Daily globe. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1878-1884, 1881-11-13
TELEPHONE MISTAKES.

TELEPHONE MISTAKES.
Invitin0 a Clergyman to Go around With
the Boys and Talking WitA4notser Mans
Wife.
New York Start
A reporter of the Star visited the CEN
trail Office of one of the telephone COM
panies and had very interesting chat
with the superintendent.
"There are mistakesj even n the best
regulated families said the superinten-
dent, "and the same may be said in re-
gard to our business. l do not mean to
say that errors are frequent with US; but
might as well own up to the truth that
we are not entirely perfect"
"Please explain your meaning. Why
is it necessary for you to confess that
your system is not perfect" the reporter
asked.
"Oh, well 1 do not mean to say that
that there is any serious fault with the
| telephone as an instrument of great
utility, but the plumbers that are made iu
its use are often highly amusing"
sYou speak in enigmas."
81 will explain one OF the principal
varieties of blunders. The young lady
who has charge of the switch sometimes
makes mistake. For instance, a fellow
| in Browns Office rattles the bell and SAYS:
| please put me in connection with Smith.
! The young lady asks Brown to tell her
| the Aumber by which his telephone is
designated and that of the person with
| whom he wishes to communicate. Per-
haps Brown does not give correct reply,
or the young lady makes mistake in ar
ranging the switch board; but at all events
the result is the same, for he finds that,
instead of talking to Smith, he is con-
| versing with Jones. In this manner i'm
| portant secrets are sometimes communi-
Gated to the wrong persons and much
harm results"
"That is indeed somewhat awkward. :"
eyes; indeed it is. Only the other day
| well known downtown lawyer desired
| to make an appointment with brother
disciple of Blackstone to attend theater
| in the evening. So he went to the tele-
| phone to talk to his friend, and, as fate
would have it, the attendant at the cen
| trail Office made mistake in adjusting
the switch and put him in communica-
| ton with the rector of an Episcopal
church. The conversation that ensued
through the telephone was something as
| follows:
" 'Hello-hello!'
"'Wells what do you want?'
90 Il want you to go to the theatre with
me-
I" Il will not go
All right; you needn't if you don't
want to. Suppose, then, that we go to
the minstrels!"
do you mean to insult me2'.
90 Il insult you! Of course not If you
are too heightened to be seen at min
strel show, and will not 60 to the theater,
suppose we 60 somewhere and have a
few games of billiards.
"'Now, see here! This Joking has
gone far enough. presume you will be
inviting me to attend circus the next
thiug!'
"'Oh, no; there is no circus in the city
just now;kbut I'll tell you what we can
do We can go to some concert garden
and drink lager beer, eat cheese, sand
| witches, hear the music and have right
jolly good time. What do you say, old
boys it got?
az think you are talking to the wrong
person.
"'What the ID do you mean?'
"'You are evidently under the mis-
taken impression that you are conversing
| with one of your chu.ns, when the fact
| is am Rev. Mr.. P. of &c church.
els that so? Well, Doctor, l beg
your pardon.'''
Many of the Wall street brokers have
telephone communication between their
Offices and their residences. One broker
who was recently married thought it
would be sjust too cute" to have wire
arranged so that he and his wife could
converse with each other at any time Of
the day. The lady was so greatly pleased
with the telephone that she made use of
it altogether too frequently. During his
business hours the husband was obliged
to stop and attend to the telephone. One
day, when he was too much occupied with
his business, he said to his clerk:
"Will you please attend to my wife.
She wants to use the telephone, and she
might as well talk with you as to be oc-
cupying my tlme.''
Gail right" said the clerk, as he put
his ear to the telephone. What he heard
was never divulged by him; but he sud-
denly quit the instrument, exclaining as
he did so:
cpl be hanged if take lecture from
another mans wife. l get enough of that
carf Of fbipn of hoy,,o