The Cook County herald. [volume] (Grand Marais, Minn.) 1893-1909, 1906-10-06
KNOW THEM BY THEIR SENDING

Telegraph Operators Recognize the
Touch Of Men They Work WITH
"A night telegrapher will lay his
head within two inches of a working
instrument and sleep as soundly as if
he were in bed says an old govern
ment operator in Washington, 'sbut il
his own office call is sounded by the
instrument he will wake on the in
slant. The telegrapher's ear becomes
so acute that the slightest variation
in the working of the instrument is i'm
mediately detected, and the receiving
operator recognizes the voice of the
sender.
while in Newark, N. J., some years
ago was called to the Western Union
Office by telephone. When 1 arrived
the manager said: There's a man in
Philadelphia who wants to talk to YOU
I opened the key and called Philadel-
phia. The operator answered and I
made myself known. How are things,
old boy?' came back in answer, with
no name attached.
"Tom Gessler.' said, and so it was.
''Now, mark you, had not seen or
heard from my friend 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 if your voice.
I recognized his touch, and yet sup
posed he was at that time in Chicago
Office.
Yes, there's much difference be-
tween the sound of different operators
sending as there is between the hand
writing of any two men in the same
line of business
1T is said that during the Civil war
Jim White, an old time New York op-
orator. 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 Confederates and
the result would have been funny had
it not been so serious.
1T was in Tennessee, or Kentucky,
I forget which. White, with his peck
ct instrument, got inside the Confeder.
ate lines, and having learned that
messages were being sent over a Ger.
tain wire from Richmond, he tapped
the wire and copied several valuable
messages.
Nov, this was nothing new, for
operators on both sides did the same
thing time and again; but White was
overanxious. There was an Interrupt.
ton in the middle of a dispatch, and
Jim was eager to get the remainder.
To urge the sender he opened his key
and simply said C. A. Commissary. ;
The G. A. meant 20 ahead and com
missary' was the last word that had
been sent.
Imagine Whites surprise to hear,
instead of a continuance of the mes.
sage, Jim White. what are you doing
on this line? Get out or there'n be
trouble Jim didn't even wait to dis.
cover who the man was. i. He said af.
terward 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 four or five
years later. He was still working the
wires, this time in the old Broadway
Office of the Western Union. One day
young fellow walked into the office
and asked for Jim White.
"The men met and looked at each
other, but there was no recognition of
the visitor by White. In fact they
looked upon each others faces for the
first time. =. >5::.tt ~.
, ." So you're Jim Winter said the
caller. Well, I'm glad to- meet you.
My name is Mosely. and used ). to
sign, &C. R." in Charleston, :. i r. ri. ~
Then White remembered. i. The two
men had for a long time worked difrer-
ont ends OF North and South wire
before the outbreak Of the war and
hadssbecome fast friends without ever
having met Still, jim didn't know
}Mosely was theaman who had told him
IT, get of the. wire inside the Confed-
crate lines. s ss 's :I. " =.,1
s5 s 4 Where did you go after stealing
those 5dispat ches L was sending during
the war (, asked B ~ osely, ana then
White lnd TODD i; ~