Show CHARACTER READING n MANY MILES OF WIRES telegraph Teler raph operators know the dispositions of each other from alie way messages are sent from one city to an baer some of the freaks itie telegraph operators of this city ar noted the world over as experts not only are they masters of their art as a class but many of them have developed the wonderful faculty of read ins character by the sharp ticks that eria nate from the little brass instruments for instance any old time operator who ranks as first rate can tell by ake tick of the machine in philadelphia v hat manner of man is at the other end cz the wire no matter whether he be in chicago new york or any other distant rity just as the bank cashiers recognize the signatures of old customers so do telegraphers identify friends by their sending or writing the fast jerky sender who stops every few minutes to tighten this screw or loosen that spring or to talk with his desk mate easily tells the receiver that be is a nervous irresponsible young man of little experience and less judgment he warns the receiver to be on constant watch for errors for which he will shirk any responsibility without having definite reason to say so the receiver will not hesitate to assert that such a sender would lie himself out of any difficulty that might arise the fearless manly telegrapher is the man who sends even well spaced morse fast of course but steady withal and sends all the time this man seldom has cases he impresses the receiver at once that he is invariably correct he never stops for bad copy because he always reads a message ahead of the one he is sending and returns any he cannot decipher to the clerks before starting it this sort of man has a friend in every office all the students and operators in way stations know him they recognize his sending and appeal to him as would a child to an older brother this mans character is well known to everyone with whom he works SNEAKS JOKES AND DUDES the sneak is quickly discovered and promptly roasted he sends slowly and with an aggravating drag he never swears on the wire which by the way ia certain to be rewarded by dismissal if reported although a majority of operators are more or less profane while this man may not have been in the business at the time of any strike he ia certain to be called a scab by all the out of town men with whom he has frequent spats practical jokers and witty men are generally indifferent operators but usually have a reputation reaching from san francisco to boston which always secures them work at good salaries their characteristics are denoted by the small amount of business they handle notwithstanding the fact that they seem to work every minute they make all sorts of blunders and worry the receiver sick depending apon their good humor and new stories to square matters dude operators like their funny brethren are poor artists but they are not fortunate in the way of acquiring reputation they never need tell the receiver that they love dress and think of little else their frequent stops and silly chatter between messages tell it for them after six months working with an operator of this eort the receiver could describe him almost to a positive exactness without ever having seen him or heard him described FEMALES AND surly morose and tramp operators are alike as to ability they are all fine telegraphers eg their characters are well defined by silence and they are distinguished one from the other by bits of information regarding other cities croppe dr oppe from day to day by the tramps they tell their atory when they correct errors discovered in the addresses of messages relayed from one city to another and by suggesting some word to take the place of one badly written by some newspaper man whose copy lady operators are identified by the lightness of their sending few of them being able to work on long distance wires on this account clara is a favorite name for light genders af pf either sex and their character as well aa their sex is revealed by their constant anxiety and ever faithfulness as well as by their disposition to talk few people understand why telegraphers use so anch and anch a variety of slang this is easily accounted for the men in new york and san francisco communicate all the latest phrases to chicago from which point galveston denver new orleans and ogden receive tho new talk and the forces at philadelphia pittsburg richmond and boston acquire their stock from Tew york la this way a bright saying heard by an operator in new york is repeated the world over the samp day aar aba cable operators are quite as slang as the rest of the craft philadelphia record |