The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1885-05-26
OUR TELEPHONE SYSTEM.

A travelling correspondent of the Minneapolis
(Minn.) Tribune, after making some remarks
thatlead the reader to believe that the telephone
system in his own city is very imperfect has
complimented the management of the exchange
in this city very highly. He says:
An expert from England has recently been in
speeding the different exchanges of the country,
and in his report to his superiors he pronounces
the Indianapolis telephone system the smoothest
and most complete in the world. Hence my de-
sire to visit it. and hence this ready result OF my
tramp. The Indianapolis telephone embraces
thousand subscribers and one thousand
wires-no six, five, four, three or even two sub
scribers being allowed upon line Hence one
ring summons the subscriber and every ring
signifies that the subscriber who hears it is
wanted, and he alone. He is taught by the rules
of the Office to respond instantly on penalty or
lax response when his summons comes---a pun
lshment he is ready enough to escape The OPP
Grating room is manned by thirteen young ladies
and two supervising monitors, who sit behind
them watching their movements with an eagle
eye, and with connections enabling them to
listen without the operators knowledge to any
conversation that may be going on between the
operator and the subscriber. Filtration, per-
sonalitles, impertinence, want of dexterity or
promptness conversation other than the mono
syllables required to make connections, talk
between the operators in the room, is strictly
Improper language by subscriber forfeits his
connection with the exchange An ill-tempered
response by the operator fOrfets her place at the
board. A discharge for this cause. and a seve-
rance of the subscribers connection, took place
the day before visited the exchange. The ut
most care is exercised to make no mistakes.
Wrong connections are scarcely ever made.
The crossing of lines is prevented by poles
from forty-five to sixty feet high, and the
taut stringing of the wires at distances
cYtf1i 70 ffna mall
tact. When, however, this occurs, or for
any reason the telephone fails to work WELL the
promptness of the repair is marvellous. On the
day / visited the exchange but two complaints
had been made, and the record of these and the
time required to remedy the difficulty was shown
me- In one case the complaint was made at 500,
and the telephone was put in order and working
at S.3l-or In eleven minutes. In the other case
the complaint was made at 9:lO, and the diff
Guilty removed at 935--or in twenty-five min
utes. For ong-distance complaints horses are
used, and the Inspector repairer fairly flies to
the rescue of his impaired telephone. There is
corps OF telephone repalrers, another OF wire
adjusters, another looking after groundings from
is this system that there is an average of but
fifteen complaints daily to 1000 subscribers,
remedied in as many minutes. La Minneapolis
the reverse is the case-l 900 complaints to every
fifteen subscribers remedied in many hours.
But the chief beauty of the Indianapolis sys-
tenn is the promptness with which calls are
answered and connections made. The average
time of responses to calls is less than six
seconds, and of the connection from ten to fif
teen. | not only confirmed this record by
watching the operators for hour, but / tried
several telephones in different parts of the city,
and promptness of the response and the rapidity
of the connection fairly took my breath away.
The subscribers themselves have caught the in
lection Observing the enterprise and superior
ity of the Indianapolis system, they have
natural pride in encouraging it, and they re-
spond to call with gratifying celebrity The
operations of the system are, therefore, simply
delightful. During my stay in indianapolis my
mind regained its accustomed serenity, my pulse
its normal regularity-n1y stomach its healthy
tone-and | so far got the better of his satanic
majesty the Minneapolis chief operator, as to
resolve with Christian fortitude and fervor that
[ would never ask connection with his ex-
change SO long as he occupied the place of honor
in the system.
The switch board in use in Indianapolis is the
new and perfected Western electric. The girls
work the telephones which are adjusted to the
head by band like crown, and they remain
in place without the aid of the hand, the connec-
tion being formed by loose-wound wire coming
down from the ceine sufficiently slack to offer
no impeachment to locomotion for several feet,
and affordng the operator the of both hands
for making connections. The operator stands
while answering calls and making connections,
but sits il an opportunity occurs during the
cessation of calls-her eyes, however, constantly
d
watches for mouse. The average number of
calls in this exchange per day is 10000, and the
number answered by each operator about 900.
The busiest boards average many more than this
number, the girls exhibiting a dexterity and
agility in manipulating their cords and stops
which is simply marvellous. An operator
that averages more than six seconds in an
swering calls aud making a connection, is
considered of no account in Indianapolis,
whereas one that averages less than from six to
eight minutes is considered saint in Minneapo-
lis. The result is that complaints for lack of
prompt service are rarely known among Indian
apolis subscribers. The chief operator told us
he had not had one in two months-and, in fact,
never expected them. Complaints of this sort
were, in fact, scarcely known factors in the
system
The price of service in indianapolis is $50 per
year for business connections, and $50 for resi-
dences. A slight additional charge is made for
long distance connections.
| have thus given you brief description of a
perfectly working telephone system. / have done
it reluctantly because have peculiar interest
in the prosperity of the home of my adoption;
and if this account of telephone paradise
doesn't depopulate our city and double the pepu-
ation of the city of Indianapolis, it will be be-
cause his satanic majesty, the chief operator of
the Minneapolis system has SO strong a hold upon
his helpless victims that they are his, body and
49,; g. 4fI,x- 80