They departed from Sherbrooke the following day, if not sadder, at least, wiser men.
Reading by Sound.
In the early days of telegraphy I was employed at an important station on the Grand Trunk Railway as commercial and railway operator. One night, after a busy day’s labor, I was preparing to leave when I overheard the office call sounded from the relay, the local battery having been disconnected, as was then the custom when leaving for the night, for economical reasons. I answered the call and ventured to receive the message from the sound of the relay, and in this found no difficulty whatever.
Whilst thus engaged the locomotive foreman stepped in. Singular enough, the communication was for him. He was rather astonished at my receiving a message in this fashion and expressed his surprise. He spoke to others about it, and the affair in time reached the ears of the Railway Telegraph Superintendent, who, thereupon, called me up on the wire and gave me a severe reprimand. A “23” or circular was sent immediately thereafter to the effect that it had come to his knowledge that certain operators were in the habit of reading by sound instead of from the register, with which all stations were provided, and warning all to desist from this dangerous practice.
The modern operator will be inclined to smile at this bit of ancient history.
In no very long time, after the custom became general in both railway and commercial telegraphy, the Recording instrument, upon the perfecting of which Professor Morse had spent so much time and labor, was abandoned, and the more convenient method of reading by sound substituted.
A Cheeky Operator.
My predecessor at a certain station on the Grand Trunk Railway vacated his position rather suddenly by reason of the following colloquy, and against whom many and frequent complaints had been made.