The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1903-03-30
DO NOTHING BUT LISTEN.
Telephone Tappers Hear Interesting
Stories over the Wire.
CChicago Inter Ocean)

'Of an the strange occupations the
| snangest Is that of telephone Taper"
I said an old employee Of the telephone
] company the other day. There aren't
/ ten men in Chicago who know what a
! telephone Taper is, but there are nun
dreds of persons who have come 10
| grief through his work
THE Taper IS a man who is hired
1 by the telephone company His busl-
ness is TO tap the wires on party lines.
at hotels and such places. to see II
/ the telephone is being used by persons
who are not careful Of what they say
Often the company receives complaints
I that telephone users say unprintable
I things that are unavOidably overheard.
/ The company tries to do away with
/ this sort OF patronage. Hence the
Taper.
/ The Taper must be a man Of inf
mite patience. i have known them 10
sit for twenty hours at a stretch wait
ing for a signal When a complaint is
made that the wrong kind of talk is
+ circulating on a party line the Taper
( goes to one of the houses, generally
I the home of the complainant, and taps
( the wire. This is done with a specially
/ constructed instrument which has a
J. receiver and transmitter. just as does
]
regular phone and then the Taper sits
/ back with the receiver c!amped to his
| ear TO await a cali.
/ He takes notes on every converse
/ ton he hears. and sometimes he must
! repeat his vigil day after day. AS a
rule he does not have TO wait many
| hours, because the persons who use
! the telephone recklessly are at the in
| strument about as often as they can
/ find time.
/ mot long ago a complaint was made
/ by man on a party line he said that
/ a very disgusting COurtship was being
/ carried on over the wire. and that his
/ wife and daughter could not take down
the receiver without hearing something
they should not hear.
The Taper was sent out to investi-
| gate. He rugged up his instrument and
sat down TO wait AN afternoon he
stuck to his post. hearing only the Or
ders given to the butcher the grocer or
the coal man. Finally, in the evening,
I shortly before dinner the bell rang
three times. The Taper looked at his
notebook and learned the call was for
the home of a well known family Soon
the click was heard as a receiver came
from the hook and a young woman's
voice called out 'Hellor
" rs this Miss - asked a masculine
voice.
" Yes went the answer over the
party line, is this youg asked the
young woman. calling the man by
name. You see, the taper had learned
/ there In minute who were the guilty
parties. He remained at the receiver
and heard a conversation that I would
not repeat. He let the couple finish
] nnwHrnuu1 40 al
to the complaint office Next day no
tice was served on the people who live
IN the house on the party line that the
! telephone must not be used as it had
been in the past. The young woman
/ protested that she had not talked over
| the telephone in a week but when
notes on the conversation were shown
TO her she arose and Indignantly swept
from the room.
The Taper often meets with laugh
able experiences. one of them was
sent out to investigate the case where
a man was in the habit Of swearing a
great deal when using the telephone.
After long wait without hearing him
one day he left Going back the next
| day, he was more successful. He had
I hardly taken up his watch when the
/ bell rang. The man he Was after was
calling another person.
The men were at outs, il seemed
and began quarreling and swearing at
each other. The talk soon became fu-
rious.
IN not stand for your way Of doing.
and III take a punch at you the first
time 1 see you said one of the men.
with liberal supply Of Oaths.
If you do your wife won't know
you when you go home, the other re-
] .HrHrH 49,
| epithets between the other words.
The verbal duel grew hotter. Tha
Taper had the name of one OF the men,
but the other he did not know. But he
finally got it. The conversation KEPT
on until one called the other some kind
Of a liar.
IN whip you for that or my name
/ isn't - yelled the unknown, and the
Taper had completed his chain. No
complaints have since been made by
persons on that line. The tapper's
work put an end TO the disagreeable
| conversations.
"Of course, it very often happens that
the Taper waits vaiuly for his parties
but he hears enough Of the private af-
fairs OF people to MI a dozen such note
books as he carries. One of the men
was on a line not long ago when the
bell rang and a young woman answered
the phone.
How's your head today. deary%
asked a young man who had the other
end Of the line.
Big as a balloon. I could hear
champagne corks popping all night
long. No more Of the bubbles for me,
came the answer.
d" I've been feeling badly all day. too.
/ can taste that chop suey yet. What
did your mother say2'
On, not much Of anything. I kept
out Of sight. I've got to go 10 an old
cub meeting tonight, and I'd rather
take a whipping
AT this point IN the conversation the
line.
Watch out said the young man,
Warningly, somebody is cutting in.
Goodbye
"A Taper was sent down TO one OF
the big hotels on Michigan avenue not
long ago. The hotel had complained
/ Of overhearing distasteful talk over the
wires. The Taper rugged up his instru-
ment at the switchboard and waited.
/ don't know that be got the right par
ties, but he heard one very lively little
conversation.
"A drop at the switchboard fell. indI-
| N-e---E. ~--e-N "a 6ANaA III a. tEl tam room
was calling. In a refined voice an elder
~ man asked for a number, which /
nave since learned is that Of the phone
In a DreXel boulevard home.
Is this Mrs. So-and-so?' asked the
man.
Yes came the answer.
How about a nice little dinner to-
night downtown was the question.
All right, answered the woman,
but say this Is the last time. My son
Is coming home from Yale for bis vaca-