The record-union., 1897-09-10
ON CHANGE.
WONDERFUL SYSTEM OF REC
ORDING QUOTATIONS.
Delivered simultaneously in the
Principal Cities of the
Country.

The remarkable system by means of
which the New York exchanges deliver
stock quotations simultaneously in va
rious parts Of the country has been
Well illustrated by recent heavy wheat
markets. The public probably does
not know that there are mechanical
arrangements for transmitting stock
news from city TO city. so that this
news will be posted on dials in New
York, Chicago, and other cities at the
same moment; that the New York EX-
change employs several operators who
are so much sought by dishonest
brokers that a bodyguard is placed
over them during the hours of
change; that these men have been
offered thousands of dollars by arbl-
TRACE brokers TO delay certain mes
sages for half a minute; and that the
whole system of quotation delivery
has been reduced to a science so exact
as to make even the experienced
broker marvel over the details Of the
system.
As matter of fact, there is prob
ably no kind Of telegraphic commune
cation that moves with such lightning
balance of mechanical perfection and
human skill, and that at the same time
so carefully guards against leakage
en- route, as the one which transmits
information from the great exchanges.
IN the New York Stock Exchange
alone there may be 10000 separate
quotations sent out in the course OF
a day and the record of each of these
lCFh
man hands and transmitting instru-
ments and miles Of wire and tape;
vet so rapid is the system that each
sale or offer is reported in 2OG0 New
York offices within an average OF a
quarter Of a minute from the time II
takes place on the floor of the eX-
change. In the New York Stock EX-
change, which viii serve as type OF
all. the line of communication begins
with the reporter on the floor. There
are fourteen Of these reporters, ana
they are the employees of the exchange
itself. To each one is assigned GER
tain number of stocks and he is sup
posed to obtain a record Of all sales
in his particular group. All the busl-
ness on the floor Of the exchange IS
done by verbal agreement, and IS car
ried on amid babel Of noise. nut II Is
very seldom that safe escapes MN.
He jots down each transaction on
little slip which is rushed across the
floor to one OF the telegraphic booths
and is put on the wire within ten sec
onds of the time it is made.
SHORTEST TELEGRAPH LINE IN
THE WORLD.
The wire over which the operations
of the exchange are sent is probably
the shortest independent telegraphic
line in the world. 1t extends only from
the exchange floor to the attic, where
it splits and terminates in two little
box-Hne rooms, side by side. These
are the operating-rOoms Of the New
York Stock Quotation Company, which
sends reports to the offices of members
of the exchange within the district
known to the outside world as Wall
street" but here simply as the street, ~
and to the telegraph cOmpany's pat
rons scattered throughout the city. The
Quiet of these two little rooms. broken
only by the steady click-click Of the
instruments, contrasts strangely with
the roar and clatter of the exchange
floor, and the dozen operators who are
the only occupants of the place seem
far removed from the maelstrom that
is raging below. though in reality they
are much nearer TO it than the per
sons who watch the tumult on the floor
from the galleries.
Most of the men employed there,
said the superintendent. have been
for years been engaged in this kind OF
work An ordinary operator. who has
been engaged in sending word mes
sages, no matter how rapid he might
be. would be of no use to US here
for the first few months, until he got
into the swing of the work. You see
nearly everything we send out here is
in the form of quotations. which con-
sist of figures of special characters
that require a special training to
master
The men are all naturally fast OPP
orators. and are selected with special
care from among the best in the
Western Union service. The skill
which some acquire at this work
is really remarkable. The average rec
ord of the operators, as I have figured
it out. is about twenty-five quotations
per minute. Each quotations runs
something like this: w L., S934. new
er shorter than that so that this
means about 200 impressions per min
ute. or total of 300 quotations for
the time the exchange is in operation
from 10 o'clock in the morning to !
in the afternoon"
When the business of the exchange
is running on ordinary course the
transmitting operator takes each quo
tatfon by ear as it comes over tbs
short Morse wire leading from the floor
of the exchange, and sends it out as il
comes. without waiting for it to be
recorded. so that the printing of tho
quotation on the tape in every ticker
IN the system is practically instanta-
neous with the touch of the transmit
ting operator on the exchange floor
When there is a rush of business, how
ever, there are two receiving operators
to each transmitter. one seated on eacf
side of him. They take down the mes
sages as they come. and the transmit
ter sends them out alternately. beins
able to work twice as fast as the re
ceivers.
GUARDED LIKE PRISONERS.
During their hours of duty the op-
orators are, TO all intents and pur-