The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1900-07-29
DAVIS POUNDED BRASS
MINNES0TA's SENIOR SENATOR is
TELEGRAPHER OF VET
ERAN SERVICE
He COULD SEND" HIMSELF
If 1t Became Necessary to Hurry
a Message on and the Oper-
atOr Was Out some
where. ..s=.- =.

United States Senator Cushman K.
Davis, wren a very young man, climbed
The highway pines with the same alacrity
that in later years took him up the lad
der Of fame. The Senior United States
senator from Minnesota .forty-six- years
ago was the superintendent of a short
line of telegraph wire, extending from
Waukesha to Milwaukee and Whitewater,
Wis. In the days of primitive civilization
of the West the telegraph system was
very insignificant. and the now, chairman
of the senate foreign relations commit
tee frequently found it necessary to
''shin" up one of the trees along the
road to make repairs Indeed, break
IN the line was quite common, and not
an unwelcome event, especially in mellon
time, but in the winter it was hardly so
pleasant. Senator Davis, during his
years service at the craft, became an
expert operator and could receive or
"send" with the fastest men in the Mil
Waukee office.
1t was only recently that it leaked. out
that Senator Davis spent one of the early
years of his life at the key. But Sena-
tor Davis has not forgotten it, and when
asked regarding his craft he smiled as
he recalled the events of nearly half a
century ago, when he was operator, re-
pair man, superintendent and few 9th
er things. The sending of a message by
wire In those days was a serious matter,
and the telegraph was by no means the
facility that it is today. To send a tee-
gram in the fifties was regarded in the
same light as writing d letter when post
age was 10 cents
The National Association of Teleg-
raphers lost no time in making Senator
Davis an honorary member when the
fact of his early service at the key be-
came known. He has also been invited
to deliver one of the principal speeches
at the annual meeting of the National as
ISOLATION, to be held in st. Paul during
the autumn.
Senator Davis first acquaintance with
the telegraph was in his fathers store
at Waukesha Wis. The operator had Ms
office in the back of the store, and Sena-
tor Davis father, who is now living
with the senator, a rugged old gentle
man of ninety, likes to discuss the Incl
dents OF his distinguished sons service.
The mysterious tick of the sounder had a
peculiar fascination for Senator Davis
when boy and he, in company with
other village Juveniles, often stood with
open mouth drinking in every movement
of the man at the key. A little later the
operator, who was young man, took a
ldDCy 10 the SlOFGhGSp6r ) DOy,sfA- ana
volunteered to teach young Davis the
alphabet. Within a year the operator
was transferred to- another more i'm
portant station, and, upon his recon-
mendation, 'Cush' Davis was given the
job. The bright spots in the young OPP
orators year as telegraph operator were
the frequent breaks in the line. When
ever the instrument would refuse to
transmit the sound, it was necessary for
q Nnr0h Of to tor, 70.
livery rig and take one of his boy
friends along the line until the break
was found, At certain times of the. year.
these trips were. delightful, and Senator
Davis recalls them with a great deal of
satisfaction, especially when he calls to
memory boys who were frequently with
him on these trips, some of whom have
become wealthy and influential men in
the land, two having been his colleagues
in the halls Of congress.
Railroads and telegraph lines were OPP
Grated separately in those days, and the
line strung along the o1d-fashioned high
way. Whenever an accident occurred
on the road the conductor would start
out to hunt up the operator of the near
est telegraph station. Senator Davis
never sees a repair man go up. a tele-,
graph pole with his spikes, but he smiles
and thinks of the many times that he
climbed up the trunk of a tree or pole
on the same errand.
Senator Davis remained but year at
the key, but nearly ten years later, dur
ing the Civil war; he had occasion to
send a message from PrairieviIle to Wall
Bluff, Wis. If the occasion demanded,
he could today send a message to Presi-
dent Mckinley with his own hand.
The senator was found by the G l O e
yesterday enjoying his spacious lawn.
and chatted very freely with reporter
of his experiences. 'FI do not regret in
the least" he said. having learned
biography. Indeed, 1. believe that every
young man should. start out in life with
some craft. Indeed, if I were to start
over again, know 1 would not have
done differently than l did. The manual
training taught in our schools is an ex-
cellent thing for the young men Of our
land. 1 am firm believer In modern
education, and think the department. of
manual training a most useful one to the