Juniata sentinel and Republican. [volume] (Mifflintown, Juniata County, Pa.) 1873-1955, 1891-04-22
NIGHT WITH THE WIRES.
TALES OF THE CLICKING SOUND
ERS.,
When Telegraph Messages Seem Saddsst
"A Talk With An Operator.


AT about this season of the wear the
coming of dawn marks wonderful
transformation scene in that hive of
industry, the big operating room of
the Western Union Telegraph Com
pany, at Broadway and Dey street.
By the time the first grav streaks ap-
psar iE the East, the bulk of the work
for the night has been finished. The
"specials' for the newspapers East,
West and South have all been cleared
from the files, and the 'reds," or half
rate night messages are flashing over
their routes to distant destinations. 1t
is the one period in the twenty-four
hours of the day when there is lull in
the rush of business.
The eastern light grows brighter
each moment, stealing over the Bay,
across the roofs of great buildings and
into the windows of the operating
room on the tob floor of the tall struc-
ture of the telegraph company. The
incandescent lamps, which cleaned
brightly during the darkness of the
night, now become as yellow and sick
ly of hue under the approach of the
sunlight as gas-iets within the brilliant
radius of an arc lamps rays. Here
and there throughout the room weary
operators are seen with their heads
bowed upon their arms, and their arms
resting upon their little tables. Some
are stealing brief but sweet bits of
slumber, but most of them are simply
resting. Others lean back with folded
arms contentedly putting their pipes.
contemplating possibly the amount of
energy expended upon the nights
work, and wondering what the ex-
penditure in some other field of labor
would have brought them in. Others
still may be seen i'll groups, quietly
talking "shop" perhaps, but most like
ly exchanging the anecdotes and tales
of adventure of which the craft seems
TO possess an ineXhaustible supply.
The wire railways which convey mess
ages from one part of the room 10
another with lightning swiftness are
still. The clicking of the instruments
becomes less irritating to the ear as
saunders cease their monotonous me-
tallic jabber. Finally, as the sun ap-
pears, the room is quiet, save for the
occasional clicking of an instrument
with crush" message.
Sitting in any part of the room one
can hear an occasional message as it is
flashed TO its destination. AT thish hour
the crush" message nearly always
bear tales of woe. Listening closely,
one can hear away off in the distance
the message of wife to her parents,
telling them that her husband is dead,
and PRAYING them to come to her;
again, it is the husband who telegraphs
or a mother who informs a father that
their child is dead.
An old-time telegrapher wandered
into the operating room one morning
recently after the papers had gone to
press, and was welcomed by one of
the groups of men by whom he was
recognized. They were talking about
the depressing influences of their voca-
ton at dawn and on Sundays.
''It sometimes seems strange, even
10 me, TO whom it should be natural
enough" said one "that death messages
should be so prevalent at such times.
But of course, it is due to the fact that
ordinary social and business telegrams
are temporarily suspended, leaving the
emergency of death messages in pos
session of a monopoly of the wires. 1t
often makes me blue, hardened TO it
as l am, to sit here and listen to tine
tales of sorrow borne on these mes
sages. | sometimes find myself al
-l,-x 10, 8
imaginary events around the persons
chiefly concerned in these telegrams.
On Sundays it seems as if none but
deaIh messages pass through our
hands. As matter of course there
are just as many any other day, but
on week days they are overwhelmed by
the vast amount of regular business,
under which they are lost sight of.
Out of 10 messages that L handled
one Sunday 149 were announcements
of dhaths. Some of the boys get used
to handling these kilograms, but they
always make me blue, try as will to
overcome the feeling. OF late l have
declined TO work on Sundays for this
reason, preferring to lose days pay
70 being made miserable"
As the sun rises higher, sending
shafts of light into the great room, the
clicking ceases almost entirely for
awhile. Then the noise begins again
with a rush that does not end until
another dawn. The first messages
handled each day are those to and from
the markets. From Fulton and Wash
ington marketmen go out every morn
ing thousands of messages to points
within half day of the city asking
dealers their needs for the day, or an.
nouncing that orders have been or will
be shipped. From hotelmen at the
seashore and IN the country come in
Vulnerable orders for delicacies to be
forwarded on the first train from the
city. The business for the day is not
in full blast until about ten O'Clock,
when the rush from the Stock Produce
and other exchanges begins. This is
kept up at frantic gait until after 8
o'clock in the afternoon, when there is
a lull again until $50. At this hour
the night force comes on duty and
work is begun on the night rate busi-
ness and press dispatches.
There is no cessation in the rush
from that hour until the papers have
gone to press, but at l o'clock A. NJ.
the all-night force comes on to finish
up the work and to relieve some of
those who have worked steadily since
5.30-Ne,o York Tribune.
Miss Clymer, the young lady who
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