The commonwealth. (Scotland Neck, N.C.) 1896-1929, 1905-01-05
SCOTLAND NECK. N. g. THURSDAY,
The ?6l6grapl0r'S Story.

| AV OAoS0s NJ AVA VIVA
Charlotte News.
! A friend of the News furnishes the
following interesting story:
| Several years ago about a half q
dozen telegraph operators on division
Of the Southern Railway quit the key
rather than sit in lonely depot In d
country town and all through the dead
hours listen to the Morse signals being
transmitted over the wire by what they
believed to be the spirit hand Of late
deceased train dispatcher.
The dispatcher managed one end oi
the wire for 4 score of years. He was
At times trascible. but was popular with
the men under him, and was referred
to by them as "the old tnan" He was
stricken with foyer and died, his re-
mains being inferred In the family
grave yard at the opposite end of the
one night wire from where he had
been serving. Ono night several
weeks after "the old man" had answer
ed his last call, the boys along the
line were surprised to hear the dead
dispatcher private wire signal "YT''
ring out several times on the sounder
on an idle wire. This wire not being
used between the SUNS, one end was
taken out Of the battery every evening
and left to stand open, thus turning Its
portion OF the current to smother wire
running PARALLEL with it. The first
night the signal "YT" was heard it
caueed the operators along the line
to think OF their dead superior. The
next night about the same hour-l2
o'c'ock-the open wire closed AID the
letters "YT" were repeated a dozen
times In quick succession. The night
men started from their chairs and in
fancy could see the form of "the old
man" standing close by. On the third
night the same thing happened. Short
ly after the midnight hour the open
circuit closed aud then was heard again
the "YT"-not dozen times but fifty.
The letters were perfect, and the writ
ing on the wire sounded very much
like that of departed dispatcher,
which was familiar to every telegraph
or in that section. Night after night
this "YT" business kept up always be-
Ing heard between the hours OF IL and
| O'Clock. The operators felt very
queer and firmly believed that it was
"the old mans" ghost. One day The
operators along the line decided to
meet at a certain station on the divl-
sion and talk the matter over. At the
meeting one of the fellows stated that
he had often heard the dispatcher say
that he would be with the boys even
after he had shuff1ed off the mortal coil
-he would haunt them until Gabriel
sounded the trombone. That settled
it, so far as tho night men were con-
cerned. They then and there signed
declaration that they would resign II
|"YT" was heard any more. That very
night just after the clock hands met
at the top of the dial, the sounder on
the open wire began clicking off "YT"
and kept 1t up for fully FIVE minutes.
That was the limit.
Next morning the boys wired the
resignatione to the superintendent and
asked tor immediate reliei. The rea-
son assigned tor the sudden action was
whispered about and the railroad peo-
pie found 1t impossible to fill the va
cancies. Special electricians and line
men worked on the puzzle for months,
but every night the "Y1" could be
heard at the hour when the ghosts are
wont to stalk through the land. The
wire chiefs sat by the switchboard at
one end and watcbei the needles on
the galvanometer, trying to measure
the distance and catch the myster ious
operator. A chief constructor walked
every foot OF ground over which the
wire ran, climbing every pole to make
tests, and always found that the ma
nipulator was further west. Finally
the spirit sender was located at the
depot In the town where the dead dis