Evening star., 1927-10-05
TELEGRAPH FIRMS
BUILD PERSONNEL
Army of 10000 Youths Being
Recruited Their Advance
ment Is Encouraged.
RY j. G.. ROYI.E.
Special Dispatch to The Star.

NEW YORK. October 5.-.Expan-
sion PLANS of the great telegraph com
panies have gone further than the
proposal of the Western Union Co.
announced today. TO build the worlds
largest telegrap building here. The
company is building up its personnel
as we'll and this will affect the EN-
ployment situation in hundred other
industries sooner or later.
A civil army Of $4,000 members now
is being recruited. trained and main
tained by the corporation. 1t is the
business army of messenger boys and
on discharge it's members will spread
through nearly every line OF CONNER
cial and industrial endeavor. The
company is the largest employer OF
bows i'm the world and is adding
steadily TO its forces.
Messenger Service Training School.
One OF the most interesting labor
developments of recent years has been
the handling of this personnel. In the
last year these boys have delivered
approximately zoe. .00O. 900 messages. 1t
may be assumed all these were impor-
tant. Otherwise they would not have
been telegraphed. Some involved
many hundreds of thousa nds of dol
y.
livered without unnecessary delay.
This task rested upon the boy army.
The telegraph companies, therefore,
have had to secure messengers who
are intelligent. alert. resourceful and
dependable. They say the problem
now has been solved by making the
messenger service the most desira bic
training school for boys Of intelligence
and character who seek a practical
opportunity TO go further In the realm
of business.
The boys range from IA to IS years
of age, with the average 15L. They
are hand picked by men with years
of experience in judging boy char
acter, and are subjected to q system
of moral training which can scarcely
fail to aid in building OF character.
On the physical side. every boy is
furnished with a complete uniform. a
cap. a rain cape, shirts for warm
weather and a mackinaw for Winter.
Each year $4,000 yards of cloth for
uniforms. 10000 rain capes and 100,-
900 yards OF chambray for shirts are
bought. Special stress is placed on
neatness.
The code of the messenger--what
the company calls it's seven command.
ments-is impressed on the boy hun.
dred time a dfE. 1t says: BE depend
able; be neat and clean; be punctual:
be courteous; be resourceful; be de-
termined.'
Encourage Their Advancement.
1t is the policy of the telegraph com
panies TO encourage messengers to
find openings In other lines which
seem to offer a future. In this con
pncr;np odvpouitiop cor,,
panys customers are yours" is con-
stantly placed before the youngsters in
various ways. The details of the
careers Of Andrew Carnegie and other
big business men who started as mes
sengers are impressed on them.
Each day the messenger visits
dozens of factories, Offices and bust
ness establishments, makes friends
and gains some idea of the scope Of
each enterprise. II he is intelligent,
courteous and dependable, he attracts
attention and often gets first call on
job when one opens. The companies
frequently have calls from business
houses for such boys, and receive
many letters from former messengers
expressing appreciation of the training
given.
The personnel department keeps in
closest touch with similar departments
OF other great businesses and loses
no opportunity to help boy advance
to position with a future.
The days when boys were sent out
late at night and into unsavory and
immoral neighborhoods have gone by.
Messengers now employed for night
duty are mature men, since the night
deliveries seldom require the speed
which only youth can keep up.