Waterbury evening Democrat. [volume] (Waterbury, Conn.) 1887-1895, 1891-05-28
fELEGRAPHfC TICKS.
Operators Who Reveal Their Tden.
tity by Their Touch.
An Interesting Study In Sounds by an
old-Time NIanipuIntor of the Key
Character Read
by Wire.

--Cn1rhctor Keno
by Wire.
Any old-time operator who ranks as q
''frst-rater" can tell by the tick of the
machine, says the Philadelphia Record,
what manner of man is ut the other end
of the wire, no matter whether he be in
Chicago, New York or any other distant
city. Just as bank cashiers recog-
do telegraphers identity friends by their
sending" orCvriting.
The fast, jerlSy sender, who stops
every few minutes to tighten this screw
or loosen that spring, or to talk with
his deslxmate, easily tells the receiver
that no is a nervous, irresponsible
young man of little experience and loss
Judgment; he warns the receiver to be
on constant watch for errors for which
he will shirlS any responsibility. With
out having definite reason to say so, the
receiver will not hesitate to assert that
such q sender would lie himself out of
any difficulty that might arise.
The fearless, manly telegrapher is
the man who sends even, well spaced
Morse, fast, of course, but steady
withal, and sends "all the time" This
LAuh SCAeiOAi nus Set6C6. AIC pIC0SCS
the receiver at once as being invariably
correct. he never stops for bad copy,
because he always reads message
ahead of the one he is sending, and re-
turns any he cannot decipher to the
clerks before starting it. This sort of a
man has friend in every Office. All
the students and operators in way sta
tions know him. They recognize his
a. Ii -
child to an older brother. This mans
character is well known to every one
with whom he works.
The sneak is quickly discovered and
promptly roasted" He sends slowly,
and with an aggravating drag. He
never swears on the wire, which, by
the way, is certain to be rewarded by
dismissal II reported, although the ma
jority of operators are more or less pro-
fame. While this man may not have
been in the business at the time of any
strike, he is certain to be called q ''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 reputation, reaching
from San Francisco to Boston, which
always secures them work at good sal
aries. Their characteristics are denoted
by the small amount of business they
handle, Notwithstanding the fact that
they seem to work every minute. They
make all 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
not fortunate in the way of acquiring
regulations" They never need tell
the receiver that they love dress and
think of little else. Their frequent
stops and silly chatter between mes
sages tells it for them. After six months
working with an operator of this sort
the receiver could describe him almost
to a positive exactness without ever
having seen him or heard him described.
Surly, morose and tramp operators
are alike rs to ability. They are all fine
telegraphers. Their characters are
we'll 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 addresses of
messages relaying from one city to an
other, and by suggesting some word to
take the place of one badly written by
some newspaper man whose ''copy"
they had handled"
Lady operators are identified by the
lightness of their sending, few of them
being able to work on long-distance
wires. On this account 'Clara" is a
favorite name for light senders of either
sex, and their character as well as their
sex is revealed by their constant anxiety
and ever-faithfulness, as we'll as by
their disposition to talk.
Few people understand why telegra-
piers use so much and such a variety
of slang. This is easily accounted for.
The men in New York and San Fran
cisco communicate all the latest
phrases to Chicago, from which point
Galveston, Denver, New Orleans and
Ogden receive the new ''tallS," and the
forces at Philadelphia, Pittsburgh,
Richmond and Boston acquire their
stock from New York. In this way a
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
craft
| ---
Customs OF the Lascars,