The daily Gate City and constitution-Democrat. (Keokuk, Iowa) 1916-1922, 1916-08-31

! back. He must go straight ahead and
intercept the staccato beats which
form the dots and dashes of the
| Phillips code, as they come into the
brass instruments in the little pent
house at his side.
| , The Gate City is furnished with
the full leased wire service Of the
United Press. The wire runs directly
into the Office and here the daily re-
port is taken by Operator Tracy.
Good morning comes at 1880 o'clock
and thirty" is given at o'clock on
the regular wire. Then. there is the
special service such as sports, or
when there is some very special event
going ON in the world, when the wire
is opened earlier or keeps open
longer in order that Keokuk and all
points on this circuit can get the
very latest news.
Chicago Is Bureau Off1ce.
Keokuk is on the ChicagoFrisco
wire. Chicago is the bureau office
for this wire, and everything that is
sent is sent out from this office. The
wires from the United States are
pouring their grist into the main Of
flee in New York every minute Of
lut uCy. 1Ho CeUlc Is ~ ll6LuS llS
messages, and the mail sacks from
lands are being opened here The
matter is all arranged in this Office
and is then put on the wires. The
various bureaus serve their sections
Of the country.
All OF the wire stuff for the Chi
cago wire comes from Chicago. The
stations are connected SO that what
one town gets, all on that wire will
get. Keokuk is getting the same
service as St. Louis, Des Moines,
Denver, Omaha, any town on the CIR
cult.
Events which happen in Keokuh
which are worthy to be chronicled
in the world outside of Keokuk are
scheduled with the Chicago bureau
by the Keokuk operator who is
furnished the copy by the Keokuk
correspondent. For instance If there
is murder here in which three
people are killed, the fact that Keo-
kuk had q murder is told in about
ten words to the Chicago bureau and
the operator estimates the number
of words in his dispatch. The Chi
cago bureau Office then tells him. at
the proper time, to send all OF the
dispatch or only a certain number OF
words. While he is sending this,
every operator on the line except
himself, is copying this dispatch.
Special Events ChronicIed.
For special events like the worlds
series baseball games, a heavyweight
championship ring event, the In.
dtanapolis speedway events in May,
and other sport events there is main
tanned special service from the ring
side, the ball field or the motor
field The lines are cleared for this
and this alone is sent, except in the
case Of very important bit of news
"breaking"' in which case this is
sandwiched in. Every hit, every
punch, every burst Of speed, every
punctured tire Is licked out for the
waiting public by the little brass
instruments.
The United Press Is maintaining its
reputation for beats" in the news
field and giving its clients, not only
the best news, but getting 1t to them
first. This has been noticeable
throughout the two years OF interna-
ttonal war. as well as in events pure
" American.
Is Important Cog.
To give this sort of service requires
of course, the cooperation OF the
men who pound the brass" and that
is why the telegraph operator on the
u. P. circuit is such an important
cog in the machinery. ,
Outsiders seem to think that the
telegrapher has million ears and
that the mechanism that is constantly
clicking at his side can wait while
he answers their queries. Here's a
tip, outsiders. Just imagine listening
to some one talking to you at the
rate of 2,25O words an hour without
stopping and see II you can afford
TO stop one instant and pay attention
To outside noises. Even il you are
anxious to know what the score is,
or whether the president was assas- |
sinated. don't ask the operator It's