FALLING IN LOVE BY TELEGRAPH.

New Zealand Graphic, Volume VIII, Issue 42, 17 October 1891, Page 485

FALLING IN LOVE BY TELEGRAPH.

The telegraph companies of the United States are on the eve of abandoning the employment of women as telegraph operators. Mischievous Cupid is at the bottom of the trouble. It is he who will have to bear the responsibility of the close of a popular profession to the fair sex, and the mere mention of the word * love ’ in any of the large telegraph offices has much the same effect on the managers and superintendents as a red rag would have on a bull. The managers complain that no sooner does a woman operator get thoroughly broken and become an adept in handling the wiie, than she invariably falls in love with one of the male employes of the office, quits work, and gets married. This, of course, necessitates all the trouble of training a new operator, and of annoying changes in the constitution of the staff. The managers have attempted to deal with this perversity and contrariness of their female operators by eliminating wherever possible all the male clerks from offices where women are employed. This, however, has proved useless, and has merely led to the development of a new’ feature of matrimonial business, of which until now the telegraphers have the monopoly. This may be briefly desci ibed as ‘ marriage on tick.’ To fall in love at first sight is the lot of many, but it is reserved for telegraph operators to fall in love without any sight at all. The little telegraph instillment, with its brass key and sounding-plate, is made to take the place of eyes, and to stamp upon the brain the image of the one adored, though a thousand miles away. It is said that an experienced operator can tell from the sound of the click whether the sender is a man or a woman. The touch of the latter is more delicate than that of a man, and the little bright blue spark on the sounding-board from a woman’s hand has often sent a thrill of joy through the heart of the receiver at the other eml of the wire, and kindled the fire of love in his soul. Courtships of this kind are economical. There are no theatre parties, picnics, or ice-cream symposiums to be looked after. Innumerable have been the matches made in this fashion, where all the arrangements have been perfected over the wire, without either of the parties seeing each other except in picture form.