The Abbeville messenger. (Abbeville, S.C.) 1884-1887, 1886-11-02
The Telegraph Office at Hodges
Editors Of Tie Ne$Scngey.:

Ediso,s Of Tie Messenger:
GENTLEMAN-In your issue Of Octo.
Der 20, column "Due West Dots" | no
ticc your correspondent "R. 5. g."
complains that lit takes a telegram from
three to four hours to go from Able.
Vile to Due Vest After telling about
the delay of a certain telegram tina.
was sent off in haste he says, I'VE
hear frequent complaints about telc.
grams not going through Hodges office
promptly. In this case we do not know
that this office was to blame" | would
like to know if "R. $. g." knows Of any
case that Hodges Office was to blame
Tor delay iii the transmission of a mes
sage from Abbcville to Due West. Has
he. or any of those who have so fire.
qucntly poured into his listening ear
their "complaints,' ever traced Il mes
sage through the two relay offices. and
asccrtained the time each Office re-
ceivcd and forwarded, and the destina-
ton office delivered, Il given message.
and thus locate the delay? If SO, when?
Ii not, why should he do mo the inius-
ticc to publish to the world that / am
dcrcllct III my duties as operator? In
utter ignorance rs to WHcTe DELAYS oc.
cu:, yet he seeks to throw the entire
C'amc upon the Hodges operator, when
there are three operators and two man
ayers OF an inferior telephone line en-
gagged IN the transmission Of messages
between the points named. Moreover.
VIC arc only obligated to send messages
to Donulds, not Due West. AS ~ dc.
lays accustomed 10y the telephone line
we nave nothing to do with them. |
SIMPLY know that it is not true that it
lakes from three to four hours for Il toll
eGruin to go from Abbeville to DonaIds.
where messages leave our line. Let
IN. > o." first EHOW that the operator
at Hodges is not properly attending to
his business, and then write him M in
MS Dots TO his hearts content.
In the case of the mcssa~. referred to
the operator at Abbevillc has informed
me That he transmitted it to this Office
promptly after its delivery to him. Il
was received here at 6 O'Clock n. m. and
| sent it to Donalds at Z O'Clock y. m
Delayed here one hour, during which
time was IN my office, with the exccp-
toh OF n lew minutes when | was en-
gagged with a freight train. ! did all |
could 10 get the message to Donaids
p'o""P"iS3 WI L saw Inat the parties
were "tramping' towards Due West.
and they had my sympathy. The mes.
sage reached me ut an hour when most
OF the operators are out looking alter
the welfare Of their stomachs. sun.
pose that is why l could not get Don.
alds, or it may be that the operator, be-
ing agent,'was engaged with q freight
train which passed him between the
hours named.
There are chronic grumblcrs'who do
not seem to know that the material Of
which operators are made is of the same
kind as hat of which other pcoplr arc
made, and that it is necessary for them
to go to grub semi occasionaliv. Per
haps "R S. Co. like many others, needs
to he informed that the Instruments
used on the G.. & e. telegraph line arc
neither duplex nor quadruplex; that
only one message can be sent over the
line ut n time. This being the case. we
cannot, like ii crowd of ladies. all talk nt
once. Hence. there is necessarily some
delay, as one operator canno ut pleas
ure, take the line" when it is being
used by another. Respectfully.
w. II. RowI.ETT,
Operator, Hodges. S. C.