to the in
strument of the Taper and then back
to the line. The wire is cut, the loop
| line attached and run out to the in
strument, where the operator is, and
then connected with the main wire. 1t
is simply adding another instrument to
those in use on the line, for you know
every message is heard at every station
on the route. Except for the purpose
of concealment the interloper might
Lust as well attach his instrument to
the main wire at the poles. But he
can only overhear he cannot intercept
messages. At the most he can change
one word-for instance, the name of a
winning horse"
Then how can a message be inter-
cepted, suppressed, as at Long Branch!'
asked the reporter.
The way those fellows went to
work, L suppose, was this SAID Mr..
Moore. They probably cut the con-
nection in the manner just explained
but instead of leading 1t back to the
wire. they stopped it short. For this
they must have had two batteries and
at least two operators. In such case
the wire would be cut and line led
off from the New York end to one of
the batteries; another is led from the
Long Branch end to the other battery.
| Connection is thus utterly interrupted
from New York to Long Branch, but
the circuit is maintained from each
| l1dNt ON NAltEot btilNOAAOos iiNh NhS
operator at the cut end of Long Branch
line simply constitutes hiT.Self the New
York terminus. He gets every message
and gives it to his co-operator at the
other battery and instrument, who
transmits it to New York. This goes
on till the expected message comes.
This he intercepts, writes another one
to keep the numbers straight-for the
number of each dispatch is telegraphed
with it and where one is skipped the
connecting operator Immediately asks
what has become of it-and his fellow
cOnspiTatOr telegraphs the false mes
sage to New York. Meantime the
Long Branch Taper can answer all
qeestiOns from the operator, who sup
poses him to be in New York, and thus
avert suspicion. While he is playing
New York to Long Branch, his con-
federate is acting Long Branch to New
York"
1T is very simple, then? ," said the
reporter.
- Simple enough,n was the reply /;
"but awfully risky, because of the line
men. One may come along at any mo-
ment, and their trained sagacity is such
that they will detect the smallest wire
running down a pole where it ought
not to run and detect the whole
scheme"
"What prevents telegraph line tap
ping from becoming more common ? -
asked the reporter.
- Simply because the important lines
are duplex. That is to say, one wire
will carry more than one message at
the same time. With an ordinary in
strument these, when received, would
he unintelligibly mixed. To properly
take the messages from duplex ma
chine an amount of expense is required
which would make too large an outlay
for such risky venture"