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LtiVj AXJLiAJNTA (JEUKUIAN AND NEWS.
BTOim£PH0NE
WHAT IT HAS ACCOMPLISHED
MONDAY. OCTOBER 7, 19(77.
COMPANY;
IN ATLANTA
Has Kept a Few Years Ahead of The
City’s Growth and Built One of The
Finest Plants in The Country.
NY CITIZEN who take*
the slightest Interest In
the growth of Atlanta Is
ktvare of the Important
part that Is contributed
purchased on Auburn avenue and a
contract made for a new exchange, to
be completed July 15. 1806. The equip
ment for this building arrived In At
lanta In advance of the completion of
the building and the telephone compa'
by the Southern Bell Telephone and J nv W as prepared to complete Its part
Telegraph Company. The development j of the work In short order. On ao-
of the telephone business In Atlanta t count of delays, over which the con-
has surpassed the hopes and expecta- j tractors tf(td tho telephone company
tlons of the most enthusiastic telephone ; ijjd n0 control, the building was not
official. Just as the growth of Atlanta j completed until ten months later. Aft-
hae been a continuous marvel to those | er ;}jbuilding waa’completed the work
Cltlsrns who ire' most responsible for j „f connecting the underground cables
the City's greatness. ; was held up by the city pending Ihe
, The telephone has evolved slowly I settlement of a franchise matter,
front an experiment Into a practical I The Ivy Exchange, as It now stands,
necessity; tlie city of Atlanta .has ! Is four stories high. It Is so construct.
Furnishes Telephone Service of a Sat
isfactory Nature Suitable for Small
User or Greatest Business Concern.
MAIN EXCHANGE.
Locatsd on South Pryor 8treet.
WEST EXCHANGE.
Located on Ashby Street.
times a month who otherwise would not
visit to city personally once in three
months. Transactions bringing thou
sands of dollars to Atlanta merchants
are made by long-distance telephone
every day, at less cost than would be
possible In any other way. This is only
a small part this company plays In the
commercial life of Atlanta, but It is an
Important feature.
While electricity Is the main factor In
giving telephone service, this unknown
quantity Is handled by human beings.
In the persons of young lady operators.
.Most of these are residents of Atlanta,
who are earnest workers, Interested In
the welfare of > their city and Intent
upon performing their duties well. Like
all other human beings, they are liable
to make mistakes. They arc not mere
ly machines, and at times their "kbnian
The general offices of the company
were bodily moved to Atlanta and these
officers and their families and a large
corps of clerks and their families were
brought to tills city. The affairs of the
company In seven Southern states are
directed from Atlanta, making Impor
tant Increases in the poatofflee receipts
and the bank clearings.'
The Southern Bel! Company pays ap.
proxlmatcly CtSft.noo tier annum In sal
aries and wages lu employees In At
lanta alone. The greater portion of
tills sum la spent i.ltil Atlanta mer
chants and these employees, of which
there Is a small army, are permanent
residents of the city.
The location of tho headquarters of
the Southern Bell Company, resulted In
the establishment here of a branch of-
of the Westers Electric Company,
EAST POINT EXCHANGE.
Located In East Point,
tors are employed and each prospective
operator Is paid a salary while taking a
course In the school. The monthly cost
of this training school Is 8700, but every'
operator who takes a' place at one of
the switchboards In Atlanta Is well
equipped for her work.
Is an Old Citizen.
The Southern Bell Company came to
Atlanta many years ago. It took Its
place along with other Industrial citi
zens and has been a factor In the city's
progress. It has demonstrated Its sin
cere desire to give Atlanta a telephone
system second to none other In this
country. Its Investment here Is per
manent. It has no political or other
ax to grind. It Is moving in the even
tenor of Its way, earnestly and sincere
ly endeavoring to accomplish the ob
ject tor which It was organized and
earn a reasonable profit for Its stock
holders.
The Southern Bell Company owns
real estate and handsome buildings here
and has spent thousands of dollars In
overhead and underground equipment.
The big Investment here, coupled with
the fact that greater extensions arej
contemplated, demonstrates the faith of |
the officials of this company in Atlanta, i
Two years ago when the plant In At- !
lanta was severely wrecked by an un-1
precedented sleet storm It was repaired
quickly and efficiently at a .cost ex- j
reeding 8100,600. Every possible con-1
slderatlon was shown the public and j
the company performed Its duty In ev- j
ery way. As a result of that storm It j
was seen that the underground conduit 1
system must bu extended In order to
NORTH EXCHANGE.
Located on North Avenue.
sprung from a town Into a great city
In n fqw short years. The telephone
Industry in Atlanta ha* therefore been
heavily handicapped to keep pace with
the city. Despite this ths development
of the Southern Bell Company Is far In
advance of the city, and with the com
pletion of the work In the new Ivy Ex
change. on Auburn avenue, sufficient
' telephone facilities for many future
years will be provided.
In 1904 It Was apporrnt that the fu
ture growth of Atlanta would bo rapid
and enormous. It was realized that the
telephOno needs of the city must be
provided in advance. The most capa-s
hie telephone engineers In Ihe country
were brought to Atlanta to make a
special study of tho needs of the city
as compared with the prospective
growth. The conclusion* reached were
based upon the past growth, the condl-
j ttons that prevailed then and were
likely to prevail In Ihe future.
The Southern Bell Company was alive
to Its duties to Its patrons and pre
pared to meet the situation by provid
ing faculties long before they were
needed. Tho present magnificent tele
phone plant Is the outgrowth of this
foresight. The work that is In progress
nnd In contemplation will keep the tele,
phone plant always a few years ahead
of the city’s growth.
1 The engineers who made a study of
Atlanta estimated that in 1919 there
would be not less than 56,000 telephone
subscribers. They advised the con
struction of un additional building, with
ft present eap’clty of 15.000 stations
and on animate capacity uf 45,000 sta
tions. Tit' 1 " advised the extension of
the underground system and the elim
ination of all pole* and wires from
certain streets.
, Extension of th* Plant.
' More than two years ago u lot was
ed that three more stories ran be added
and these will be constructed as rapidly
as they are needed. Ultimately this
building will take care of 45,000 sub
scribers. The switchboard and termi
nal equipment were manufactured es
pecially for this building at a cost ex
ceeding 8100,000.
...The object of this heavy and costly
ronslripjtjqn.jyprk .1* to .keep the tele-
phon^r plant'just n few-years ahead of
Atlanta u'nd to maintain satisfactory
service, no matter how great the num
ber of subscribers or heavy the de
mands upon the operating force.
It Is realised fully by < officials of the
Southern Bell Telephone* and Telegraph
Company that the public pays for and
demands good telephone service. Tho
aim p.f every employee. Is to see that
thy public gets what It pays for., and at
the same time receives courteous treat,
msnt. There Is no deviation from this
rule. The cases where service Is un
satisfactory and employees are discour
teous are the exception, and prompt and
vigorous action is taken to correct these
faults. All the energies of a great
organisation are bending toward giving
good service, and overcoming difficul
ties that tho general public knows
nothing of. Telephone service Is the
only commodity In which this company
deals, and Its duty to the public and to
Itself demands that every effort be
made to accomplish thls-eml.
In order to provide efficient operators,
nnd avoid Ihe necessity of placing'un
trained operators on the switchbonrds,
a handsomely equipped training school
has been established In Atlanta at a
cost of 810,000. Every prospective op
erator, who stands the required exam
ination, Is sent to this training schobl,
whore she receives . practical Instruc
tions covering n period of one month
or longer, If necessary. Competent tu-
—25;
**"2*
COLUMBI
■gaaJ
CLL'lflBS
Colo
ALLAHA9SCC
1
Map of Georgia showing tho long distance lines of the Bell Company
radiating from Atlanta to ail Important points.
give tho moaf efficient aervlce. Fol
lowing the heavy lose work was Im
mediately begun upon extensions and
ultimately all the wires will be under
ground and the terminal poles now
standing In the streets will be moved
upon private property where the com'
pany Is securing rights of way. The
extension of the underground system
was not required by the city and the
contemplated removal of poles Is a fact
not generally known.
The company Is prepared to furnish
telephone service of any class or char
acter, from a message rate party line
at 82 per month to a private branch
exchange with sufficient trunk lines to
accommodate a business concern of any
slxe. The classes of service ore so nu
merous and the cost so reasonable that
the wants of the casual telephone user
can be filled as easily as the needs of
heavy users.
The telephone has become a house
hold and business necessity. Where the
telephone Is once used It Is seldom
abandoned. It saves the business man
time, trouble, money and travel and Is
a constant comfort to the housewife,
flo other agency can nil Its place and
the service and tho rates offered by the
Southern Bell Company are so attrac
tive as to be well worth consideration.
Important Toll Lines.
Radiating from Atlanta and reaching
all Important points In this and adjoin
ing states are thousands of miles of toll
lines. Over these wires more than 1,000
calls come Into Atlanta every day. Peo
ple visit Atlanta by telephone fifty
Instinct will assert Itself by the return
of a sharp reply to an angry or Insult
ing remark. These Instances are the
exception and It Is the constant effort
of the Southern Bell Company to elim
inate them entirely. Oftentimes slight
consideration upon the part of the sub
scriber would benefit the service Im
mensely. But subscribers arc human
also. They can not see what the op
erator Is doing toward giving aervlce,
and to an Impatient man or woman sec.
onds seem like minutes and minutes
like hours. The Southern Bel! Com
pany does not defend poor aervlce; It'
Is the company's worst enemy. ' All the
efforts of tho organization are directed
toward rendering a service as nearly
perfect ae It Is possible to make It.
The Southern Bell Company Is a per
manent citizen of Atlanta. It hae
grown with the city, contributed to
Its success and shared In Its reverses.
It has not merely come here and opened
Its hands to receive a constant flow of
money. It has worked honestly and
earnestly to give value received and
Investigation by an unbiased mind will
reveal that It has earned Its smalt
profit.
The Importance of Atlanta as a tele
phone center reached such a stage in
1903 that the headquarters of the com
pany were moved to Atlanta, thereby
Increasing the population by 1,000 new
citizens and Insuring the expenditure In
Atlanta of a vast sum of money paid
In salaries and wages. This move was
due largely to the Influence of Colonel
W. T. Gentry, vice; president of the
company, then general manager.
which Is one of the largest manufactur
ing concerns In the world, having of
fices In New York. Chicago, London,
Berlin, Antwerp and Paris. The West
ern Electric Company erected a hand
some and costly modern warehouse In
West End, and employs several hun
dred people, It disburses a large sum
of money In salaries and wages. From
Atlanta telephone apparatus Is shipped
Into a territory comprising the majority
of the Southern state*. This Industry
was made possible for Atlanta solely
by reason of the development of tho
telephone business In this section by
the Southern Bell Company.
As the city of Atlanta grows there is
every' Indication that other kindred In
dustries will be brought here by rea
son of the telephone development. Tho
Southern Bell's plant here has been
built with the Idea In view of giving a
service as nearly perfect as possible
and to ’be at all times prepared to take
care of any growth, no matter how
great. In order to accomplish this. It
has bcch necessary to secure' the most
expensive apparatus of the very latest
design. Atlanta has been given tho
benefit of every new Invention and of
every Improvement. At times It has
appeared wise to discard apparatus
long before its usefulness was exhaust,
ed. but tho Southern Bell Company has
borne this expense In order to main
tain Its established policy of providing
the very best apparatus procurable.
There Is no question thnt this policy
has been appreciated by Its patrons anil
the publle generally and the Atlanta
system stands as u model among the
cities of the South.