The Helena independent. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1875-1943, 1892-04-07
LOOKED 70 HELENA.
When tho Cyclone Destroyed Conn
m~unication Between tho
East and West, r5#
Western Union Cfflcs Crowded
With Business Since
Saturday. @
#H% i .'
Handling Frnm 5000 to 10000 Messages
Fer Day to Relieve the Pres
sure.

Handling Fran 5000 to 10000 Messages
Per Day to Relieve the Pres
sure.
II any a would like to see the effect
that the late cyclone has had in Helena a
visit to the operating room Of the Western
Union Telegraph company will show II.
When the first great storm swept the coun-
try about ten days z it played havoc with
the wires of the mpan in tho middle
region Of the continent and delayed bust
ness for some time. Ths worst came last
Friday. Wires vera torn down for miles
by tho Cyclone from the Dakotas to Texas.
ALL communication was cut of between the
east and west. Business was at a stand
still in all the offices west of n line drawn
through the path OF the cyclone. Thous-
ands Of messages hung on the hooks for
hours. Every lins rspairer that could be
reached was rushed to the sections where
the storm had laid the wires low. Late on
Saturday tbs Helena Office got a .'hole''
through to the east, which means that
communication was established be-
tween Helena and Chicago. FOR several
hours before this occurred this messages
came piling into the Helena Of
fec from California. Utah, Oregon, Wash
ingtont and sections south Of Helena.
All this business was sent to
Helena il the hope that the office here
would get . s'hole'' through first. San
Francisco had one long wire east, but it
was 50 slow it could not respond to the de-
mands made upon it. To handle the cur
rent volume Of business when everything
works right is all that can be expected OF
the wire. Manager Swan. Of the Western
Union office, and Night Chiefs George w.
lilly and William Taylor and the
operators have been the busiest
men in town since last Saturday.
The Office mas been handling from 5000 to
10000 messages q day. Tn demand upon
the office is the greatest ever made upon it.
Some Of the railroad operators working for
the Northern Pacific were pressed into
service. Thirty men have been constantly
ct work since Saturday showing messages
ceiying the accumulated business from the
sections east of tho storm-awept section of
the country.
Some Of the operators have worked
thlrty-six hours, the only relief being a few
minutes for something to cut. The force
was put upon it's mrettle and did great work,
and are still at it. Manager Swan says
Night Chief lilly probably made the beat
record for the Helena office. He started in
Saturday night and worked twenty-four
hours. Toward the close Of this period he
was sending at the rate Of sixty messages
an hour. or one each minute. This is
recognized as very swift work. There
m yok hur a hnnr a ryar1 rN1( -, a - - a. y
end whom the night chief was at the key.
In rare instances operators nave been
known to handle messages a little ~livelier,
but Mt. lilly set the pace for Helena,
Manager Swan also thinks that his night
chief established the record for the north
west.
Operator Frank E. Abbott, on Saturday
night, sent seventy-hye messages to Ogden
in seventy-tive minutes. 5Ihis is a phe-
nomenal bit of t~elegraphing, and is only q
less telegraphic feat than 'rillv's perform
ance of sixty i'll sixty minutes. from the
fact that the distance is about one-fourth
of that to Chicago.
Some of the men worked seventeen hours
n put in four in well-easned sleep. There
were eighteen of them at the desks yester-
day. At Z o'clook last night twenty-five
OPERATORS were at work. The greater part
of the accumulated business in the west
which is being worked off to the east goes
over a copper wire from Helena to Chicago.
1t is q quadruplex, and has four times the
capacity of q single wire. Eight men work
the quad" four in Helena and four i'll
Chicago, -Four messages going on one wire
at the gnme time ia something pretty hard
to explain to the uninitiated, but it is q
fact. Were it not for this ''quad' the MEL
sages would be in stacks on the desk.
This hole through to the east that the
operators talk about also consists Of y du-
rtRY. #%4 In haa half tho oapHnitv nf tina
quad" and is worked by four men. The
duplex wire is Of iron and does not work so
we'll as the copper wire, the latter being a
betser conductor Of electricity. Besides
handling all this business the office has had
to attend to the regular work, which is
saaes passed through the office. During
1890, which was the busiest year, 1900. 900
were handled. The payroll of
the office for this month will amount to
$4,000, The operating room is on the top
floor of the First National bank building.
is a busy place at any hour of the day or
but since the Cyclone it has been u
are open the noise of the saunders can to
heard on the street. Everything is going.
an outsider it is a wonder how an ope-
rator can distinguish anything from the
continuous rattle. Since the Introduction
of tbs typewriters into tho operating room
buo WoIA y IcGeIViuH lu6SsdR6S HAS Deen
made much easier for the operators.
Manager Swan was in the operating
room last night when the night force came
On. There was no let up in the rush. He
said it might come any moment. Line re-
are at work getting up wires in one
of Nebraska where the storm did
some very destructive work. On the Union
system 800 miles of wire
were torn down. AS soon as
some Of these wires can be placed in work
ing order it will civ" the west another
hole" through to the east and ~relieva the
on tue Helena office. Manager
swan n his force of operators have done
splendid service and it ia due to them that
communication has been kept up between
east and west with az little delay as
possible under such adverse circumstances.
They have kept the wires red hot and made
Helena the telegraphio heart between the
and the west. In the operating room
the top floor of the First National bank
building the visitor can hear the pulse of
nation beat.
Manager Hawk, Of the Rocky Mountain
Telegraph company says his communities
lion with the east over his lines has not
been interrupted,
Miss Mary IL. Jackman gives private
lessons In shorthand. Room I5, bailey
block. Cali AL office for terms,
Mysteries of the Court of London, by G.. w.
Reynolds in eight volumes. at The Bee Hive.
Price 30 cents per volume.
Ladies', misses and children's fast black
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