The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1893-03-03

Die train OF condolences that came under
my notice about six months ago while |
was working oct at Pittsburg. | dropped
into the receiving room TO try and brace
the cashier for a little loan, and while there
red headed man came in and wrote mes
sage on a red blank. It was handed to a
red-headed counter clerk, who, after
checking it aud pocksting the cash handed
It to a red-headed boy TO send up the tube
L went up tie elevator 70 the operating
room and found that the message had been
given TO a red-headed operator to send over
the wire and that its destination was Red
Bud, ILL., This story was received in ST.
lence and several looks OF reproach were
cast IN the direction of the teller OF the red
headed story
An operator just in from Georgia, where
he had been frozen out by u consolidation Of
press asso Citations, said: "A court down in
Georgia has decided that no telegraph COM
pany amt excused from using care because
message is ungrammatical. Right on the
heels of this came another decision from the
same court exempting telegraph companies
from penalties for failing to deliver mes
sages on Sunday. l attempted TO be face
tious at the expense of these two decisions
in crowded barroom one day AMI came
mighty near receiving dose Of lead. Three
reyolvers were placed under my nose SO
quick that il made nv hair rise right up,
and my apology was most profuse aud came
instanter."
AT this time man joined the group from
the operating room and glancing around
said: Telling stories againl When will
you fellows ever stop talking 'shopP You're
old enough to know BETTER
Hello, Levi. came in a chorus from the
company. YES" said one, I'VE are telkil g
shop and we want you to join us. Tell us
one OF your best before you turn in for the
night"
1he man designated as Lew hesitated
| minute as if in doubt, but the appeal of his
companions was too strong and he decided
TO talk shop with the rest. He said:
THE COUNTRYMAN's FRIGHT.
About five years ago worked at sum-
| mer resort down on the Long Island coast.
One evening an old countryman strayed in
| to the office and soon had me pouring over
the intricacies Of the telegraph business gen.
orally. While thus engaged a thunder storm
came up, and Of course the usual lightning
| flashes came in on the switchboard. Sud-
denly the lightning dropped red-hot bolt
somewhere in the vicinity of my office and
the result was that ball of fire shot
through the office and in close proximity to
| the old farmers head, accompanied with a
report like that of gun.
The old man gave a yell OF dismay,
| lurched backward over a chair, cut his
! scalp ana landed in heap in the corner.
| /
assurance that no harm was done.
What was it, Holy gee, didn't it come
closeF he said.
~ told him it was lightning and ex-
| planned that the wire was overcharged with
| electricity and not being able to carry the
| load had exploded.
The old man edged toward the door,
tenderly feeling the cut on his head, and
| when he reached the doorway turned and
said: Great Jerusalem Just think what
would happen if the Atlantic cable ever got
overcharged; just think of it!'
The last | saw of the old fellow he was
going down the road rubbing his head and
every few minutes turning and looking
back at my office as if desiring to put as
much space between It and himself as he
possibly could"
Photographic mistakes or bulls are liable
to crop out at any time" said an opera or
in the group just in from New York. LAS
result Of one | am now in Washington.
Every one in this crowd will vouch for my
capability as an operator and steady habits.
About a month ago was working for the
Western Union at the produce exchange
office. The heaviest business there is done
with Chicago and the wires fairly hum be-
tween the hours of a. m. and p. m.
A MISTAKE IN PORK.
"You remember the great advances
| made in pork about that timel Well, one
| day one of the biggest men on the exchange,
/ speaking in Ii business sense came rushing
| into the Office and handed in a message for
Chicago. 1t read: Buy 5000 barrels of
pork at best figure rushed that message
off with all the speed possess. as the diff
| ference of an eighth in an order like that S
| considerable. In about ten minutes an
| answer came back on the receiving side of
the duplex saving: We have sold 5000
barrels OF pork, as ordered
'In one minute more that broker was in
the Office white as sheet and pulling his
| hair The market kept going up, and, acr
coTding to that message, he was on the
short side. 1t took about ten minutes
more to straighten that tangle out, but in
that time something like 81, 500 was lost.
The company gave me the option Of paying
that amount or sliding out of my position,
and slid. They had to make that amount
good. How the word sell for buy got in
there is a mystery to me, as am willing to
make affidavit that l transmitted it cor
rectly. The Chicago office was so positive
toat it was my mistake that the manager at
the New York end of the wire refused to
listen to my explanation. OF course there
is such thing as optical illusion and alb
observation-disclosures, but Pm sure l am not
troubled that way.
"That office has hard LUCK In regard to
mistakes, unintentional and the reverse"
continued the man from New York, land
that may have accounted for my summary
dismissal. About six months previous to
the 'bull' l perpetrsted one of the operators
in the office had tried to square accounts
th one of the brokers through whom
he had lost considerable money. the savings
of several years. The operator claimed
that the loss was brought about by under
hand dealing on the part of the broker, but
he kept his own counsel and resolved 10
squere matters II such thing was possible
His tine came. 1t was during the corn
furry last sgring when that cereal was on q
continual boom FOR fully month. AT the
time it took its great slump the broker
spoken OF must have securAd a 'tip' from
the inside, for be sent an order to sell an
immense quantity of cora short. AS fate
would have it, this message came into the
| hands OF this operator, and at glance he
recognized the sender.
1.-The message WAS in cipher, but through
previous private dealings with the broker
he knew the code by heart. Without
blink Of the eye that man changed the i'm
port Of the message, making it read buy
instead of SELL and as the order was q large
one the answer did not show up until half
an hour later. The broker could only re-
cover the actual loss sustained while mat
ters were being Strengthened up, and by the
time this was done the slump came and the
opportunity was lost.
The broker by little figuring showed
the manager how he had lost an even cool
G25 OO0 nv tha mistak a and waited with "a