Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1884-02-17
TALKS OVER THE WIRES.
SIX THOUSAND "HELLOES"
SHOUTED DAILY.

foliage of the trees, crossing and recrOsS-
Ing each other in every direction and
mingled with the telegraph, fire alarm
and electric light wires like the web spun
by some enormous spider, mean little but
| confusion to the thousands of people who
pass under them every day. But to the
| electrician who is able to solve this great
magnetic wool and trace its iron threads
connecting nearly three hundred different
/ localities, it is a simple piece of mechan-
ism.l -4.zsszsssasafsfz AZ
Very few people probably who walk
/ along Bay street past the City Exchange
or out Bull street ever think of the thou
/ sands of messages that are speeding over
I their heads along the thick network of
wires that centre in the headquarters of
the Exchange in the modest rooms on the
| top floor of the SOrrel building, opposite
the custom house; and probably not 800
| people has ever taken the trouble to visit
the place, and not One-fifth of that num-
/ Der know anything about the workings
of the wonderful system of wires, and
boxes, and bells, and batteries that form
| links in the great chain of telephone
communication.
The Savannah Exchange was establish
! ed a little over five years ago by its pres
ent manager, Mr.. II. II. Griffith, with 81
subscribers. A great deal of doubt was
| expressed at that time as to the success
! of the enterprise, but since then its
| growth has been rapid; it las now 264
| subscribers and has become one of the
| most seryiceable institutions in the city.
/ Its lines embrace 40 miles of wire
| stretched over 300 poles, and extending
into all the leading business houses of the
city, placing the fire and police ana all
| the departments of the city in instant
| communication, and connecting resi-
dences and offices from Anderson street
to the Bay, and extending from Tybee to
the Ogeechee canal.
n MORNING NEWS reporter climbed
the dingy stairs leading up to the Ex-
change headquarters yesterday, and OPEN
/ ing the door walked in past
the ''switch" board. at which
were seated two young ladies'
I with curious apparatus, which the re-
porter was told was 'head telephone"
covering one ear like muff. "hellOing',
in answer to invisible voices coming in
over the wires from all directions, and
changing the ''plugs" set in holes in the
switchboard to torn connections between
the communicating stations. Manager
Griffith was quietly seated at his desk by
window and arose as the reporter adj
vanced.
BUSY as usual, see,'' remarked the
scribe.
'No, sir. The busiest part of the day is
over with us, and we are taking a rest for
few hours; BUT sit down and see what
we have got here"
you see," continued Mr.. Griffith, "this
is the dinner hour for most of the business
men, and we will have little to do from
now until O'Clock. In fact, the greater
part Of the business of the day is over
and the operators will have 'let up from
now on"
''What are your busiest hours ?"
From 10 O'Clock in the morning until
and In the afternoon"
"Why between these hours?"
"Well, you see, business generally
opens between and 100 clock, and every
body is getting ready for the days work.
Then our work begins here. At12O'clock
and up till half past 1 and the banks do
great deal of business, and sometimes
we are kept on the jump to keep all our
stations in communication. Then be-
tween , and 3 O'Clock is the dullest hour
OF the day"
Glow many operators are required to
manage the eXchangeT'
1.-The day force consists of three young
ladies, of which Miss Gertrude William
son is the chief. At Z O'Clock the day
force goes off duty, and the night opera
tor takes charge. In addition to the Op-
orators there is the inspector and the wire
men. wn0 have charge Of the wires and
stations"
care there many calls at night!"
every few after IL O'Clock. At that
hour the business of the day for us is con-
sidered over, and from then until five
o'clock we do not average more than ten
calls night during the month";
''W That stations are most used at night p
''The Police Barracks and the Police
station on the Ocean Steamship wharyes,
the MORNING News and tie railroad Of
fee stations are those most used. Occa-
siOnally we are rung up in answer to
messages for physicians and on other bust
ness, but the chief service is among the
stations have already named"
''Do you receive many calls from sta
tiOns in private residencesW
Frequently, during the day, but the
night calls are very few. The stations in
the residences of Superintendent Fleming
and General Manager Haines, of the Sa-
vannah, Florida and Western Railway,
are probably more used than any Others"
"What is the average number of con-
nectiOns made per day?'
"About 5000. This of course is an esti-
mate based upon our monthly report. 1t
must be remembered that the greater part
/ of our work is done on week days, as the
/ Sunday business amounts to but little"
/ "YOu will see," added Mr.. Griffith,
/ that 5000 is the average number of calls,
! DuJ Jlefe are TWO STATIONS III connection
1 with each ether. and the 5000 calls repre-
I sent a conversation between 5000 people"
/ The reporter glanced around the room,
4 which perhaps would hold from fifty to
/ seventy-fve people, and tried to imagine
/ it crowded with the 5000 whose voices go
i over the wires and through the ears of the
/ operators every twenty-fOur hours.
/ "The statement is little large" added
/ Mr.. Griffith, remarking the reporters as
! constituent, ''but it shows how people
have learned to depend upon the telephone
| and how general has become its use"
''Do you believe that it will ever come
/ into general use as a means of communi-
! cation for long distances"
''In many places in the North, where
towns are adjacent to each other, or only
/ few miles apart, county systems are in
/ operation, but in the South the distances
/ are too great and the cost Of erecting lines
is too heavy to insure any profit in a gen.
/ eral exchange"
At this moment a call for Manager
interrupted the conversation, and the re-
porter withdrew from the room where a
hundred people had been in conversation
with each other while he had been talk.
ing, and yet not sound of their voice haC
been heard save the clicking of the appa
raUus and the ''hello'' of the operators.