The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1899-01-01
WOMEN IN T~ELEGRAPHY.
SHE rs RISING GRADUALLY, BUT
Is NOT At THE FRONT.
Occupying Many Places Of Responsibility,
She Does Not Seem to Have the Physical
Strength to Compete Fully with Men
Her OPPORTUNITIES and Abilities.

She Does Not Seem to Have the Physical
Strength to Compete Fully with Men
Her Opportunities and Abilities.
The woman operator Is gradually rising
higher and higher In the telegraph service.
When she FIRST came to the fore the mar oper-
ator wanted to Dust her from the field. He re-
scented her encronchment. and said frankly
that his main grievance against her was that
she cut prices in salaries and thus secured
places which he might have had, He even
went so far as TO declare that she was taking
the very bread out OF his mouth.
The woman operator Jmade a mistake when
she consented to work for next to nothing, \
mistake that she is slow to acknowledge after a
dozen years or more. Men often estimate a
man by the value he sets on himself. provided
he does not overestimate his Importance then
they are likely to give him less than his just
dues. They Judge women In the same way.
and 30. while the men telegraphers and their
sister operators have grown more friendly.
strike together and work side by side. the mon
still have a feeling that women dc not cut much
Of a figure In the telegraphic world. The wo-
men themselves take an opposite view, and
some OF them who hold responsible places have
q right to take such n view.
In this field OF work. as in every other field
where women have entered. their inferior
- She Nv ava NbS SN
Organized womanhood may pirate all II pleases
about the foolishness OF this fact, for fact it is,
but every individual bread-winning woman
acknowledges 1t sooner or later. Women
telegraphers have not yet risen to the highest
places in the service. and men in q position to
know say that 1t Is exceedingly doubtful II they
ever will. though they frankly admit that the
women are steadily advancing.
A. Z. Sink has more than twelve hundred
telegraphers under his supervision in the West
ern Union building. or these $50 are women
who are engaged in operating. clerical and
messenger work. When asked about the work
Of these women and Of women operators gem
orally and Of their chances of rising to high
places and high salaries. Mr.. Sink said:
II have nothing to say about women opera-
tors outside OF this division before you, but OF
them 1 speak willingly. There are poor.
medium and good operators Of both sexes. and
their advancement depends entirely on their
ability and opportunity. Women, however. do
not have the same opportunity for advance
ment. and neither do they get the salaries as
a rule that men do who make telegraphy a life
work. Here a woman does not rise to a higher
place than that OF chief operator. and we
now have six. There is also one woman
here at the head OF one of the five
grand divisions. She has an assistant
and four subordinates. Though there are
women here who can stand as much work as
the best men in the place. because OF their
strong nerves, this IS not generally SO. and we
have to depend upon men exclusively to do the
night work. Occasionally in a great rush the
women work until o O'Clock at night. and are
always paid for overtime. Their hours are
from 8 A. NJ. to $50 P. NJ. and their salaries
for operating range and have been raised from
Women are exceedingly valuable as opera
tors for their faithfulness. and they are exceed
ingly trustworthy. Their merit as telegI aphers
is looked into before they start in. We have a
test chief who tries their. ability BY. operating
with them for a sufficient length of time to get
at their ability, in sending. and receiving mes
sages. and their accuracy in copying as well as
cording to this test. Their salaries are fixed
by It. the salaries being flexible. as I've said.
Nervousness Is likely to show in one Of these
test examinations, as in examinations Of all
sorts. and allowances are made, If the merit
of an operator ia not fully revealed in the first
experience has enabled him to tell pretty ac-
cuTantely the ability Of an oPerat9r"
an office p was asked.
an "WhsR a ME- To4 slnk oDssr sbs IS first so starts 4eauj fR;S
L she wishes to rise to the higher places
wire chief. she must. become acquainted with
the fundamental, principles Of electrical sci
Simple work Of switching and caring for traffic.
It Is. q. course. necessary here 70 have an
f sSSpsrt s at the head ens Of 1ss sach department nns m and
hourly reports to me-. A woman who wishes
to advance. should become familiar. with
wires In her department. and should under
stand all rules governing the transmission Of
which government kilograms. take over ali
others. She, should understand what troubles
might q !, , arise I'm In handling GbnnIa TT trans; such oI as { divert tiEEeoT,t-
sand and one other things. The chance of ad-
yancement. for w~omen-and. mind you. I've
diate supsrvision-fs limited. / should say. but
there are hundreds Of other offices where wo-
secure good places and salaries"
The next authority interviewed thought that
the world wouldn't stop going round II there
like in their work than their, Instruments. He
Western Union Telegraph Company at the
Grand Central Station. and is in charge OF
which a number. Of women are employed as
operators. Mr.. Ackerly knows a great deal
about afS u t the general run of women operators and
"A woman operators work. SO. far as rail-
roads are concerned" he began, is confined
orators are used to the full extent by railroads
more. The feld Would ibrrosden il they could
tend switches and signal lights and handle
things; whore q man gets $50 a month ct
O railroad station a woman commands
only $50, or perhaps not that much.
is per cent. less than those 9i men in the SER
vice Of railway companies. In the regular tel
egraphic service they &c as high as assistant
managers and even managers OF city depart
ments, but in the railroad service they do not
advance. A woman could never become man
ager of a division, forshe was not made to take
charge OF SO many men. A man in charge OF a
division has often more than a hundred offices
Blu il a woman does just the same work
that a man does and Just as good work. does
No" answered Mr., Ackerly. Take it right
here IN New w Y t1nTIssgSr city u where there n z great
ries, / feel pretty. sure. will average l0per cent.
less than those of men. In the first place. they
neither demand norcommapd so much as men.
They are only fitted. by physique, 10 do the
must expect lighter pay. In nearly every hotel
In the city a woman operator Is stationed.
She, is perfectly capable of doing the kind Of
work that comes TO her well, and the compa-
MES use women In hotels for economical rea-
sons.
"These city operators have to have quito an
idea OF electricity, but I've known a great