The record-union., 1897-09-07

the best record on the circuit. From
being perplexed at the change, the
sending operators became exasperated
when the former plug" would some
times ask them to ''get a gait on as
he was tired of waiting for them. One
day the manager of the circuit, on
tour of inspection, saught sight Of the
operator seated easily at a typewriter,
taking his messages leisurely, and
making much better copy than would
have been possible with a pen.
He had run across an old typewriter,
one Of those which writes all capitals,
and, seeing it's possibilities, had learned
the keyboard, and pressed it into ser
vice. The manager at once saw the
value of the discovery, and soon all the
operators on the circuit were made to
learn and use the typewriter. Before,
a fast penman could just about keep up
with fast-sending operator; with the
typewriter an operator could easily
take news much faster than it could
be sent by the Morse alphabet.
Devices were invented for quicker
sending, consisting for the most part of
authorizations, such as assn" for "as-
SOclaIlOn, co lot COLupduys PRES
for president" "shd'' for should. :"
The full list of authorizations has been
systemized into a regular and scientific
code, which is now used on all news
paper circuits and in many commercial
telegraph offices where much press
business is handled. While from twen-
ty to twenty-five words a minute is a
good average for commercial wire, a
newspaper wire with code and type
writer has been known to carry as
many as $500 words an hour or sixty
words a minute.
Under favorable circumstances the
speed may be even greater, as the fast
est operators can send seventy-five
words a minute over a wire, and this
can be Transcribed by a receiving oper-
ator on a typewriter into copy whose
legibility and accuracy are of the great
est value to editors and compositors.
This operation, however, involves what
is nothing short of psychological mar
vel. The operator has first to separate
the unbroken string of dots and dashes
into letters. These letters must be
separated into known authorizations Of
words; the proper words must be sup
piled to these authorizations, and final
ly sense must be made out Of the whole,
and the message must be Transcribed on
the typewriter at the speed of a word
a second, many of the words being long
and puzzling.
While doing all this some operators
can carry on conversation on an en-
tirely foreign subject, or even give the
gist Of what has been taken while still
keeping up with the wire.
A CURE FOR BALKY HORSES.
Electricity has been put to a new
and so far successful use, that Of con-
quering a balky or lazy horse. In one
case a very high-spirited and valuable
animal, but extremely vicious and
baiky, was cured in one hour with the
aid Of a three-volt dry battery, says the
Pittsburg Dispatch"
The officials of the Western Pennsyl-
vania Humane Society were notified
some time ago that Thomas Rodgers
of Avalon, was using the dry battery
on his horse, which was as bad as
valuable high-bred horse could be- Su-
perintendent Thomas NJ. Porter investf-
gated the case. and Friday he gave
Rodgers a hearing before Justice Will
liam Griscom, of that place. Rodgers
said his horse was worth 81, ZOO to him
if he could be cured of baking and
one or two other vicious habits. He
had offered $500 to any one who could
manage the animal and at last con-
suited DR.. T. c. Mcneil, the City Vet
mary. The doctor advised Rodgers to
try electricity, and he bought a three
volt storage battery, and by means of
the bit and the crouper with the bat
terry. The horse was hitehed to a road
cart, and at first refused to move.
standing with all four feet in braced
position.
Mr.. Rodgers then had the wires con-
nected to the battery, which was placed
in the cart, and at the first push of the
button the horse jumped, snorted and
then moved off. Each day for a week
he went through the same lesson and
is now the pride road horse of Avalon
and never balks, bites or kicks.
That was the testimony brought out
at the hearing, and as the veterinary
and Squire thought three volts was not
sufficient shock to hurt the animal,
Rodgers was discharged.
superintendent Porter had a similar
case some months ago. He found that
one of the rich suburban residenters
was using the fluid battery on a lazy
horse in cultivating his summer gar
den. After several unsuccessful at
tempts to catch the gardener using the
horse, he was at last rewarded one
bright sunny morning by catching the
gardener wedding the potato patch