“To be sure, it does not require as much activity or muscle to telegraph nowadays as it did formerly, when we were compelled to make twelve to eighteen copies with a stylus. “We are now in an entirely different class than we were formerly and the results are greater than they used to be. “The operator of twenty-five years ago was necessarily, in some respects, the superior of the present generation, but he could not possibly turn out the work that is being performed daily and hourly by his latter-day brother with such ease and speed. “While our younger brothers are getting their instruments in order, we will rig up a Morse set and have W. L. Waugh give us an illustration of his beautiful sending while William T. Loper will demonstrate how he used to take fourteen copies of manifold with a stylus in the olden days in St. Louis.” “Yes, I used to see Billy Loper do this when I was night chief in St. Louis and he certainly did it well,” said Charles J. Lawson, who sauntered in from the rear, when he heard Mr. Loper’s name mentioned. While the audience applauded the expected treat, Messrs. Loper and Waugh squared themselves for the fray. Like shot poured into a funnel, clicked the dots and dashes, Mr. Loper methodically and with the greatest ease copying the perfect Morse with his favorite stylus on fourteen manifold sheets, in his own beautiful characteristic writing. For one hour and without a break, the twain worked fast but gracefully, much Phillips’ code being used and after counting the hour’s work, it was ascertained that two thousand eight hundred words had been transmitted. Specimens of the work were distributed among the admiring audience, who were loud in their praise of Mr. Loper’s copper-plate chirography and the sheets were given out as souvenirs of the occasion. It was noticeable that after this exhibition, few of the operators from foreign countries enrolled themselves as competitors at the coming tournament. “Let’s give the young fellows a show now,” said Fred Catlin, and the two young men previously mentioned, one named Smith, from Birmingham, Postal, and one Brown, from Atlanta, Western Union, came to the front. The quick, jerky, “bug” sending seemed marvelous to some of the very old-timers and it seemed a little bit difficult for them at first to so adjust their brains to keep up with the merry jingle. The receiving operator, also, was doing some marvelous stunts. While the sender was transmitting at top-notch speed, the Birmingham boy took out a cigarette, which he lighted and began to puff with as much _sang froid_ as though he were in a down-town cafe, never missing a word or even a punctuation mark. For one hour this great exhibition kept up, at the end of which time one hundred and thirty messages had been transmitted and copied without an error.