Telegraph operators were the forerunners of today’s cyber-wizards. Theirs was an often exciting life linked to the world via electric pulses.ย The 19th-century version of the computer geek was the telegraph operator. Eventually these professionals were highly regarded in the local business communities as vital.
http://www.telegraph-history.org/transcontinental-telegraph/index.html
The Western Union Telegraph office in Virginia City was open in 1861, presided over by George Senf, who was known far and wide by the nickname of “Graphy.” His assistant was a Candian named Johnnie Skae who was leaking the contents of telegraphs coming to and from the mining companies in the Comstock to a San Francisco stock broker named Jim Keene.ย Eventually the mine owners figured out the Keene must have been getting insider information about the performance of the mine.ย The Bonanza company fired many of it’s officers, until they traced the leak back to the telegraph office.ย The manager George had to fire his trusty assistant.ย It turned out that Keene had been dutifully depositing Johnnie’s cut for the information into a secret bank account.ย The kid had $960,000 sitting there.