The Farmington times. (Farmington, St. Francois County, Mo.) 1905-1926, 1910-11-10

M A Y HAT boy has not felt his
ES1EG senses tinSle AZ he heard
vfaws,W the click.cllck of tele-
TSSSY graph key and watched
w W the operator In the local
station translate the mys-
terious sounds into words and write
them on yellow pieces OF paper?
Maybe It is the unusualness OF It all.
or maybe II is because the operator
ia getting from some faraway place
simultaneously the news Of death
or IN earthquake or some other por-
tentous happening before anybody else
in the community can possibly know
about Il.
Anyhow. the boy--'1vcry boy, near.
ly--has wondered and l0nged about 1t,
and has sneaking notion that no
would like to know what those audi
bic dots and dashcs mean. But how
to go about It and what It might lend
to IL as far from his comprehension
as the cause Of the man I'm the moon.
All he knows is that one of the big.
ger boys got job in the local sta
ton, or one Of tho younger ones as
messenger hoy. and that after awhile
they knew how to work the key and
take messages, and then went away
somewhere.
You fathers, too. were once boys
yourselves. and you also were mysti-
fed and longed; but something lured
you into other kinds OF life work.
Now, however, maybe you are won
dering Il your boy hadn't better take
up telCgraphy as business and be-
come president OF the Western Union
or the Postal.
Well, It is possible for your young
ster to reach that high place; for
every one OF tho past and present
officials in these companies. including
Colonel Robert c. Clowry, president OF
the Western Union. and Edward ].
Nally, president of the Postal was
once at the very bottom, as messen-
ger boy, and each and every one OF
them worked right up through the
various lines to the top. The proba-
bIlity Of getting there is not too
.
are only two presidents, and telegraph
company presidents have way of
living for n long time even If some
thousands Of ambitious young men
nre anxious 70 take their places, Yet
It is possible, all the same, and your
bay may be the one TO pick the GOV
cted plum.
We'll, your boy IL to start out rs
telegraph messenger at fourteen or
sixteen or whatever the age that tho
state child labor law will let him go
TO work He applies at the nearest
Office where messengers are en-
ploycd, and has little Gifnculty in get
ting n Job, because the requirements
arc few. practically nothing more
than being able to read and write and
to move around spryly. Then he gets
his uniform and c.p and goes to work
for ten hours day at 81 to Sc n
week
Practically all his work nj the start
Is to deliver messages and run errands
for customers and the boss but he
WIFI find that inquiries about learning
telegraphy are encouraged. and that
he will be given every opportunity 10
unravel Its mysteries Ambitious boys
Of that age are rare. you know, and
when one comes along that Is in earn.
est he Is given every opportunity TO
got on.
Before long, probably within two
years at the most, your boy will have
acquired a pretty good general knOwl
edge OF the Morse code and how to
send and receive messages Then he
will find himself transferred from the
messenger gang to the operating room
ut ali advance OF about two dollars O
week, where he will be occupied large
ly In gathering up messages and put
ting them into envelopes to be sent
out, and In transferring messagct
from among the various operating
desks. That IL, n message IL received
In New York from Chicago and has tc
be relayed TO Boston, and he has Il
take It to the operator at the Boston
wire. In this way. he learns all about
the layout OF the otfice-which wires
are used 20 communicate with varlou:
places. tho wiring and districting o.
the country. etc.
Then. probably by the time he II
| eighteen years old. he will be giver
key attached to comparatively
little used route and told that he II
n fullnedged operator, His salar.
I then will be about ten dollars a weel
! at the beginning. His advancement Il
highly skilled operator ut about 81
, week will not take long, as It 4
} merely the requirement OF speed
D which takes practise. Some younI
fellows of twenty are as rapid as mel
Of thirty.nve or forty. and 4 man l