The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1898-11-27
SHORTEST TELEGRAPH LINE.
1t Begins and Ends in the New York
Stock Exchange.


Stock EXCHANGE
New York, Nov. 25.-Probably the short.
est independent telegraph line in the world
Is the one contained within the walls %
the New York Stock Exchange. It is little
more than fifty feet in length, extending
only from the first TO the fourth floor OF
the famous money mart, yet it is as per-
feet in mechanical detail, and over it dur
ing operating hours passes a volume of
business exceeding that of uanscont-
mental wires
This unique telegraph system is en-
pIoyed solely in reporting the trans
actions of the exchange. One terminus
OF the line is on the exchange floor. the
other is in the top of the building fight
above the point to which the elevators run
and where none but trusted employees OF
the telegraph company are admitted.
Here, in two little rooms, side by side.
are the officers of the New York Stock
Quotation Company, where record of
all the exchange operations is received,
and is transmitted to "tickers" in every
part of the city almost as soon as the
transactions are completed down stairs.
inside the offices are six operators selected
from many hundreds for their skill, rapid
confidential work. Nothing is left to the
honesty of the operators, however. From
the time they enter the office, at 10 in the
morning, until the exchange closes at
in the afternoon, the doors, which afford
the only means of entrance or exit. are
closed and locked. Outside, on the STAIR
way, stands a uniformed guard who
warns away all would-be intruders and
keeps watch and ward over the men them
selves.
The business transacted in the office at
the top of the exchange building is of
peculiar kind, being made up entirely of
the record of quotations and sales. The
method followed in doing this work is in
teresting as illustrating the perfect ton Of
quick communication. There may be 49,
900 quotations sent out in the course of a
day, but so complete is the system that
every sale or offer is reported in 1900 Of
fees in from ten 10 thirty seconds of the
time when it takes place.
All the business on the floor of the ex-
change is transacted by verbal agreement
and when the market is brisk there is
perfect fusiade of bids and sales. Four
teen official reporters jot down the rec
ord of all transactions on little slips,
which are then rushed over to the teie-
graph desk, a distance of perhaps twenty
feet, and promptly placed on the wire
which runs upstairs.
At the other end of the line the oper-
ators are ready to receive the message
and put it on the outreaching lines. When
business is running in ordinary course,
there is no copying in the upper office,
and each transmitting operator takes the
message by ear as IL is clicked off and
and puts 1t on his own wire without wait
ing for the receiving operators to pass it
on to him, so that the printing of the
quotation on the tape of every ticker in
the system is practically instantaneous
with the touch of the transmitting OPP
orator on the exchange floor.
But when there is a rush this method
cannot be followed. In that case two
receiving operators are stationed with
each sender, one seated on either side or
him. They take down the messages as
they come and pass them on TO the trans
mitter. He sends them out alternately,
being able to work twice as fast as the
receivers.
The men employed in the stock quota
ton office are all experts said the SUI
perintendent of the exchange telegraph,
in answer to a question. They are the
pick of hundreds in the employ of the
telegraph companies Most of them have
been for years engaged in this work. An
operator who has been employed in send
ing word messages, no matter how rapia
he might be- would be of no use to us
for the first few months until he got into
the swing of the work. 1t requires spe-
cial training to master our system and to
become familiar with all the characters
employed in the work.
Each quotation consists of from four
to eight characters, running like this:
w. u. 1071s,' C., B. & Q. &c. all letters
and figures. The speed which the men
acquire in handling these quotations is
remarkable. The average record of each
operator runs about 25 of these per minute.
This means from $50 10 200 impressions
per minute or something like $4,000 during
the hours when the exchange is open
from 10 to 9. 1t would rattle the ordl-
nary operator even to think Of maintain
ing such a speed