Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1891-04-04
KNOWN nv THEIR TICKS.
Character Reading Through Many Miles q
Intervening Wire.

fNstf<taib&
Prom the Philadelphia Record.
The telegraph operators Of this city are
noted the world over Ne experts. Not only are
they masters Of their art . class. but mans.
of them have developed the wonderful faculty
OF reading character BY the sharp ticks thai
emsnate from the little trass instruments. Eos
instance, any old-time operator who ranks ~ .
frst-rater can tell by the tick Of the machine ir
Philadelphia what manner Of man IL NJ ths
other end Of the wire, no matter whether he b
| IN Chicago, New York or any other distant city.
Just as bank cashiers recognize the signaturet
OF old customers. 90 do teiegraphers identit.
friends by their sending" or writing.
The fast ierky sender who stops every fev
minutes 20 tighten this screw or loosen that
spring. or 20 talk with hrs deskmase easils
tells the receiver that he IL q nervous ire
sponsibie young man Of little experience and
less Judgment; he warns the receiver 10 be on
constant watch Tor errors Tor which he vii!
shirk any responsibility. Without having def
mite reason 20 say 80 the receiver will not he'd
tate 20 assert that snch . sender would lie him
self out of any difficulty that might arise.
The fearless, manly telegrapher il the man
who sends even. well-spaced Morse. fast. %
conrse. hut steady withal. and sends ''an tbs
time. This man seldom has cases" He ims
pressesthe receiver at once that he IL invAriablS
correct. He never stops for bad copy. becaus
he oLNaNe rtdtle mts>hte hntaQ OF Tue one Do
Is sending. and returns any he cannot decipher
10 the clerks before starting II. This sort q;
man has friend in every Office. All the
students and operators in way stations kno~
him. They recognize his sending and apes
20 him ns would n child 60 an older brother
This mans character IL well known 10 evsrr
one with whom he works.
The sneak L. quickly discovered and promptly
roasted" He sends slowly and With an az
gravating drag. He never swears ON the wiz.
which, by the way, IL certain g. be rewarded
oy dismissal II reported. although n majority
OF operators more OF less profane While
this man NAV not have been in the business NJ
the time Of any strike. be is certain 90 he called
scab by all the out-of-town men with whom
he has frequent spats.
Practical jokers and witty men are generally
indifferent Operators. but usually have q reprs
tatlon, reaching from San Francisco to Bostotk
which always secures them work at good salsf
rles. Their characteristics are denoted by thn
small amount of business they handle, nos-
outstanding the fact TINT they seem 60 WORK
every minute. They make all sorts 81 blnnders
and worry the receiver sick. depending upoh
their good humor and new stories 10 square
matters.
Dude operators. like their fancy brethre1,
ere poor artists, but they are not fortunate ia
The way of acquiring regulations" They
never need tell the receiver that they love dree
aud think Of little else. Their frequent stohs
aud silly chatter between messages tell il flr
tntm AFTER SIX months WORKING with al
operator of this sort the receiver could dt-
scribe him almost 10 a positive exactness witls~
out ever having seen him or heard him j; =
scribed.
surly, morose and tramp operators are aliks
as 20 ability. They all fine telegrapherS.
Their characters are well defined by silence.
and they are distinguished one from the oth,sr
by bits of information regarding other cities
dropped from day to day by the tramps. They
tell their story when they correct errors Dis
covered in the addresses of messages relsyai
from one city to another. and by suggesting
some word to take the place Of one badly wrt-
ten by some newspaper man whose cop"
they have handled"
Lady operators are identified by the lighs-
ness OF their sending, few OF them being abse
TO work on long-distance wires. On this s.e-
count Clara" ID u fsyorite name for light seua-
ers of either sex. and their character as well %
their sex is revealed by their constant anxiety
aud ever-faithfulness, as well ne by their disps-
sition to talk. .
Few people understand why tolegraphers nse
so much aud such a variety of slang. This e
easily accounted for. The men in New lofk
and San Francisco communicate all the latest
phrases TO Chicago, from which point Galsfs-
ton, Denver, New Orleans and Ogden recei o
the new talk, and the forces at Philadelphia,
Plttsburg, Richmond and Boston acquire thor
stock from New York. In this way bright
saying heard by an operator in New York is
repeated the world over the same day. As to
cable operators are quite us slangy As the fest
of the craft.