Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1891-04-14
KNOWN BIZ THEIR TICKS
CHARACTER READING THROUGH
hANy MILES or WIRES

rsle<rasA Operne,rp Knsw ths Dispssk-
49, - Each OtAsr nrpn rs Way Mss-
1900 Ar se.s d.. 0.s City e Ar
sshsr- ssns sf - Frsaks
The telegraph operators Of this city
are noted the world over a. experts.
Not only are they masters Of their art az
. class. but many OF them have de-
yeloped 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 hy
the tick Of the machine in Philadelphia
what manner Of man is at the other end
of the wire. no matter whether he be In
Chicago, New York or any other distant
city. Just as the bank cashiers recog-
nize the signatures OF old customers,
80 do telegrapher identify friends BY
their sending" or writing.
The fast. jerky sender, who stops
every few minutes to tighten this screw
or loosen that spring, or to talk with his
desk mate easily tells the receiver thar
he is nervous, irresponsible young man
Of little experience and less Judgment;
he warns the receiver to be on constant
watch for errors, 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 ont 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 man seldom
has ceases" He impresses the receiver
at once that he is invariably correct.
He never stops for bad copy, because he
always reads message ahead of the one
he is sending. and returns any he cannot
decipher to the clerks before starting 1t.
This sort of man has a friend in every
office. All the students and operators IN
way stations know him. They recognize
J his sending and appeal to him as would
a child 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 'scabn by all the
out of town men, with whom ne has fire.
quent spats.
Practical jokers and witty men are
generally Indifferent operators, but usual
ly have IA reputation, reaching from San
Francisco to Boston, which always Sc
| 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 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 breth-
rem, are poor artists, but they are not
fortunate in the way Of acquiring ''repu-
tation." They ever 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 tci' sort the receiver could
describe him all0st to positive exact.
ness without ever having seen him or
heard him described.
FEMALE 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 tie other by bits of in
formation regarding other cities dropped
from day to day by the tramps. They
tell their story when ihey correct errors
discovered in the q 4 iresses OF messages
relayed from one ely TO another, 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 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 a bright saying heard by an
operator in New York is repeated the
world over the same day, az the cable
operators are quite as slangy as the rest
Of the craft.-Philadelphia Record.