Fort Worth gazette. [volume] (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1891-1898, 1894-05-13

1
orator hangs II on the check hook the
| check boy Immediately takes IL TO the
| delivery clerk who makes water
| copy of It, places 1t 'on record on his
delivery sheet, and starts the mes
| senger boy 10 deliver all OF which
does not take more than fun sixty
seconds. When the boy makes the de-
| livery, the customer signs for the mes
sage, noting the time he receives IL.
| When the messenger returns. the de-
livery clerk compares the time and
thereby keeps tab on the small boy.
Wires aud Territory.
This is our Dallas local II is the
common side of quadrupicx. The
other side Is the polar which
we use for our st. Louis local Here
we send all Western. Eastern and
| Northern business This wire works
very WELL considering the distance.
| The operator AT work now Is doing
| his forty messages per hour. The man
on Dallas is making faster time. He
| Is handling fully nifty an hour. and
| II necessary can Increase Il to sixty.
Here we have The Gngette's Assoc
ciated Press operator. He IL n busy
man, as you can see by the way he "a
| handling the typewriter, The stun
coming now is all abbreviated and Will
| average sixty words minute, or 1900
| per hour, He gets but few let-ups,'
and deserves the nice salary he draws.
"rhs is the state wire. whore all
| news specials are exchanged by The
| Gazette. Houston Post and San AM
| tonic Express. This operator has MOTH
| ing to do but telegraph, and could
| hardly find time TO carry trunk. He
should be the best posted man IN Tex
as on state news. However, like the
| others Of this craft, Il goes in one ear
and out the other,
''rhis is the switch board, where all
| wires come I'm and take battery and
| are switched to their respective instru-
| mcnts by using the pluFs' you see
here. II we wish TO 'cut-in' on any
| wire all we have to do is TO place the
| plug. which leads to the instrument
| we wish TO use, in the place provided
/ for IT, and then the wire Is ready for
/ use, We have twenty-siS single wires
leading In and out and one qundrupleN,
which is the equivalent OF four wires.
Three Thousand Miles OF Territory.
1--WE work direct with lll Pnso on the
west and have had san Francisco on
special occasions. We work with Waco,
Austin, Houston, Galveston and San
Antonio. Dallas and New Orleans are
as far east as we reach. not including
st. Louis. of course. We have Purcell,
/. T., on the Santa Fe, and often
have Kansas city on this route.
Wichita, Kan. is as far AS we
go Oh the Rock Island, and with
this route Wichita Kan. Is ms far
us we go on the Rock Island, and with
Texline ON the Denver and brentwood
gives us territory of over 5000 miles
direct out of Fort Worth.
The Battcry Room.
"step into the battery room and I
will show you how we harness light
ming and use II at will. Here We have
! about $50 cells OF batteries which feed
the numerous wires. This Ia, as you
know, the life of the telegraph. for
| without batteries or their subdtitutc,
| the dynamo. we could do nothing,
| therefore they are the first considera-
| tlon We employ a battery-mnn whose
| duties are to keep them In good work.
| ing order. They are composed of blue
| vitriol, copper. zinc and water, and are
| innocent looking ornaments, hut II you
| want to see stars take each end OF the
wires in your hand and l will guaran-
| tee you will see all sizes and lrnds
| OF stars and moon or two besides,
| Lost His Job.
1.-THE duties OF railroad operators are
different from that Of their commercial
brethren, They must report the arri-
val and departure OF all trains TO the
1
| his two fingers. as IT were. The opera
tor stands a 12-hour watch, and often
| longer, the night men having FAR the
| worst Of II. After 9 or O'Clock q. m.
| the time drags heavily, especially II
| there is no trains TO keep them awake.
| win never forget my first experience
| as might owl on the Texas and Pa
cinc road at Cisco, In 1882.
| II was lust twelve years younger
than am now, and not being accus,
toned TO working all night l found
| II hard TO keep my eyes open after
| O. m. No 3, the west-bound oNpress
| was due to pass my station AZ $3.50 n.
| M, and after reporting this train there
WIS nothing else to do but pound my
| ear which you can rest assured al
ways did, without nslinR the dispatch
| eTs permission, for II was positively
/ against the rules for an operator to
/ sleep while on duty.
mo. was the flyer and always on
| time to a dot, but from some cause
| she was an hour late this night. and
to stay awake until $50 was an utter
| impossibility. / would walk up and
| down the track TO keep awake, but
| finding Il almost impossible TO keep
| my eyes open any longer ! thought Of
| a hapDy plan, / would stretch out on
the platform parallel with the track
and when No came Numbering along
| the noise and vibration would certain
| ~ arouse me; then / would report her
| time to the dispatcher ana coll up on
| my little table until relieved by the
| day man, and no sooner said than
| done and no sooner done than asleep.
at was IN the month OF August,
| when the sun and flies rise early and
| finding my upturned face an easy prey.
got in their work. the flies brealSfaating
| around my eyes and the sun giving Il
| TO me hot and heavy Two young
| and risky flies got into n controversy
| IN my ear, which sounded like all the
\ engines on the road were tearing down
| upon me and the Intense heat Of the
| sun made up for escaping steam. with
a bound / was on my feet and into the
| office and the dispatcher was calling
&c" with all his might. answered
| Well it's time o S No. g. / looked
| out the east window and corid see
| nothing OF her. and thinking II was
| Impossible for the train 10 get by me
| without my knowledge. l readily re-
| sponded. Not yet
| "'Are YOU sure OF that said the
| dispatcher. Haven't you been nsleepY''
~ am cure she has not passed FOR
| have been wide awake, said /. think
| ing what "A whopper.
| Well she Is In the ditch and he
| began calling Ma (Eastland)
md was prompt and Eoonanswered:
"'Are you sure No. passed there at
Ji0g''
~ Yes. sir. am positive Of H. said
-. a.. -..t.s.. 7 ,,,as aat.... -.