The Mason County journal. [volume] (Shelton, W.T.) 1886-1927, 1890-10-24
WOES OF A TELEGRAPHER.
Trouble During a Message
Not Easily Disciphered.

"And you imagine we fellows have a
slick time of it, eh?'' said an operator at
the Western Union Telegraph Office.
''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 a pen
with the other"
'.How many words do operators
usually write minute?"
San expert operator has to wri' ON
an average from thirty to five
words, and sometimes more. !; ..ding
to the ability of the transni at the
other end of the wire. If the ieler is a
first class man he can make very un-
comfortable for the receiv' 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 a thunder storm the lightning inter-
feres a good deal with the operators
transmitting. The receiving operator. if
his ability allows it. can readily get along
by guessing, but he has to be very care
full, or any mistake that he NAV make
will cause his salary to be somewhat d.
minished at the end of the month on ac-
count of having to pay the cost of the
message, or 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
GLOW do operators usually learn the
business?"
first oil for L.
out as messenger, and through his own
perseverance gradually learns the ropes,
and, if he is ambitious enough, he finally
becomes an operator. He may not then
be fully up to the standard. He's got to
become accustomed to different styles of
messages, such as social business and
Cipher Any first class operator can sit
down and write cipher after cipher, with
the experience he has had with this eco
nomic and costly style of telegraphing.
For instance, in an everyday style like
this: How melons ripe enough to pluck?'
or 'Cotton's easier, market steadier. cot
ton coming in lively, is all easy enough,
but when the messages get this way:
'Somnambulistic echu, buy hundred bales
middling, and it is mixed at the other
end to read, Summon an ambulance, try
bounded pills, middling, etc., or send
me firfziz tollar, vas ousgaspeilt,' it's
not quite so easy. The operator looks at
such a message, turns it different ways,
and either carries it back for recon
struction, or lets it go as written. Then
again, 1 wasn't yez COON right doom on
the wire no doubt means, wants MIN 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 in
volve thousands of dollars, and as the
operators finances are nominal, he can
not 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 quota
ton has been correctly received. An
operator or the telegraph company can
not always be held responsible for mis-
spelled or badly written messages"
''How should message be written to
insure prompt dispatch and quick deliv-
ery?"
cit should first be plainly written,
every word and figure spelled out. Paper
is plentiful and can be generously util-
lied for this important purpose. New
York Graphic.