Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1892-07-20
A LOOK AROUND.

ONE of the things which will come with
the underground wires will be great revo-
| luton in the telephone service in Pittsburg.
Cheerful aud busy Manager Harry Metzgar,
! OF the Central District and Printing Tele-
graph Company-goodness what mouth
full Of name-says that we only get perfec-
tion in heaven, but he is glad to listen to
protests of bad service and all that sort Of
thing and promptly correct 1t. He says that
the western Pennsylvania Company which
controls the telephone has about 5000 in
struments in service In its territory. The
electric Car system, together with the elec-
trio lights and the telegraph wires and all
the incidental wire breaks, storm troubles,
render the city service a thing which
should only be damned in an intelligent
and discriminating manner. The new long
distance instruments are wonderful things,
through which you can almost hear your
self think, and when the wires are buried
they will be used together with a metallic
wire system. Without this kind of wire
they are little better than the present ma
chimes. As you can imagine, however, an
underground wire scheme involving hun
dreds of miles Of complicated connections
or plain straightaway lines is not to be had
in market ofhand and taken home in a bas-
ket.
OoniE tliuc ago Tue MOuOuSducl6 w aver
Company increased its rates to customers
living On the hilltops on the Southside, in
Knoxville, Mt Oliver and other places in the
fringe of the municipal mantle. As a result
OF this some Of the wealthy business men
whose homes are up whore the air does not
have to be busted with whisk broom put
their heads and purses together and chart
cred water companies, three of them, one for
Mt. Oliver, one for lower st. Clair township
and one for Knoxville. These. companies
will proceed to lay pipes and will supply
water to the hill-toppers under general
combination with about s3oo,oO0 capital
IT is rather singular that at Homestead
the MALTA should be called out to protect
the mill issue.
For several days I have noticed sturdy
looking men on the streets wearing blue
badges with gilt letterings. At first
thought there was some kind of picnic on,
but it was too continued for that and got
near enough to one OF these badges to see it
was marked "N. G. W." In a majority of
cases, yes in a great majority, on the
opposite side of tho coat from these
emblems, these men wore another bit of
blue ribbon. I looked at that one also at
short range and found it had face on it.
One evening sat next to one of these men
in a restaurant. He had big badge, the
biggest "W. G. W." badge had seen. 1t was
large enough to have as a sort of postscript
the word President" on it. This man also
wore the ribbon with the face as counter
piece. Some of these days there will be
"Presidenr' on that also, for the face is
Harrison's, and the workingmen seem to
banker after him, and such brainy fellows as
Eberhardt, the head of the Window Glass
Workers Association, are proud to show
their preference.
A NEW version of an old joke was cur
rent last week:
Clerk Ito employer)-I must ask for leave
of absence to go to Homestead. I belong to
the militia.
Homestead, ehP Well, that's all right, but 1
want you to send me some of the fish.
OF the many queer occupations that I
have heard OF, think the queerest is that
Of signature maker" What would you
suppose it to be at first glanceF A forger?
Perhaps, but he is not in that line up to
date. He simply forms your style as some
other teachers form your spelling or style.
There are many business men who have no
especially characteristic signature. They
want one and they go to man on Wall
street, in New York, and he furnishes it
He asks your occupation, what kind of busi-
ness you expect to engage in or are already
in and then tells you to write some notes,
checks, letters and random sentences and
sign them as you are accustomed to do.
With this as basis, he proceeds TO write
several suggestions for your future guild
ance. He will give you an odd capital or a
twist at the end and conformation of
letters which looks well and is hard to
make, and then you copy it until you are
proficient. It looks like an absurdity per-
haps, but when you see the signatures of
mon who sign important papers and big
checks, you must admit that they do not
usually have "John Smith" look. 1t is
upon this fact that this man operates. He
gives you signature to live upto.
A BANKER of this citv defines member
of the Legislature as q man who has some
aot tn grind WATTrp