Evening star., 1896-09-09
OLD TIME TELEGRAPHERS
They Are Asse !nbled in Convention at Pitts.
burg This Week.
The Army Telegraphers Will Also he
Thereto BE Entertained by
Mr. Carnegie.

Andrew Carnegie, who was once a mes.
sehger boy In the employ of the Atlantic
| and Ohio Telegraph Company, when Mr..
james ID. Reid, now United States consul
at Dumfernlfne, Scotland, was its super-
lEtendent, HIS as his guests in Pitts
turg this week the members of the United
States Military Telegraph Corps and Old
ime Telegraphers' Association many of
whom are well known in Washington, they
haVns~been on duty at the War Depart
Hent and in this vicinity during the war.
The occasion will be the sixteenth an
nIal reunion of the association which
meets there. and 1t is expected that about
six hundred members will attend. The re-
Union will probably last for about three
days.
among the most prominent members all
OF whom have promised to attend, are
Ihoma3 A. Edison, General T. T. Eckert
| president of the Western Union Telegraph
Company; Mr.. A. Il. Chandler, president
OF the Postal Telegraph and Cable Com
parry MI j. ID. Reid, said to be the Oldest
'elesraph operator in the world, and the
author or several books on telegraDhy:
Anorew carnegie, Thomas NJ. King second
wee president of the Baltimore and Ohio
P;ttshrra Paau company and receiver of the
. .i1espurg ana Western road: ii. w Oliver
| lae ua IRON magnate; David McCargo, Robert
Pitcairn of the Pennsylvania RaiIroad
company and many others
Although the reunion of the y,,e,,,t,. .,
| the Military Corps and those Of tha a.,
sociatloil lakes place together and there
| VIII DE but one convention, there are nr,n
uMraany TWO divisions. The United States
-h'dry corps Is composed of operators
| VINO served the government during tba
| G.NlI war Their officers are: President "
IL Plum OF Chicago: vice president. W. n
Wilson. Holmesburg, Pa; secretary and
j. of
zee on legislation, w. Il. Wilson N 4
Da.ey, III. limerick, DIR. ]. f. O'Brien
| on, hDse .r VINO are now on the roll of the
| Oid-Tlme Telegraphers' Association are
| tnose VINO were engaged in the telegram
business twenty years previous to the date
OF their application for membership. OF
hur,, nrs uisisIoh ~ samuel A Duncan of Pitts
purg is president. J. ID. Fly, Pittsburg.
wee president, and W. J. Daley, New York.
| secretary and treasurer. The executives
committee Is composed of Robert Pitcairn,
| Jchn Campbell and NJ W. Mead an of
Plttsburg; l.. A. Somers Cleveland. and
>. +. Peabody Of Washington
Inc hrst day of the convention is being
occupied by business meetings with a
| lecture In the evening by President Chand-
Ter or the Postal Telegraph and Cable
Company. The next day excursions will
be made to the industrial establishments al
Ilohestead, East Pittsburg and other
| points. and at the conclusion of the busi-
| ness OF the following day banquet will
take place al the MonoRgahela House
one or the most Interesting persona ges
| IN the convention is expected to be the Mr.
| j. d. Reid above mentioned. who obtained
leeve OF absence from his post in Scot
land as United States consul. and who was
the flrst superintendent of the first COM
merciGl telegraph line in the world
Mr.. Reid was born in Edinburgh Scot
land, in 1919. He settled in Rochester "
Y, In 1897, and was employed by Henry
| . Reilly, then postmaster. OReily became
| the contractor for the building of the Morse
| telegraph lines and Reid his assistant
In 1881 Reid became the superintendent
| OF the Magl etic Telegraph Company whose
lines ran between Washington and New
York, and of the Atlantic and Ohio line
from Philadelphia to Pittsburg. He after
ward became superintendent of the old Ma
| tonal lines. the New York Albany and
Buffalo and other companies. which one
| after another were absorbed by the West
| ern Union.
| Mr.. Reid established THE Journal OF
| Teegraphy' and founded the Teegraphers'
| Mutual Benefit Association. In 1877 he
| published THE Telegraph of America"
At one time Andrew Carnegie was en-
ployed as messenger boy under Mr.
Reid. In 1859 Mr. Carnegie obtained for
his old employer the appointment to the
consulship at Dumfernlne. Scotland.