Evening star., 1896-01-11
THE TELEGRAPHER'S EAR.
| 1t Does Things Tint Seem Marvellous
| to the Ordinary Listener.

DOCS In1nSS Ihut seem MarNelOus
to the Ordinary Listener.
From the Philadelphia Times.
1t is wonderful how the ear may be edu-
Gated. An old-time telegraph operator last
night related some of his experiences with
sound telegraph. There is no reason to
doubt his stories and they are worthy of
being repeated in his own language. Said
he:
telegrapher so acute that the slightest va
ration in time or sound is as plain to him
as a dropped note is to musician. Any
gccd operator is able to distinguish the diff
ference between the sending of operators,
and can tell by the sound of the instrument
any man with whom he has worked for
any conSidera BILE length of time. You know
1 am out of the business now, and have
been for number of years. Still occa-
sionaliy drop into telegraph offices, and like
nothing better than to get on busy wire
ana be roasted by a fast man for an hour.
1t keeps my hand in, which needs almost
constant practice in order that it may not
lcse its nimbieneSs when working the key.
The ear, however, never loses its sensitive
ness. While in Newark, n. j., year or
two ago was called to the Western Union
Office by telephone. When / arrived there
the manager said: There is a man in
Philadelphia who wants to talk to you,
pointing out the instrument which was to
use. l opened the key and called Philadel-
phia. The operator answered, and made
myself known. How are things, my boy,
came back an answer, with no name at
tached.
Joe Gettler, by gum, 1 said; and so it
was.
Now, mark you / had not seen or
heard from my friend Gettler for three
years, and had not heard him send word
by telegraph during that period of time
He and 1 had worked on the same line for
a year more, and his sending was as
i
nized his touch, and yet 1 supposed he was
at that time in Chicago telegraph office
Yes. there is clearly as much difference be-
tween the sound of different telegraphers
sending as there is between the handWrit-
ing of any two men in the same line Of
business. In fact. there is a much clearer
distinction between the sound of the instru-
ment when different hands are working the
key than there is between the penmanship
of two telegrapheis, because there is a
marked resemblance in all good operators
copy.
1T is stated, and have nc reason to dis
believe the story, that during the war of
the rebellion, Jim Waite an old-timer New
YORK operator, was sent to the front by the
government to work important wires. He
one day got onto a wire over which very
important secret messages We're being sent
by confederateS, and the result would have
been funny had it not been such serious
matter. 1t was in Tennessee or Kentucky,
l forget which. Waite, with his pocket in
strument, got inside the confederate lines
and, having learned that messages were be-
ing sent ove~ a certain wire from Rich
ncnd to the general in command at that
point, he tapped the wire and copied sew
eral valuable messages. This was nothing
new, for operators on both sides did the
same thing time and time again. But
Waite was over-anxious. There was an in
terruption in the middle of dispatch, and
Jim was anxious to get the remainder. To
urge the sender on he opened his key, and
simply said: C. A Commissary' The 'G
A meant go ahead and 'commissary
was the last word that had been sent
What was Waite'S surprise to hear instead
of a continuance of the message: Jim
Waite, what you doing on this line?
Get out or there will be trouble Jim didn't
even wait to find out who the man was.
He said afterward that the seEder had a
very familiar sound but he couldn't for the
| life of him tell who the operator was
Jim found out four or five years later.
| He was still telegraphing and was en-
plcyed in the old Broadway Office of the
Western Union Telegraph Company. New
York. One day young man walked into
the office and asked for Jim Waite. The
men met and looked at each other, but
there was no recognition of the visitor by
Waite. In fact, they looked upon each
others faces for the first time. so you're
.:im Waite, said the caller. Well I'm glad
to meet you My name is Moseiy, Charles
MoSely, and | used to sign &C. r." in
Charleston Waite remembered him in an
instant. The two men for long time had
worked different ends of a north and south
wire UeioTe tue oulpTSak OF tne war, and
had become fast friends without ever hav-
ing met Still, Jim didn't know Mosely was
the man who had told him to get off the
wire inside the confederate lines. Where
did you go after stealing those dispatches
l was sending during the war? asked
Mosely, and then Waite understood it all
Mcsely supposed that Waite had recog-
nized his sending even while stealing the
dispatches, and said he thought it strange
that Waite had not recognized his sending
as quickly as he had the touch of Waite
1 knew Waite well, and he declares that the
story is absolutely true.
ANY operator who is accustomed to
work by sound with men every day can
tell in an instant just who is working
the key. There is something peculiar in
the way each operator opens and closes his
! key. OF course, it is entirely matter of
education of the ear Another evidence of
the susceptibility of the aural nerves to
education is the fact that an operator can
receive and copy a message and at the
same time distinctly hear and comprehend
everything that is being said by others in
the room. He can be very busily engaged
at anything, and yet his ear will take in
everything that is said near him. Another
Il