Evening star., 1898-12-17
SHORTEST TELEGRAPH LINE.
1t Begins and Ends in the New York
Stock Exchange.

stock Exchange.
From the Omaha Bee.
Probably the shortest independent tele-
graph line in the world is the one contained
within the walls of the New York stock ex-
, change. 1t is little more than fifty feet in
length, extending only from the first to the
fourth floor of the famous money mart vet
1t is perfect in mechanical detail and over
it during operating hours passes volume
of business exceeding that of trans-conti-
mental wires.
rms unique telegraph system is employed
solely in reporting the transactions of the
exchange. One terminus of the line is On
the exchange floor, the other is in the top
of the building, a flight above the point to
which the elevators run and where none
but trusted employees of the telegraph COM
pany are admitted.
Here, In two little rooms side by side are
the offices of the New York Stock Quotation
Company, where record of all the exchange
operations is received and is transmitted
to "uckers' in every part of the city almost
as soon as the transaction are complete ed
downstairs, Inside the offices are six op-
orators selected from many hundred for
Their skill, rapidity and trustworthinssS to
carry on this confidential work. Nothing
Is left to the honesty of the operators how
ever. From the time they enter the office,
at 10 in the morning. until the exchange
closes, at 3 in the afternoon the doors
which afford the only means of entrance
or exit, are closed and locked. Outside on
the stairway 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 pc
culiar kind, being made up entirely of the
record of quotations and sales. The method
followed in doing this work is Interesting
as illustrating the pprfpctiOr n D1ljfl
implication. There may be 10000 quotations
sent out in the course of a day, but so COM
plcte is the system that every sale or offer
IS reported in 1000 offices in from ten 10
thirty seconds of the time when 1t 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 a per-
feet fusillade of bids and sales. Fourteen
official reporters" jot down the record OF
all transactions on little slips. which are
then rushed over to the telegraph desk. a
distance of perhaps twenty feet, and
promptly placed on the wire which runs
upstairs.
At the other end of the line the operators
are ready to receive the message and put
1t on the outreaching lines. When business
is running in ordinary course there is no
copying in the upper once and each trans
mitting operator taken the message by ear
as it is clicked off and puts it on his own
wire without waiting Tor the receiving
operators to pass it to him, so that the
printing OF the quotations on the tape of
every ticker in the system is practically
instantaneous with the touch of the trans
mitting operator on the exchange floor.
But when there is a rush this method
cannot be followed. In that case two re-
ceiving operators are stationed with each
sender, one seated on either side of HIM
They take down the messages as thoy come
and pass them on to the trapsmitter. He
sends them out alternately, being aple 10
work twice as fast as the receivers
The men employed In the stock quota
ton office all experts" said the SUPER
intendent of the exchange telegram in an
swer to question. They are the pick Of
hundreds in the employ of the telegraph
companies. Most of them have been Tor
years engaged in this work. Al operator
who has been employed in sending word
messages, no matter how rap d lie might
be, would be of no use to Ls for the first
few months, until he got into the swing If
the work. Il requires SPECIAL framing 10
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: Nv. L.
1ot1s, C, b. & Q, go, all letters and
figures The speed which the men acquire
in handling these quotations is remarkable
The average record of each operator runs
about twenty-five of these per minute This
means from $50 to 200 impressions per min
ute something like $4,000 during the
hours when the exchange is open-from 10
to 8. 1t would rattle the ordinary operator
even to think of maintaining such d speed.