The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1898-05-01

| ing his dispatches all the mechanical side
| of his craft seems to be eliminated: he
| loses all consciousness of the key and the
| succession of clicks. He talks to his ma
| chine he would talk to a friend, never
| thinking how he forms his words or let
| tiers. Some of these wonders can even
send upon one key and receive from an
other simultaneously. 1t is the same in
the matter of receiving. In reading
page OF print the reader never stops 10 sep
arate the sentences into words and the
words into letters. He does not spell The
shape of tho word is enough. IL Is so
with the expert operator. The general
sound OF the clicks Is all that Is necessary.
The writer remembers once talking with
telegrapher at a time when his whole
attention was absorbed by what I was
saying. Fer over ten minutes an insiru-
ment had been clicking away near at
hand. Suddenly my friend wheeled sharp
ly about and went to the key. He had
heard his name in the clicks OF the instru-
;nent. To him it could not have been
palmer than if some enc had shouted it
in his ear.
Another curious fact il style in tele-
graphing. The manner of the clicks them
selves varies enough to enable an operator
10 detect at once variations in the send
ings. The writer has seen cares of this In
the Western Union Offices. Philadelphia
calls up New York. and the receiver In
New York az once responds with: Hello.
Tom Is that youP'' or Dick" or
Harry recognizing the different men by
the style and manner of fneir Morse" as
friends would recognize one another over
the telephone by the sound OF the voice.
There were two operators once In Saia-
manca. y. V. great chums. who used 10
telegraph each other by the hour frcm
different ends OF the town during s.a *
business. One Of these men-hls name was
Sturgis-zwent West finally. got mixed up
In an Indian row and, according TO
port was killed. Five years later his
friend was In the Western Union Office Of
New York on a Sunday afternoon whea
business was dull. He was sitting upon
receiving desk, when Chicago called up.
asking no was there. Instantly the man
on the desk jumped 20 the KEY and sent
back: 'Sturgis is this youy We heard
that you had been kille,1." And Sturyis
IL was. sure enough. Just what IL is shat
gives this style to operators. and precisely
what the style itself may be. cannot be
very clearly explained. but telegraphers
have their styles for all that, just az
writer's do. and they can be detected
thereby.
One of Esiison's Feats.
But the expert. or even the average
operator Is not confined 10 his key in ths
matter of sending messages. Two oper-
ators can talk 20 each other by the mere
touch of their fingers in the dark. or. II
needs be can communicate 10 each other
in a crowd annotlced. b. the same
method There Is a story Of Edis3n-the
wizzard-.hat is wen worth repeating
here Edison was marvellous operator
ta tis Younger days and a. one tine man
aged "a. transmit bis messages even when
his wires had been broken. He vas the
awen, IN a railway station located upon
orc side Of the Ohio. the next station was
on ,he other bank Of the river and also
IN a railway office. On the day that the
wires parted all communication was cut
IF untu Edison got aboard 4 switch en-
-sne that was standing al the depot and
began 10 call up the other side by means
~ the engines whistle. TIE other oper-
ator understood al length and during al
mos. the entire day the two engines WIRE
hoarseiy whIstting messages at each other.
An Amusing Mistake.
Homer sometimes rods. and even the
expert operator can make mistaken c.
3 Iawton. a sometime employee In the
western Union Offices. tells the fosiaw-
ing amusing anercsose on himself He
was receiving a dispatch from Albany.
in which the sender Mas rot over care
fng in the natter of spacing his letters.
I.suxon took the address a. follows.
'.Dr A. Wing. room car agent. central
dAaet Nsw York" Tns dIsDAtsa came