The Roanoke times. [volume] (Roanoke, Va.) 1890-1895, 1891-07-18
a STUDY IN SOUNDS.
re1egraphors Who Reveal CHARACTERISTICS
by tho TieHs Of Their Machines.

Ie1egraphcrs Who Reveal characteristics
by tho TieSs Of Thor Machines.
The telegraph operators of this city
are noted the world over as experts,
says tho Philadelphia Record Not
only ore they masters Of their art as q
class, but many of them have developed
the wonderful faculty of reading char
actcr by the sharp ticks that emanate
from the little brass Instruments For
instance, any old-tiIne operator who
ranks as q frst-rates cnn tell by the
Vclx OF the machine In Philadelphia
what manner of man Is at the other
end Of the wire, no matter whether he
be in Chicago, Now York or uny other
distant city. just as bank oashiers
recognize the signatures of old Gus
toners, so do telegrnphcrs identify
friends by their sending" or writing.
The fast, jerlSy sender who stops
every few minutes to tighten this screw
or loosen TINT spring or TO talk with
his desllmnte easily tells tho receiver
that he Is nervous, irresponsible
young man Of littlo experience and less
Judgment; he warns the receiver to be
on constant watch for errors, for which
he will shirl any responsibility. With
out having definite reason to say so,
the receiver will not hesitate to assert
that such sender would lie himself
out Of any difficulty that might arise.
The fearless, manly telegrapher is
the man who sends even, wcll-spaced
Morse, fast, of course, but steady
withal, and sends "all tho time This
man seldom has leases" lie iInpresses
the receiver OF once that he is invac
riably correct lie never stops for bad
copy, because he always reads mes
sage ahead of tho one he is sending, and
returns any he cannot dccipher to the
clerks before starting it This sort of q
man has friend in every Office All
the students and operators in way sta
tons know him. They recognize his
sending and appeal to him as would d
child to an older brother.
The sneak is quickly discovered ind
promptly ''roasted" He sends slowly
and with un aSgravating drag. He
never swcars on the wire, which, by tho
way, is certain to be rewarded by dis
missal if reported. although y ma jority
of operators arc more or less profane.
While this man may not have been in
the business at the tirlo of nny strike,
he is certain TO be called "scab" by
has frequent spats-
practical jollcrS and witty men are
generally indifferent operntora4 but usu-
ally have = reputation reaching from
San Francisco to Boston, which always
secures them work at good salaries.
Their characteristics aro denoted bv the
small amount of business they handle,
notwithstanding the fact that they
seem to work every minute. They
make oil sorts of blunders and worry
the receiver sick, depending upon their
good humor and new stories to square
matters
Dude operators, like their funny
brethren, are poor artists, but they are
fortunate in acquiring regulations"
They never need tell the receiver that
they lore dress and think of little else.
Their frequent stops and silly chatter
between messages tells it for them.
After six months working with an OPP
orator Of this sort the receiver could de-
scribe him almost to positive exact
ness without ever having seen him or
heard him described.
Surly, morose, and tramp operators
arc alike as to ability. They are ell
fine tclcgraphcrs- Their characters are
well defined by silence, and they are
distinguished one from the other by
bits of information regarding other
cities dropped from day TO day by the
tramps. They tell their story when
they correct errors discovered in the adj
dresses OF messages rclaying from one
city to another, and by suggesting some
word to take the place of one badly
written by some newspaper man whose
copy" they have handled"
Lady operators are identified by the
hghtness of their sending, few OF them
being able to work on long distance
wires On this account CLARA" is q
favoritc name for light scnders of either
sex, and their character as we'll as their
sex is revealed by their constant anxiety
and ovcrfaithfulness, Us we'll as by their
disposition to talk.
Few people understand why tel
egraphers use SO much and such n varie-
ty of slang. This is easily accounted
for. The men in New York and San
Francisco communicate all the latest
phrases to Chicago, from which point
Galveston, Denver, New Orleans, and
Ogden receive the new talk" and the
forces at Philadelphia, Pittsburgh,
Richmond and Boston acquire their
stock from New York In this way n
bright saying heard by an operator in
New York is repeated the world over
the same day, as the cable operators
are quite as slangy as the rest of the