Daily press. [volume] (Newport News, Va.) 1896-current, 1907-03-07
WHAT THE WIRES SING
TO OLD OPERATIONS
The Steady Monotons Grind
of Listening to the Clicking
Keys Often Cause Them to,
Have Authorizations.

- wv hiool Uhuos tHS GNU WI
rlous phenomena connected with the
work Of II telegraph operator Is never
voluntarily mentioned By tho older
men In the service II one OF them
Is asked nEJut 1t he will look bored,
possibly little scared and Will pooh
pooh or make vigorous denial, accord
ing to his own particular mood and
temperament, says n writer In the
Chicago Tribune. But IL you can find
your way into his inner confidence he
viii tell you. with lowered voice and
mysterious mlen, OF the haunting song
of the wires.
Tho haliucination. If that Is what
1t really is, doubtless has nervous
origin. The man who sits for eight
or ten hours day before Il sound.
err and listens to the ceaseless click
c,ickcty clicke.y click of the count.
less messages that flash ana click
their way to him md past him from
the four corners of the earth may
be pardoned II the monotony of It
gets on his nerves after while. And
when II does get on his nerves there
Is no telling just what form his hal.
Inclination may take, nor to what ex-
tent 1t may carry him.
But there IS one thing about the
telegrapher's peculiar Authorization.
If hallucination II is, which wears
the color of reasonableness. 1t la
the fact that thousands OF operators
are affected In the same way, and
that the hallucination. or nervous dis
order. or whatever it may be never
attacks one who has not served many
years In the profession.
Click Flows Into Melody.
To the outsider or to the novice
there absolutely Ia no impression OF
rhythm conveyed by the broken click
ing OF tho telegraph sounder 1t is
hard to imagine anything less sub.
ject to the laws of stated ana recur-
rent ebb and flow than the staccato,
jerky, irregularly interrupted click.
Ing of the telegrapher's instrument.
And the statement that the constant
ly varying sequence of dots and dashes
necessary to send" the uncounted
messages that hiss and whiz across
the wires day after day cen hold any
stated regularity of recurrence is
enough to send the listener into a
experienced operators, who have spen;
their working iiyes at the sounder
and who are men of good sense and
Integrity.
Sometimes this sense OF rhythm
suggests some particular melody, and
In such cases 1t peculiarly Is agra.
waiting. One Of the best men that
ever sat before Western Union I'm.
strument fairly was driven out of
service .by THE Sweet BY and Byi"
This man told. years after he had
gone into mercantile business and
carved out large measure of sue
cess IN his new calling. that for the
last two years OF his career as n tele.
graph operator lie never worked over
five consecutive minutes without dis.
tinctly hearing the well known notes
of the popular Sunday school song
humming and buzzing from his sound
er as the messages clicker themselves
along.
Always THE Sweet BY and BY"
No matter how fast or how slow
the sender might work no matter how
grave or how sad. how sensible or
how silly the message might be; no
matter what the conditions of weather
or temperatures: no matter what might
be his own mood-clicking along the
wires MS an accompaniment to the
words he was receiving he discerned
the infections of 1.-THE Sweet BY and
By" At first it was sour of
pleasing surprise to him. Then It
became an annoyance. Finally II
amounted TO all absolute persecution,
and caused him to dash his instru.
ment open in desperation whenever
it occurred
He could then resume. inter mo.
ment's respite. and work without an
noyance for few minutes, when the
song of the wires would obtrude itself
upon his notice, gradually becoming
more and more insistent, until 1t fair.
ly drowned the message and co.Spel-
led him to click open his key once
again.
1t became SO persistent after awhile
that he dreaded to take his seat be.
fore the sounder and finally gave up
his position and entered a new and
untried field ut the age of forty-three
to escape from it's maddening influ.
ence.
Changes From Night to Night.
With others the song varies from
night to night, or from day to day.
Sometimes 1t takes the shape OF a
rag time melody 1t not always is
the tenor of the message he is receiy.
ing that forces the involuntary smile
to the face OF the operator. 1t is
quite as likely, If he Is an old hand
at the business, to he some scene re.
called by the melody of the wires
as they sing their own weird song to
mis- discerning ears. 1t is a frequent
cause of experienced operators quit.
ting the service and seeking other
employment 1t not only is annoying
to the victim but dangerous to his
mentality in that it suggests unceas
unknowable entity--it speaks of per
sistent self-deception and hallucina.
ton. causing the victim to doubt the