Newspaper Page Text
/m
w~ ' "■*
< H* >■■£. 1
The subscriber. after looking up in the
directory the desired number, takes the
telephone off the hook, which causes a
tiny electric light to glow in front of the
operator assigned to answer his calls,
tin some exchanges equipped -with a
magneto system, a drop is released bv the
turning of a crank.)
How Is Your Temper in the Summertime?
Imagine Yourself at a Telephone Switchboard
By EDITH M. SPENCER
YES, it is warm, and with the rising
temperature our irritations seem to
increase. We laid all our troubles to
the rainy weather, but now we are forced
to admit that the troubles are still pre
dominant and our mode of acceptance just
as disagreeable. Evidently this irritabil
ity is a symptom of summer and has no
definite cause.
How well we govern our tempers is
often illustrated. No one would imagine
that the imp of ill nature had any resi
dence with many of us, so serene and
courteous do we appear in our face-to
faces dealings with our fellow men.
We successfully- hide our keen disap
pointment in not being able to take a
vacation on which we had planned for
months, and say with nonchalance: “Xo,
I have decided that I will not go away
this year.” We disguise the fact that the
vacation of wife and children is making
a tremendous difference in the bank ac
count and speak cheerfully of the period
of restaurant meals and lonesome home.
The business man speaks without rancor
when his stenographer hands him her
daily quota of badly typed, misspelt let
ters. He accepts wita grim humor the
mistake s of his hirelings and would ap
pear without fault to the casual ob
server.
Are we then a superior lot of beings,
who display no temper? Xo, decidedly,
no.
Let the vacationless man receive a call
from the telephone on his desk. "What
do you want? I can't hear you. Central,
have I a connection or not? Bang' bang!”
Then, with muttered vituperations he
turns to the work at hand and resolves
that the telephone is the invention of
some evil spirit.
Perhaps the man whose bank account is
decreasing tries to telephone about an
important business matter. He thinks he
knows the number, is almost positive :hat
he does. At any rate, he is within two or
three figures of the exact number. Why,
in the name of intelligence, is he not
given the number at once instead of be
ing exasperated by the sound of feminine
voices?
The lovely- society lady, who dons a
negligee to answer the insistent ring of
the telephone extension in her room,
shows an unpretty temper when, instead
of the invitation she expected, she hears
"Number, please?” She tells Central, with
no mistake in insinuation, that she was
called and that she wishes to speak to
the orson who called her. The calm
voice of the operator as she replies,
"There is no one on your line now, thank
you," seems to add to her irritation. Why
should Central be polite when the sub
scriber, a lady, has been guilty of unlady
like vexation?
We regard the telephone as an indis
pensable necessity, but wholly as a re-
Dr. E. G. Griffin’s kS'i«
Over BROWN & ALLEN'S DRUG STORE, 24 lz 2 WHITEHALL ST.
$5 Set of Teeth $5
COMPLETED DAY ORDERED
22k Gold Crowns, S 3
Special Bridge Work, $4
fk 1Y (\ I ibO'** AII Dental Work Lowest Prices.
PHONE 1708.” Hours—B Ip_L__
nomniii
y fellr
L W-fl
S W'
The arrow indicates the light as it ap
pears on the switchboard. Each opera
tor can connect a called with any sub
scriber in the exchange, but she Is as
signed to answer the calls of only «i lim
ited number of subscribers whose signals
are these lights showing at her particu
lar position.
markable invention, inanimate and mar
velous. We seldom pause to think of the
skillful operators who sit with every
nerve and muscle acute to the tax of an
swering, connecting and disconnecting the
subscribers. We rarely ever consider a
telephone operator anything but stupid,
malicious or plainly unaccommodating.
And. all the time, I fear it is the sub
scriber who is largely at fault and who,
like the ostrich, is burying his head in
the sand of blindness'to his fault.
Do you know what has happened when
your telephone rings loudly and you fail
to answer promptly? You arrive at the
instrument ready to answer pleasantly, if
the message is to your liking. Perhaps
vou instantly hear the voice of some
friend or business acquaintance in re
sponse to your "Hello.” Perhaps you
hear the familiar "Xumber. please?" and
then exhibit what ninety-nine hundredths
of telephone subscribers display—tele
phonic ill-temper. You mentally call the
operator many unpleasant names, which
had better been unthought. This simply
means that your friend got tired and hung
up before you answered, and when you
do answer, nine times out of ten. an
other operator answers you. and thinking
you are seeking her attention, says,
"Xumber. please?”
Thus you fret. Yet you admit that you
know nothing of the process by which in
the first case you received your telephone
call, or, in the second case, failed to re
ceive it. You candidly admit ignorance
of the telephonic law and yet expect to
escape the penalty, payable in irritation,
which endangers your comfort.
Will you persist’in remaining ignorant?
You would consider a child stupid who
failed to realize that a hand plunged in
the fire would burn. Every day we older
children allow our brains to burn with
irritation and "grow' hot under the collar”
simply because we have not learned what
every little telephone operator learns in
the first few minutes of her telephonic
education. We remain ignorant, most of
us, and daily vent our displeasure, born
of ignorance, upon the intelligent, skill
ful telephone operator who can not es
cape from our disagreeable words.
H is because 1 have been so often and
flagrantly guilty of all telephone crimes
that 1 speak so strongly to others. But
I did finally seek to know the reason why.
i determined to know why I was irritated
by the telephone and. if the cause was
with me, to find means of its removal. It
was my fault in almost every instance,
though It may not be in all cases. I have
overcome that fault, for I visited the tel
ephone exchange, saw the operators at
work and received an explanation of the
traffic features, which, fortunately, is all
that we outsiders need to know.
A telephone, exchange is the best order
ed office possible. Each operator performs
her duty with a dexterity, precision and
intelligence which seems marvelous to the
observer who notes the maze of cords
and the multitude of metal-rimmed
“jacks."
It is at the switchboard that all calls
and received and sent. This is a long,
pianolike structure, erected perpendicu
larly to the floor, before which the op-
IHE ATLANTA GEORGIAN AND NEWS, SATURDAY, JULY 27, 1912.
Hr ■
I
f 'W
wi 3
Fv
tj W - ■< 1
She .takes up a bi ass-tipped cord, in
serts the 'ip. or plug,” into the hole, or
“jack,” just above the light, at the same
time throwing a key with the other hand
in order to switch her transmitter line
into direction rommunicatton with the
caller, and says: “Number, please?”
erators sit. The upper part of the switch
board is arranged with rows of metal
rimmed holes in groups of one hundred
each, and each hole in every group or
“bank” is numbered from "0” to “99."
The' groups are divided by perpendicular
strips numbered from "0" up. For in
stance, one “bank" is numbered ”0" and
the holes in this "bank" correspond to
the telephones numbered from “0” to
"99.” The holes in “bank” numbered
“1” correspond to the telephones hearing
numbers from “100” to "199." These
holes are known as “multiple jacks" be
cause each section of the switchboard
is complete in itself and contains “mul
tiple jacks” to correspond to all the tel
ephones in use in the exchange.
Below the "multiple jacks" is another
series of metal-rimmed holes, or "an
swering jacks.” While the “multiple
jacks,” as has been explained, are ar
ranged in multiple, there is but one "an
swering jack" to each telephone. Below
each “answering jack" is a small elec
tric light which glows to give the sig
nal when a receiver is taken from a
subscriber’s hook.
A shelf or table is constructed at right
angles to the switchboard proper and at
a height of about four feet. This ex
tends along the entire board just below
the “answering jacks." Each section of
the switchboard is divided into three "po
sitions,” to each of which an operator is
assigned. On the desk, at the rear of
each "position," close to the switch
board. the connecting cords are arranged.
Each cord terminates in two plugs ar
ranged in pairs. In front of each pair
of cords are two corresponding rows of
lights, known as cord signals. The tips
of these lights showing above the surface
of the "position,” like the line signals,
are about a quarter-inch in diameter.
Each operator is connected to the
switchboard by her 'phone set. A
"breast transmitter” is suspended around
her neck and the mouth of it is on a
level with her lips. A flat receiver is
fastened over one ear by a band pass
ing over her head. Both hands are free
for the dexterous precision necessary.
This is the scene of action, and here it
is that the quiet heroine of modern life
serves the often unappreciative public.
When a subscriber removes a receiver
from his telephone hook, the hook flies
up and establishes a contact which sends
a current through the wire and lights the
line signal corresponding to the answer
ing jack bearing his telephone number.
The operator picks up the rear, or an
swering, cord, inserts the plug in the jack
above and repeats the familiar phrase,
“Number, please?”
At the same instant, she picks up the
front, or calling, cord, and inserts the
plug in the multiple jack bearing the
number desired by the subscriber. While
doing this she has thrown her listening
key. If the line is busy, her test pro
duces a decided and continued click, and
she immediately informs the subscriber,
"The line is busy." If a low humming
sound is heard in making her test, she
knows at once that the line is out of
order and makes her report If neither
an out of order or busy test Is received,
the operator closes the listening key and
rings the line she is calling.
The line signal automatically goes out
when the answering cord is inserted in
the jack. After the insertion of the call
ing cord in the multiple jack, the cor
responding cord signal burns until the
subscriber called -removes his receiver
from the hook. When both cord signals
are out, the operator knows that the con
nection is completed and that the sub
scribers are talking. When either of the
signals glow again, she knows that the
call is terminated. Should the calling
subscriber desire another number, he
raises his hook up and down slowly.
The caller replies by giving the name
of the exchange and tin number he wants,
as. for example: "Main 1268." The oper
ator repeats the number, "Main one-two
six-eight, ’ pronouncing each digit with
clear articulation, to insure its correct
ness, and, if it be a subscriber in the
Main Exchange, she
This flashes the cord signal and calls
the attention of the operator who goes in
on the line with the answer "operator.”
In cities, such as Atlanta and Birming
ham, where there is more than one cen
tral office, calls are "trunked" from one
exchange to another. The operation of
completing these calls is intricate, and
they are handled in a very different man
ner.
When a subscriber in the Main ex
change calls an Ivy number, the oper
ator in the Main exchange communicates
with an Ivy operator by a “call circuit.”
The Ivy operator assigns a trunk, in
serts the plug in the jack of the number
desired and rings the subscriber's tele
phone. These operations occur almost
simultaneously in the two exchanges.
In telephone work seconds are counted
instead of minutes, and an operator han
dles many hundreds of calls a day. Ever,
then the number of errors in the Main
exchange is but one per cent of the total
of calls handled. The operator is under
the strictest discipline and observation
so that, the highest efficiency may be pro
duced.
Each group of nine operators has a su
pervisor who keeps a close, intelligent
watch on the switchboard to see that
calls are answered promptly and prop
erly. Each supervisor is responsible to
the chief operator, who is responsible
for the whole room.
An operator’s conversation is limited
to certain set phrases, beyond which she
is not allowed to go. Any question con
cerning subscribers’ numbers, change of
location and of similar nature are instant
ly referred to the information operator.
Complaints are referred to the complaint
operator, who makes a record of the com
plaint and files it for investigation and
action.
Though while under the observation of
the uninitiated the precision and dex
terity of the operators seems nothing
short of superhuman, mistakes are some
times made. An operator can answer as
many as five calls a minute during a rush
period, and all without an error. The
twinkling lights appear without a pause —
sometimes twelve are glowing at the
same moment before her eyes. In front
of her is a maze of twisting cords which
make a confusion not unlike that of a
lady’s work basket when the silks are
tangled. It is small wonder that some
times the wrong cord is pulled down, and
a disconnection is made where it was not
desired. Sometimes the wrong number
is rung in her anxiety to handle the many
calls her signals indicate.
These mistakes could well be under
stood and forgiven after a view of the
efficient service the operators give and
the rapidity with which they handle calls.
Nevertheless it is the desire of the Bell
Telephone Company to eliminate even
the one per cent of mistakes made in
their operating service. To secure this
wonderful accuracy the service observa
tion room is maintained. Different lines
are brought in from the switchboard and
the closest details of connection, time
and errors are noted with stop watches
and records are made without the
knowledge of the operators or their su
pervisors. No operator knows when she
is under observation and new lines and
operators are put under observation ev
ery day.
The dong distance calls are received
through the long distance operator, who
records the name and number of the call
ing subscriber, and the name and loca
tion of the person being called. She is
the “recording operator," and her record
is taken by a messenger to the “line
operator" to whom it belongs.
The line operator "orders up" the num
ber of the calling subscriber. That is,
she has the local operator plug up in the
<JS* ah
;•RHHKI
Takes up the cord which is the team
mate, or “pair." of the one with which
she answered the caller, locates the jack
numbered 1268. ami “tests” the line by
tanping the tip of the plug for a moment
on the sleeve of the “jack" to ascertain
if the line is “busy.” It no click sounds
in her ear she -
multiple the calling number and retain
it there for ten minutes, so that it is
readily available when the call is com
pleted. Here the messages are timed and
the utmost care is shown in every de
tail of the call.
The economic value of women is gen
erally conceded by the thinkers and busi
ness men of today. Probably no woman
worker is as indispensable and so little
appreciated as the telephone operator.
In no other field is a woman’s keen in
tuition, dexterity, nervous energy and en
durance so valuable and so clearly ex
hibited.
A modern writer, known as Fra El
bertus, lists the telephone at the head of
the seven modern wonders. We use a
telephone each day, and so simple is its
operation that we never consider the
complex construction. Were we to en
deavor to consider it seriously, we would
find it a lifelong study, yet it is our duty
to learn enough about this most wonder
ful instrument and system to appreciate
its benefit.
Were I to name the greatest of mod
ern wonders, I would agree with Fra
Elbertus. Were I to name the greatest
of modern heroines, I would unhesitat
ingly name the telephone operator.
The telephone operator meets an emer
gency every second in establishing con
nections at her switchboard. When a
crisis occurs she is doubly fitted to face
it with calm pluck and keen wit. She
has added to her natural ability to meet
a crisis with feminine courage an abil
ity to act with intelligence. This in
telligence and intuition is shown every
day, but we note only remarkable in
stances, such as sending relief when the
only signal has been a faint “Help” or
staying at her post when flames threat
ened destruction. We bow our heads
in appreciative silence when we hear of
the telephone operator who lost her life
at her switchboard while serving others,
but seldom realize the quiet, unlauded
heroism of "Central,” who uses every
nerve for our dally benefit.
It is not that we are lacking in sym
pathy on the whole, but simply that, we
do not understand. And it is so that you
may understand, and, understanding,
grow in telephonic grace that I have
made a Fra Elbertus journey to the Bell
Telephone Company’s Main exchange and
given you this little report.
Perhaps next time you go to your
ringing telephone and hear "Number,
please?” you will remember this little
story and answer kindly the operator who
receives your calls, but had nothing to
do with the calling subscriber. Perhaps
the operator twenty feet from her put in
this call and the subscriber, tiring or
having to leave the telephone, hung up
her receiver. This was a signal for a
disconnection and the operator made it.
Your operator had no knowledge of this
call, and her first intimation will be yoty
peevish voice, if it is peevish. Let us
hope it will not be next time.
If you ever grow dubious about your
telephone service, and this seeming lack
of efficiency appears to you to rest with
the operators, please visit one of the
Bell Telephone exchanges and be con
vinced. If you could do better, even
after months of practice, then be as hasty
and as disagreeable as you like —hut you
will not wish to be hasty or disagree
able after you have been there.
You may think I exaggerate when I
place at the head of the list of the
world's mpdern heroines the telephone
operator—but I do not. She is a heroine
whose strength, patience, endurance and
w are taxed every day, ayd many times
a day.
Then here’s to her the telephone op
erator.
PAGE FIVE
I—MAGAZINE SECTION
I
g r W««gt
It :
|<
Pushes In the plug and with her other
hand o|crates a key "n the desk. The
first action connects the line of the sub
scriber railed; the second rings his bell.
When e’thp»- nar'y hangs up his receiver,
a. light glows on the switchboard desk,
showing the rpetator that the conversa
tion is ended.
ar '
I
When the call is to be trunked to an
other exchange. us for example, from a
Main subscriber for “Ivy 1942,” the first
steps are similar to those of a local call.
When the subscriber removes the receiver
of his telephone, a light glows on the
switchboard.
BgSr
' i
i W ■■ a v’rHHMHbHmI
The Main operator connects with the
calling subscriber as in a local call. In
response to her inquiry, "Number,
please?” he gives the other exchange and
number wanted. She repeats “Ivy One
nine-four-two,” pronouncing each digit
distinctly. She then—
communicates wttn tne ivy operator uy
a "call circuit” which the main operator
connects with her transmitter by press
ing a button with het left hand. She
then repeats the number desired, “One
nine-four-two,” meanwhile holding the
plug opposite the jacks connecting the
Iw trunk«J •
W
it - x *'WsSsS»' *. ?>k-> I
The Tvy opc'afrr instantly assigns to
the Main eperajer a disengaged trunk
line bv calling its number, as, for exam
ple, "Five,” whereupon the Main opera
tor at once completes her part of the
operation bv inserting the plug in Trunk
5, as indicated in this picture.
MP* -
r :
■q< U slWllyjW
The Ivy "J 3 operator, at the same time
she assigns Trunk 5, picks up the plug of
the cord connecting with that trunk and
tests, as before described, to ascertain
whether the line is busy. If the “busy
click” does not sound in her ear, sh«
then
I
Inserts the plug In the jack of Ivy 1942
and rings the Ivy subscriber by depress
ing a kev with her thumb. It should be
remembered that the actions represented
by the lasi four pictures on this panel
are occurring poetically simultaneously
in two different offices.