The Russellville Democrat., 1891-06-25
KNOWN BY THEIR TICKS.
CHARACTER BEADING THRouoH
MANY MILss or WIRES.

Telegraph opsrasors Know the Disposis
tfons oF Each other from the wat Mess
saxes Are Sent FROM One CO . AM
other some Of the Freaks
The telegraph operators IT this city
arc noted the world over as experts.
Not only are they masters Of their art as
clasB, but many Of them have de-
veloped the wonderful faculty of read
ing character by the sharp ticks that
emanate from The little brass instru-
ments. For instance, any old time op-
orator who ranks as first rate can tell by
the tick Of the machine in Philadelphia
what ma. Ter Of man is at the other end
Of the wiYe. no matter whether he be in
Chicago. New York or any other distant
city. Just as the bank cashiers recog-
nixe the signatures Of old customers,
20 do photographers identify friends by
their sending" or writing
The fast :e~s sendey, who stops
sss.sss ssaw minutes to tighten this screw
or loosen that spring, or to talk with his
desk mate easily tells the receiver that
he Is nervous, irrespons. BILE young man
of little experience and less Judgment;
he warns the receiver to be on constant
watch for srror-: For which he will shirk
any responsibility. Without having def
mite 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, well spaced Morse
fast, Of course, but steady withal, and
sends ssall the time.n This man seldom
has eases" He impresses the receiver
at once that he is invariably correct.
He never stops for bad copy, because W
always reads a message ahead of the one
he is sending, and returns any he cannot
decipher to the clerks before starting it.
This sort of man has friend in every
Office. All the students and operators in
way stations know him. They recognize
his sending and appeal to him as would
Schild to an older brother. This mans
character is well known to every one
with whom he works.
sNEAKS, jokes AND DUDES.
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
If reported, although majority of oper-
ators are more or less profane. While
this man may not have been in the
business at the time OF any strike, he is
certain to be called 'sscab" by all the
out Of town men, with whom he has fire.
quent spats.
Practical jokers and witty men are
generally indifferent operators, but usual
ly have reputation, reaching from San
Francisco to Boston, which always Be-
cures them work at good salaries. Their
characteristics are denoted by the small
amount of business they handle, not
withstanding the fact that they seem to
work every minute. They make ali
sorts of blunders and worry the receiver
nick, depending upon their good hume,
Snd new stories to square matters.
Dude operators, like their funny breth
ren, are poor artists, but they are not
fortunate in the way of acquiring ''repu.
tation." They never need tell the re
ceiver that they love dress and think OF
little else. Their frequent stops and
silly chatter between messages tell it for
them. After six months working with
an operator Of this sort the receiver could
describe him almost to positive exact
ness without ever having seen him or
heard him described.
FEMALES AND TRAMPS.
Surly, morose and tramp operators are
alike as to ability. They are all fine tel
egraphers. Their characters are well
defined by silence, and they are distin-
guished one from the other by bits of in.
formation 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
relay IS from one city to another, and by
suggesfing some word to take the plac.
Of ona badly written by some newspaper
man whose copy" they had handled.
Lady operators are identified by the
lghtness Of their sending, few of them
being able to work ON long distance
wires. On this account Clara" is IA
vorite 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 well as by their
disposition to talk.
Few people understand why telegra-
piers use so much and such variety of
slang. This is easily accounted for.
The men in New York and San Francis
co communicate all the latest phrases to
Chicago, from which point Galveston.
Denver, New Orleans and Ogden receive
the "new talk" and the forces at Phila-
delphia, Pittsburg, Richmond and Bos.
ton acquire their 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 the cable
operators are quite as slangy as the rest
of the craft. --Philadelphia Record.