Evening star., 1893-12-04

age went all around our office before going
out to see If any of the boys could locate
mistake and we finally concluded the
sender knew what he was telegraphing
about. Many people blame US for not plac-
Ing punctuation marks in a message to
make it read sensibly, but for the same
reason have before stated, we change
nothing and send II on its journey as it
comes to us.
'"The most interesting messages that pass
over our wires. that Is interesting to the
operators, are the ones that are exchanged
by the owners of racing horses and the race
track followers. A large majority of these
messages, OF course. are in cipher and the
interest Is increased by the fact that the
sender and receiver Of the message are
generally known to the operators. Now
and then a straight message will flash over
the wire as to the status of coming race.
but 1t Is nine to one chance that the op-
orators will be afraid to think of it. believ-
ing 1t to be blind sent out to catch the
Geographic fraternity, many of whom, am
sorry to say, invest considerable of their
money In pools or straight tickets.
Tricks I'm Racing Tips.
TT takes the novice to bite at these sup
posed traps and what disgusts the telegra-
pher Is the fact that the very chances they
let slip are the ones they should have
grasped- The following story was told me
as an actual fact and will aptly illustrate
this point. 1t seems that a young man
went into an uptown office recently to use
the telephone. While he held the telephone
receiver glued to his ear waiting for the
connection 20 be made the wires in some
way became crossed. The young man moved
around in his chair nervously excitedly
fumbled In his pockets and finally fshed
out pencil, with which he wrote furiously
Ior Few minutes on the margin of a news
paper. He had evidently forgotten the OBJ
Ject OF his visit, but was finally called to
his senses by the wire Strengthening out
and the man he wanted answering his call.
After he had transacted his business he
asked the young clerk what the charges
were. He replied fifteen cents, but the young
man in great excitement handed him a dol
lar bill and told him to keep the change
when he got outside the office ne ran
against an old time operator with whom he
was on Intimate terms and pulling him to
one side. in hoarse whisper, said:
Just heard a message go over the tele-
phone wire from one of the big bookmak-
ers over at jackson City to a weIl-known
betting man down on 9th street, telling him
to play one hundred straight and one hun
dred for place on Can't Tell tomorrow
There's cinch for you. Let us form lit
tie pool OF our own and take in a portion of
the pot
The old operator laughed in his face and
told him that was an old trick and that
they were after his money. The young man
was obdurate and insisted on playing Can't
Tell even after his friend had gone into
the details of how such traps are laid. He
told him the telegraph wires were used
weekly for just such a purpose and that the
telephone wires were evidently being re-
sorted to now. But 1t was TO use. The
young man collected a party of his friends
and a combination of five was formed. each
one putting up So The directions of the
message that passed over the telephone
wire were followed to the letter and the
combination cashed checks to the amount
of 81, $50 or $3.50 apiece.
THE story was told me by the old time
operator and such a mournful expression
have never before seen on mans face.
ITO think said he. that 1 have been
caught over and over again by apparently
just such a game and here comes along a
greener that hardly knows the difference
between pool ticket and a five dollar bill
that falls into the good thing which goes
through without me. 1 have seen that
young man three times since he won his
pool and each time have / slipped into a
neighboring doorway as 1 am ashamed to
face him.
Had that message passed over the tele-
graph wires / can imagine the operators
winking to each other knowingly and pass
ing it by as an old trick. Then comes the
real trick and they bite like hungry tish.
Complex Cablegrams.
ITO round out the chapter mention should
be made of cablegrams. Washington stands
about fifth on the list of cities that receive
the largest number of cables. New York,
of course, heads the list, but 1 doubt If
that city receives as many complex cables
as We do. This is accounted for through
the complicated cipher system now in use
by the federal government. Take the cable
that came in the other day from Brazil
there were several words in its context that
could not be made out even by the experts
up at the State Department. The operators
in the local offices have holy horror for
cables addressed to the State Department
The address. of course. comes first and the
operator knows that roast is in store for
him and a concentration of all his faculties
follows so that he may turn out a correct
message as far as he is concerned.
1T is popularity supposed that cablegramS
are received by means of flashes of light,
but that system has been almost abandoned
for some time. The recording system in
vented by Sir William Thomson of London,
has been in use for long time. There was
much even in this to improve. Its meth
cd of working was to record on a paper
ribbon the movements of glass siphon
from which ink flowed through an opening
no larger than human hair, leaving marks
on each side of the center of the ribbon. as
IL was actuated by the impulses which
flowed through the electric coils between
which 1t swung. This recorder was a vast
step onward. but the improvements made
in it by Charles Cuttriss, one of our eX-
perts in the New York office. have virtually
made a new machine. in which nothing re-
mains of the Thomson pattern except the
marking siphon. Mr.. Cuttriss has sue
ceeded in devising a machine which
tainS more yitueS than the old arrange
ment with none of its weaknesses. The
siphon of his machine is vibrated by mag
netism. The coil is pivoted in jewels, and
its motion is controlled as to do entirely
away with all the difficulties which form
erly beset the recording machines from
static electricity.
1T writes with a speed of from go to
800 words a minute, and readily responds
to a rapid automatic sender. furnishing a
perfectly reliable record of the message
sent. Its magnetic vibration renders il alb
solutely Independent of climatic influences
which when static electricity was used
Ike in the old Thomson recorder. rendered
it so unreliable. In addition to the recorder
Mr.. CuttrisS has devised a new automatic
traEsmitter to work in accord with the re-
corder. OF course, you understand, that
all this machinery is located in our New
York and London offices and that we. down
here at Washington. receive the cables in
the good old-fashioned Morse way as of
yore.
This about concludes the list of curious
messages. devices and humorous things
connected with telegraph office. OF course
there are many little incidents that come
and go that would look and read good in
print, but they are quickly forgotten and
when wanted refuse to come to time in our
think chambers. The under, seamy side of
life Is shown to the telegraph operator al
most as freely as to the physician, though
less voluntarily"
THE BABY'S THROBBING HEAD,