The Portland daily press., 1883-03-20
Women as Telephone Operators.
lPhiladelphia Times.1

Up in the skyey fifth story of the building
at Fourth and Chestnut streets, where most
of the wires bearing messages from 1000 tel
ephones concentrate in the general exchange
of the Bell company, a roomful of girls are
employed. So generally has the telephone
come into use for business purposes, SO fire.
quent and important are the messages COM
mitted to it, so inexplicable the unseen in
fiuences that sometimes hinder or impede
communication, and so tempestuous and
irascible the outbursts which unknown vote
es are apt to launch upon the impersonal
mahogany ear, known as the receiver"
that the person who stands in the central
office, and in theory, holds the key for the
transmission of every message, must possess
naturally or else carefully cultivate store
of rare and excellent graces, by comparison
with which Jobs possessions seem mean
and trivial. 1t has been found absolutely
necessary to employ girls because of their
greater patience. They also have quicker
ears and are more obedient to rules and sus-
ceptible of discipline, but their natural re
straints of temper and freedom from out
bursts of bad language is considered their
primary recommended ton. On an average
every girl, while on duty, and their usual
hours are from and in the morning until
in the evening, has the supervision of 80
telephones. Under the new system each
girl has group Of 100 wires and each wire
has at least one telephone. As the number
of girls increased the company introduced
clause into their agreement with subscribers
providing that, "any use of the telephone
for profane, indecent, or rude language, or
for any purpose other than respectful, bona
fde business or social messages, shall ter
inmate the contract" and the company in
sists on this to the best of their ability, al
though not always meeting with entire sue
cess.
The young girls employed, coming from
refined homes, though poor. have always
shown great sensitiveness against any indig-
nifty or indecorous speech reaching them
through the telephones. II sometimes hap
pens that one of them seated at her post,
with the depressed air which all telephone
girls get from hearing messages all day long
and not being allowed to speak syllable to
each other, will burst into tears and become
almost hysterical. Very often she will not
tell what is said, but usually some insult has
been offered, very often coming from clerk
or other person in the employ of subscrib-
er, 80 that it is hard to discover the culprit
Quite often when the superintendent calls
upon broker or other person to complain
about an Objectionable message, they say it
an "aside' directed to some one in the room,
was intended for the ''other fellow" or was
or get out of il by some such excuse.
GAS the expression of his disapproval in
language more forcible than elegant seems to
be considered manly prerogative," said
one of the brightest girls in the central Of
fee on Saturday, "we never notice such in
dignities when they occur, but we have our
thoughts. Now that telephone over yonder
is perfect gentleman, has a nice voice,
real sweet voice, and always says please and
thank you, and is just beautiful. We all re-
spect and admire him very much. We can
tell gentleman through a telephone every
time. Now that horrid thing there" point
ing to green serpentine that ended in
numbered knob, sshe is mean, cross, ugly
old thing. We know it by her voice. feel
so angry with her sometimes 1 could say al
most anything. She is impatient, overbear-
ing and uncharitable, and when she feels dis
agreeable goes to the telephone principally
to abuse the girl who is SO unfortunate as to
get her call. There is hardly woman's
voice that reaches us that is not irritable
and l must say that few of us have the char
ity to be able to answer them back with
meekness.
A great many amusing mistakes are
made" the speaker went on. ga few days
ago gentleman, who is builder, was COM
municating with the Office of large manu-
featuring place in the suburbs and calling
me be said he could not make the other par
ty hear him. tell him. said he, that say
dam the foundations; dam the whole lot Of
Them dropped the telephone in conster