The copper country evening news. [volume] (Calumet, Mich.) 18??-1907, 1897-11-15
THE OPERATORS EAR
IT DOF> THINGS THAT ARE MARVEL
OJS TO THE UNlNITIATED.


waite's Experience During the War.
1t is wonderful how the ear may be edu-
Gated An old time telegraph operator re-
lated some of his experiences with sound
telegraphy. There Is no reason to doubt
his stories, and they are worthy of being
repeated in his own language. Said he:
1.-The ear becomes to an experienced teleg-
rapher SO acute that the slightest varia-
ton in time or sound is as plain to him as
a dropped note to "a musician. Any good
operator is able to distinguish between the
sending of operators, and can tell by the
sound of the instrument any man with
whom he has worked for any considerable
length of time. You know L am out of
the business, and have been for number
of years. Still l occasionally drop into
telegraph offices, and like nothing better
than to get on busy wire and be roast
ed by fast man for an hour. 1t keeps |
my hand in, which needs almost constant |
practice in order that it may not lose its |
nimbleness when working the key. The |
ear, however, never loses its sensitiveness. |
While in Newark, N. j., a year or two |
ago was called to the Western Union Of |
fee by telephone. When arrived there, |
the manager said, There Is man in Phil |
adelphia who wants to talk to you, point |
ing out the instrument which was to |
use. / opened the key and called Philadel- |
phia. The operator answered, and made
myself known. How are things, my boy?'
came back in answer, with no name at
tached.
"Joe Gettler, by gum,' 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 had worked on the same line for
a year or more, and his sending was as ia
miliar to me as is your voice. recognized
his touch, and yet / 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 much clearer
distinction between the sound of the In
strument when different hands are work.
ing the key than there is between the PEN
manship of two photographers, because there
is a marked resemblance in all good oper-
ators' copy.
sit is stated, and 1 have no reason to
disbelieve the story, that during the civil
war Jim Waite, an old time New York
operator, was sent to the front by tho gov
eminent to work important wires. He one
day got on to wire over which very Inn
portant secret messages were being sent
by Confederates, and the result would
have been funny had it not been such
serious matter. 1t was in Tennessee or
Kentucky / forget which. Waite, with
his pocket instrument, got inside the Con-
federate lines, and, having learned that
messages were being sent over certain
wire from Richmond to the general In
command at that point, he tapped the
wire and copied several valuable messages.
! This was nothing new, for operators on
both sides did the same thing time and
time again. But Waite was overanxious.
| There was an interruption 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, q. A.
| cOmmissary' The 'G. A. meant go
I ahead and 'commissary' was the last
| word that had been sent. What was Waite's
! surprise to hear, instead of a continuance
I of the message: Jim Waite, what are you
| doing on this liner Get out, or there will
be trouble Jim didn't even wait to find
| out who was the man. He said afterward
! that the sender had very familiar sound,
L
| the operator was.
| Jim found out four or five years later
| He was telegraphing and was employed
| i'm the old Broadway Office of the Western
I Union Telegraph company, New York.
| One day young man walked into the Of
| flee 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 other s
faces for the first time. so you're Jim
| Waite. said the caller. We'll, I'm glad to
meet you. My name Is Mosely, Charley
Mosely and 1 used to sign &c. r." in
| Charleston Waite remembered him In an
instant The two men for long time had
worked different ends of u north and south
wire before the outbreak of the war and
had become fast friends without ever hav-
ing met. Still Jim Waite didn't know
Mosely was the man who had told him to
get off the wire inside the Confederate
line. Where did you go after stealing
those dispatches was sending during the
WARP asked Mosely, and then Waite I'M
derstood it all. Mosely supposed that
Waite had recognized his sending even
while stealing the dispatches, and said nc
thought IL strange that Waite had not rec
ognized his sending us quickly as he had
| inc tOucn Ol Nhlbt. hboW VoAeS NN'si
and he declares that the story Is absolute
ly true.
"Any operator who is accustomed &c
I work by sound with men every day car
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, 1t Is entirely matter o.
education of the ear. Another evidence Of
the susceptibility of the aural nerves te
education is the fact that an operator car
receive and copy n message and at thu
same time distinctly hear and comprehend
everything that is being said by others II
the room. He can be very busily engaged
at anything, and yet his ear will take IL
everything that is said near him. Another
peculiar thing is the fact that telegraph
} operator working at night will lay hi
head within two inches of working In
, strument and sleep as soundly as though
In bed. He will not be disturbed In TIT
least until his own Office call is SOUNDED
by the instrument. That will awaken hin
In an instant. OF course each sound Is ex
actly of the same degree of intensity, ant
| L.. t,,t,, ~ tina tla