The Birmingham age-herald., 1906-08-17
KNOW THEM BY THEIR SENDING.
operators Recognize Touch of Men
 They Work With.

From the Kansas City Journal
 "A night telegrapher will lay his head within two inches of a working instru- ment and sleep as soundly as if he were in bed" says an old government oper- ator in Washington. but if his own office call is sounded by the instrument he will wake on the instant. The telegrapher's ear becomes so acute that the slightest variation in the working of the instru- ment is immediately detected and the re- cetVing operator recognizes the voice, so to speak, of the sender.
 While in Newark, N. J., some years ago 1 was called to the Western Union office by telephone. When I arrived the manager said, There's a man in Phil addphia who wants to talk to you. l opened the key and called Philadelphia. The operator answered and l made myself known. How are things, old boy? came back in answer, with no name attached.
 " Tom Gessler 1 said, and so 1t was.
 Now mark you, had not seen or heard from my friends Gessler for three years and had not heard him send word by telegraph during that time. He and I had worked on the same line for year or more and his sending was as familiar to me as your voice. 1 recognized his touch, and yet l supposed he was at that time in Chicago office.
 
 the sound of different operators sending as there is between the handwritings of any two men in the same line of bus mess.
 Tt is said that during the civil war Jim Waite, an old time New York operator, was sent to the front by the government to work on important wires. He one day got onto a wire over which important secret messages were being sent by con 1 federates and the result would have been funny had 1t not been so serious. Tt was In Tennessee, or Kentucky, forget which. Waite, with his pocket in- strument, got inside the Confederate lines, and having learned that messages were being sent over q certain wire from Rich mond, he tapped the waSe and copied sev- eral valuable messages.
 Now this was nothing new, for oper- ators on both sides did the same thing time and again. But Waite was over anxious. There was an interruption in the middle of the dispatch, and Jim was eager to get the remainder. To urge the sender he opened his key and simply said, "G. A. commlssary.' The e. A meant go ahead and 'commissary' was the last word that had been sent
 Imagine Wate's surprise to hear, in- stead of continuance of the message Jim Waite. what are you doing on this line? Get out or there'1l be troube Jim didn't even walt to discover who the man was. He said afterward that the sender had a very familiar sound but he couldn't for the life of him tell who the operator was.
 But Jim found out sour or five years later. He was still working the wires. this time in the old Broadway office of the Western Union. One dag young fellow walked into the office and asked for Jim Waite.
 "rhe men met and looked at each other, but there was no recognition of the visitor by Waite In fact they looked upon each others faces for the first time.
 So you are Jim Wate?' said the caller. Well, I'm glad to meet you. My name Is Mosely, and l used to sign "C. R" in Charleston.
 "Then Waite remembered The two men for long time had worked different ends of north and south wire before the outbreak of the war, and had become fast friends without ever having met Still Jim didn't know Mosely was the man who had told him to get off the wire inside the Confederate lines
 Where did you go after stealing those dispatches I was sending during the war? asked Mosely, and then Waite understood 1t all"