The Ohio Democrat. (Logan, O. [Ohio]) 1886-1906, 1891-12-19


working in the main office of the
Western Union in this city whose
fathers still do their "triclS, " not n few
who have u grandfather who was in
the business, and certain percentage
who are constantly mounting the steps
to the hymeneal altar after a courtship
conducted under the circumstances de.
scribed. In the case of the young
woman in the uptown office, she fell
in love while her choice was working
her wire in the main office. Tho two
worked together day after day, and a
friendship sprang up, quickly foil owed
by love. There were other young
women on the same wire, and other
young men, but these two gravitated to
each other from the first.
Frequently the interested parties
are separated hundred miles or more.
There are numerous cases on record
where the contracting parties have
passed through all the symptoms of
love right up to the altar without hav-
ing seen each other or been in each
others society in parlor to any eX-
tent worth speaking of Nevertheless
they knew each other perfectly; far
better, in fact, than many couples who
see much Of one another. While they
were not in each others presence from
an ocular standpoint, they were there
from an electrical one. They were
both on the same wire and could hear
each other at work under various con-
ditions. There is no better place to
test ones patience than in telegraph
Office When the weather is bad and
the wires work poorly it is an amiable
person indeed who can retain his or
her temper And when the weather
is fine many things are continually
arising which tend to make one petu-
liant and cranky. And when tele-
graph operator gets in that frame of
mind it is not necessary to be looking
right at him to know it. His wire
manners will tell it just as q uiclSly and
truthfully. 1t 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 op-
orators cannot explain it themselves.
If an inquiring soul does get interested
enough in them to ask, the only eXpla-
nation of this phenomenon he can get
is that the operators know the humor
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 it.
On picnics 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 prougs of forks and tell
very interesting love stories in that pc
culiar way
In one of the big offices in this city
there is a 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 are a 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 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 a few minutes
Then he was in a 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 new operator
struck town, and it fell to his lot to re
heve this young woman half an hour
every day during lunch time. He had
fairly good disposition himself, but
he wasn't on the wire ten minutes the
first day before he was in 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 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
woman the moment he hears her work.
ing wire. He tells by her touch on
the key. Women as a 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 her
style. The following story is told in a
little journal devoted to the profess
sion:
About year and half ago." says
the writer, Il was railroad agent and
operator at a little station down on the
desert side of Yuma. The station con-
sisted of nothing more than big
water tank, a shed for myself, and an
other for small crew of trackmen.
There for nearly year put in the