Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1890-08-23
TELEGRAPHERs' BLUNDERs.
Odd and Amusing Mistakes Are Some.
times Made by Operators.
, Letter to Charleston News.

New York Letter TO Charleston News.
Considering the noise of New York's great
room and the fact that the operators have to
jump from theology to stocks, often sending of
long reports upon subjects of which they
know nothing. il is surprising that the blunders
are so few. The most amusing of such errors
seem to be due not TO csreiessness inatten-
ton upon the part OF the operator. but to sim
ilarity Of certain letters in the telegraphic
alphabet. and to the inability OF the receiver 20
write down as fast the instrument clicks
out its message.
There are very good reasons. no doubt. for
many OF the mistakes recorded against tele-
graph operators. There are no excuses for
others. Some are the result OF sheer stupidity.
ignorant operators being put at work requiring
not alone skill in manipulating a key, but in-
| telligence behind all The operator who reads
hearse for horse may have had his copy written
by the same reporter who dashed of a criti-
cism on 'Girofe Girofla" and who was dunn
founded to find that the telegraph made II
''Snlfhe Snoffie." Yet ii does not ALWAYS follow
| that this is the case. for telegram has been
| known to be transmitted Yes when the copy
made 1t No" with cOpper-plate distinctness.
One OF the most curious blunders 1 remember
occurred over a cable circuit of the Associated
| Press, the message received being as follows:
| LONDON, March 25.-rwo Americans were
arrested here today for attempting to shave the
queen.
The message gave the names Of the persons,
| together with other details, but nothing in il
| accounted for the extraordinary statement that
the men had attempted to shave the queen. +"
| No one in the Office where the dispatch was re-
| celyed could understand WHY any Americans
| should undertake such an unheard of feat or
why the queen should need shaving. The
more the cablegram was studied the more per-
picking 1t grew. until at last II was decided to
| ask for explanations from the other side of the
Il IL.
| other side sent back the correction that the
| Americans referred TO had been arrested for
| attempting to shove the queer"
Yes, indeed. Send horse and carriage to
! depot was the innocent message which went
| to lady in Utica from this city not long ago.
| called Joe. had been away from home for sew
| eral weeks. The wife had teegraphed a lady
| member of the family TO come up and spend a
| few weeks with her aud the answer was sent as
| above. The Utica lady was FRUSTRATED with
| grief when she received a dispatch reading:
Joe is dead. Send hearse and carriage 10
| depot. Arrangements were made in q hurry.
| and the hearse and carriage we're in waiting
| when Joe and the lady stepped out of the train.
| Long circuits and weak electrical currents
| frequently play the mischief with dots and
| dashes. They fall out" ~ the operators saw,
| vanish or mingle until two or three letters are
mixed together SO many kilograms are sent
| in cipher, or according TO a code. that the re-
| ceiver does not hesitate to write down the
most absurd nonsense If he thinks that tie
sender intends il. Thus tue simple message.
| Come home; James is not wei" has been
| metamorphosed into "Coghog; Jags is not
| 100" The receiving operator probably COM
mItted the old error of reading by sound g
| for me, the signs for which quite similar.
while ''well." if not carefully read, is liable TO
| be transformed into 100. 1t must have been
| the same telegrapher who transformed John
| Howard Payne's beautiful lines in Hog, swot
hog, there's no place like hog"