The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1888-07-11
TELEGRAPHERs' ms AND OUTS.
The Operators Life Not Always a
Happy One and Why it Is Not.


Happy One and Why it is Not.
"And you imagine we fellows have a
slick time of it, ehl" said an operator at the
Western Union telegraph office yesterday.
well, you are away off. An operators
life, especially this sort of weather, isn't
altogether pleasant one, when he has got
to use fan with one hand and pen with
| the other
How many words do operators usually
write minute" asked a MORNING NEWS
reporter.
IAN expert operator has TO write on an
average from thirty to forty-ive words, and
| sometimes more, according TO the ability OF
the transmitter at the other end of
the wire If the sender is first
class man he can make 1t very uncomforta-
| bic for the receiving operator by sending so
| fast that he won't have time to dip his pen
| in the ink bottle, not if it were buttOned to
his bosom. Then in thunder storm, such
as we are having now, the lightning inter
feres a good deal with the operators trans
uniting. The receiving operator, If his
ability allows it, can readily get along by
guessing, but he has to be very careful, or
any mistake that he may make will
cause his salary to be somewhat diminished
at the end of the month on account
OF having to pay the cost of the message, or
a few hundred dollars more. No, sir, an
operators life is not one of pleasure, as is
the general impression. It's one of continual
worry and is strictly business"
How do operators usually learn the
business ~
IA first class operator frequently starts
out as messenger and through his own
perseverance gradually learns the ropes,
and, II he is ambitious enough, he finally
becomes an operator. He may not then be
fully up 10 the standard. He's got to be-
come accustomed to different styles of
messages, Such as social business
and cipher Any hrst-class operator can
sit down and write cipher after cipher,
with the experience he has had with this
economic and costly style of telegraphing.
For instance, in an everyday style like
this. How melons ripe enough TO pluckP
| or 'Cottons easier, market steadier cotton
coming in lively is all easy enough, but
when the messages get this way, 'Somnam-
bulistic echu, buy hundred bales mid
ding and it is mixed at the other end
to read, summon an ambulance, try hound
ed pills, middling, ETC., or, sent me firfzig
tollar, | vas ousgaspeit, it's not quite so
easy. The operator looks at such a message,
turns it different ways, and either carries
it back for reconstruction or let's it go as
written. Then again, 1 wasn't yez COON
right doom on the wire no doubt means,
wants him to reply by wire. When he gets
such a message the operator is in another
| pickle what to do
"In cipher and cables though, such
risks cannot be taken, as it might involve
| thousands Of dollars, and as the operators
finances are nominal, he cannot take the
| risk
There are also stock quotations that are
| important, oftentimes more so than the
cipher messages. A quotation comes along.
| The merchant does not intend to invest
until he is certain that the quotation has
been correctly received. An operator, or
the telegraph company cannot always be
| held responsible for misspelled or badly
written messages"
"How should a message be written, to
insure prompt dispatch and quick de-
| liverym
at should first be plainly written every
word and figure spelled out. Paper is plen-
tGul and can be generously utilized for this
important purpose"
| The Western Union Office here handles
from 1900 to 800 messages, and upwards
of $1,000 words of news matter every day,
and is run with a force Of about
thirty employees, from the manager
down to the messenger and
'call boy" The force is organized
as follows: Manager, J. P. Merrihew; Chief
Clerk, w. j. Harris: Day Chief Operator,
NJ. p. Dundon; Night Chief, F. 7. Her
nandez. Harry Zeigler manages the New
York and Cotton Exchange wire, A B.
Hernandez, Atlanta, ETC., and c. j. Casey,
G.. w. Cherry, E. II. Strickland, o. F.
Love are sltirinishers. Messrs P. Chase and
j. Touhey are on the associated
press; Miss Hollerin and James O'Neill,
clerks; j. C. Courtney, gold and stock
tickers, and Charley Bell traffic clerk. Fiji
teen messengers, which are increased to
thirty in the busy season, carry on an aver
age, each, from seventy-five to 100 MESA ges
every day. Twenty five wires run in differ
ent directions, so that in case Of "bustsr
there is no interference in business.