Perrysburg journal. (Perrysburg, Wood Co., O. [Ohio]) 186?-1965, 1891-12-19


manners will tell IL just as q uiclSly and
truthfully. IL Is one of the mysteries
to people who are not masters of the
art to understand how these operators
can tell how another operator is feel
ing hundreds of miles away. The OPP
orators cannot explain it themselves
If an inquiring soul does get interested
enough in them to ask, the only eXpNa-
nation of this phenomenon he can get
is that the operators know the hu umor
of their colleagues by the way they
send and receive their messages.
The operators have one great advan-
tage over lovers in other walks of
life, and that is that they can tele-
graph their thoughts in public without
any one else knowing thing about ".
On pichics and excursions they may
often be seen sitting facing each other
wig-wagging with newspapers desper-
ately, and talking with somebody else
just enough to divert attention. They
are making love. In dining rooms they
rattle dots and dashes with their
knives on the prongs Of forks and tell
| very interesting love stories in that pc
culiar way.
In one of the big offices in this city
there is wire which is Stunned as
much as possible by every operator in
| the office. 1t has the reputation of be-
ing the hardest wire to work in the
world There arc large number of
| local railroad offices on the wire, and
they all do more business than is ordi
narily the case with small offices. For
years the only person who could work
this wire was a pretty young woman.
1t did not matter how good an operator
a man was or how hard he tried to get
along, his patience COULD not stand the
strain for more than few minutes.
Then he was in fight with some one.
But the little woman never had the
least bit of trouble She was on the
best terms with all the operators along
the line, and was never behind in her
work. One summer a new operator
struck town, and it fell to his lot to re-
lieve this young woman half an hour
every day during lunch time. He had
a fairly good disposition himself, but
he wasn't on the wire ten minutes the
first day before he was in a red-hot
row. 1t lasted until the young lady
got back, when she graciously straight
ened matters out. Day after day he
went around to relieve her with very
disagreeable feeling, and always with
the same result. His attention finally
became centered on the young woman
herself. He knew that nothing short
of an angel could work that wire, and
he cultivated her acquaintance. They
have been married a long time now.
He has told the secret to his friends
matrimonially inclined, and number
of them have been watching that wire
ever since. But no young woman has
remained there for any length of time,
and the watchers all know what that
means.
Ordinarily an operator can tell a
woman the moment he hears her work.
ing wire. He tells by her touch on
the key. Women as rule, telegraph.
ers say, do not touch the key of their
Instruments as firmly as men do Oc
casionally, however, there is one with.
out this characteristic distinction in he,
style. The following story is told in g
little journal devoted to the profes
sion:
About year and half ago." say:
, the writer Il was railroad agent and
:, operator at little station down on the
desert side of Yuma. The station con
sisted of nothing more than big
water tank, shed for myself, and an
other for small crew of tracl1men
There for nearly a year put in the
: lonesomest and hottest time that evel
, passed in my life. The thermometel
, had way of monkeying around 100 o.
= l50 degrees above zero on most days
, and almost my only pleasure was fount
in talking over the wires with the op
orators at the various stations alon,
, the line.
Il had never seen the operator a
Banning at that time, but he was
/ cheerful, jolly sort of fellow, and, a
time also hung heavily on his hands
we passed many pleasant hour in con
versation over the wires. We had sor
of half arranged to get a vacation to
gether aud there was good deal o
joyful anticipation-on my part a
lcast-of the manner in which W.
should pass it. We were to go into tn
IN ounta MS and spend .two or thre
weeks in hunting and fishing Allof on
plans We're arranged on those scorch
ing and lonely days, and we usual.
agreed in our ideas of the preparations
although there was occasionally littl'
: difference of opinion.
81 remember, for instance, that ht
said he was going to take along a pal
I of rubber boots for trout fishing, Will
| asked him: What's the matter wit
you taking off your shoes and stock
ings and rolling up your trousers?' Blu
he said he preferred rubber boots. A
the time drew near however, he, 70
some reason 1 could not understand
backed squarely out of the enterprise
much to my disgust.
"Finally he told me one day that h
y was going to New Mexico to pass hi
- vacation, and we anticipated consider
!. able pleasure In me meeting each othe
= during the trains brief stop at my sta
" ton. But did not meet him at all, fo