Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1895-01-26
Highest of all in Leavening Power-Latest U.S. Govt Report
R3H!aza!!! RskiRs
ABSOLUTELY PURE

We UISCuSSIIR b
| man that stood high on our books as re-
CARDS to merit. but who had slipped up
on an important message through his pro-
penSity of copying behind. DR.. Green satdI
:" Have talk with the young man and
dissect his traits. If the inspection proves
| favorable and the damages are not too
| heavy make him foot the bill. but don't
discharge him.
Il took his advice and It was a sight
good for weak eyes, to see that young
fellow buckle down TO work. In fact, he
worked so hard and improved so fast that
inside or six months 1 gave him two in
c1eases in salary. His Indebtedness was
soon Hquidated and he went up the ladder
OF success with more than the usual ra-
pid1ty. Today he sees to 1t that more than
three hundred operators do their tele-
graphing correctly. He has frequently told
me that his one mistake, while costly at
the time Of its occurrence, was blessing
behind a mask. We would have ruined
that mans career had he been discharged.
Some VIII Not Settle.
But all operators will not foot the bill
OF damages" continued the telegraph Of
fetal witt a merry twinkle in his eye.
and especially is this so In the cases Of
first-class men. When a $500 suit and its
usual termination confronts them they
quit fnstanter and we have to settle the
bill They are so expert that the press as
socfations, brokers or the opposition COM
pany gobble them up. Sometimes they
drift into the larger cities and under as
sumed names come back into our employ
and we are unable to catch them. They
take as an excuse for not paying the bill
that they are too expert to make mistakes,
but when the man at the other end of the
wire is equally as good at the business
the proper location of the mistake is not
difticult. A receiver of the Morse alphabet
viii make ten mistakes while the sender
Of the same will make one. The class of
employees that. as a rule. make the mis-
takes and are willing to pay the piper are
these receiving salaries ranging from S45
to $50 a month. They are comparatively
new at the business and want to stay with
US.
'It is not necessary to tell you of the
immense business We do with the racing
associations and their patrons. 1t amounts
up in the millions each year, but strange
to say, mistakes are few and far between.
This might seem strange to those not
ccnversant with the true state of affairs.
but to me it is easily explained. Three
out or four operators have, at some time,
taken an interest in horse racing, and al
though it may not have been to the ex-
tent of more than a SO BILL they never
forget the experience. Consequently they
silently follow the horses, but we make
it a point to place men on the race wires
that know every horse from .Snooks' up
to Henry Of Navarro Then We place a
list of the entries for the day before them
and they get to know the horses names
thoroughly, no matter how swiftly they
come over the wires.
Tip on the Races.
Another thing in our favor, in dealing
with the race associations and their fol-
lowers. is that they are easy to deal with,
and if We show them conclusively that the
mistake was the result of bad wires, or
quick transmission in our endeavor to serve
them promptly. they will depart without
broaching the subject of damages.
4 remember a case in point in which a
race track follower got a message that had
mistake in it. but which benefited him
to such an extent that felt like making
him pay damages, A message came to
him from Louisville, KY. telling him to
play a certain horse in the third race on
the day in question. From early morning
that day tip on another horse in the same
race had been floating around the Office to
such a degree that everybody was sending
money over to the island track. The tip
had come from Louisville and through an
operator in that city. The message in
question came in red-hot time and the op-
orator that cid the receiving is a flrst-class
race track fiend. He had collected together
$50 and had sent 1t over the river to be
placed on the tip. and consequently he
could see no other horse in the race, es-
pecially as his friend had notified him over
the wire that his money had been placed at
the odds Of to 1. At the point where the
racing man was advised to play a certain
horse this man substituted the horse he
was backing, ard to this day he is willing
to swear that the telegram read that way,
and that if mistake was made. the send
ing operator was the erring one. Strange
to say, the horse backed by the operator
won, consequently the sporting man at the
track was away ahead, financially. on the
This man came to me week -
later and showed me the original message.
and wanted to go up stairs and reward the
operator for his mistake. but I wouldn't
allow it. end after much persuasion con-
WINGED him that it would demoralize our
business to permit him to do so.
IT have always maintained, and gener-
ally rightfully, that 1T is only through care
lessness of the grcsSest kind that mis-
takes are made in our business OF course
I don't refer to the press business, as the
operators with the associations do not
carry the responsibility and consequently a
dozen bulls a day on average Will be
registered. Our operators are instructed
to spell out figures, but there is class
that will persist they know all the details
thoroughly and Will handle figures straight.
Let me tell you a little story wherein q
lady belonging to this class made an $500
and through the connivance OF
superior official made our company pay tho
bill
1t Ended In Marriage.
Tho lady in question was moro than
usually good looking, and I'll give her the
credit of being a good operator. 1t was
this goodness that made her take to re-
ceiving figures instead Of letters. She re-
ceived a telegram one day over the New
York wire calling for the purchase Of 5000
bushels of wheat. 1t was addressed to ons
Of our local brokers and came from one Of
his customers in that city. The message
was rushed as Usual in such cases. and in
her haste our lady expert left OF one OF
the ciphers and made the order call for
zoo.
The next day there was the deuce to
pay. There had been a tremendous adj
vance in wheat and the broker and his
customer were furious. I tried to bluff
them off by citing the legal agreement
printed on the back of each telegraph
blank, calling for a repeating OF the mes
sage, but they knew thing or two and
wouldn't have 1t. Then, after locating the
guilty party, tried to play on their SYM
pathies, telling them bright and beauti-
full young lady had made the mistake and
that she was the only support of an aged
parent. This plea also failed. as they
wouldn't believe the story of the company
making the young lady pay the bill Of
If allowed.
After several days OF wrar Cling We final
" decided to take the loss and placed ii at
1900. The broker first claimed $1,000. This
was an immense sum to the lady, and she
had case of Mysteries when I told her of
the final decision. Then after days