The Helena independent. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1875-1943, 1892-07-12
MUST BIZ 4 NICE GIRL.
Or She Can't Hold I Job In 4
Central Telephone
Station.
why Boys. Young Widows and
Old Maids Proved to be
Total Failures.
Person FOR Efiicient Service
~ Central

The tslspAons girl may not be educated
but she mast be nice, as they SAY In tn
south, and must be possessed Of . mediur
Gfada,of intsili9snos. She must be able I
write ! letter. make q clear statement
rood Enelish, hold her tongue, keep he
ssnpsf under svsry provosation, and civ
hst undivided attention to the business o
tAe oficA.
Any dsfsct In speech or hearing woul'
nscsssarily disqunlify her for the work
Tact and Judgment are indispensable, an
lacking one Of the othsr she will breal
Down il ! very short time. for nothing 81
quickly develops : pugnaoious tendency a.
service At ! public telephone.
Fifteen years ago. when the instrument
Was introduced for general service, the tel
ophone companies employed boys between
tho ages of 16 and 10, with results that
Wsre first disturbing. then disoouraging,
and finally threatened to be destructive to
The interests Of the company.
Inoosgant and emphatic stress was laid
upon the necessity for absolute civility of
speech on the part of the boys. Terms of
expression were reduced 10 the soul of
breyity. 20 that the language of the office
NJ ~ OuoAJ AAoAosy AA0DAcs - "A NSA-
veEsation over the wires was prohibited.
Rules In letters OF brilliant hue and for
midnble size were posted in conspicuous
places forbidding the operator adding a
syllable more than was necessary to answer
ths slbssriber's question.
AZ : further means of preserving har-
mony and protecting business interests.
monitor-opsrators were stationed in every
section TO lend ear to the sayings and do
ings Of the bows.
But the average boy is no respecter of
persons. and when an irritable money bag
OF I crusty old bank president, impatient
Of delay. n wholly ignorant Of the war
among the wires, was &C forge+ful of ri
chssse oblipe AZ 10 dilate on 'infernal"
thinR, 'lazy puppy and the like. the i'm
pulsive youth quietly but distinctly told
The opulent old party to take himself to the
place Col. InRersoll says lis not"
4. Such fragrant violations of the rules re-
suited In immediate dismissal; but not
withdrawing similar offences were of daily
occurrence and necsssstated the employ
ment OF . relay force as large as the origi-
nal stan Of operators, says ELECTRICITY.
Everything that could be done by the
company to inculcate a spirit Of forbear-
ance was done; but boys will DO boys, and,
unable to knock down the man at the other
end who CAV them any Sass" they gles-
fully blew him up ana took the cOnse-
ouenoss. To employ the services of men of
mature judgment and business sagaoitv |
would have entailed greater expense than |
the corporation cared to stand. and az q
last resort what was deemed . risky expert |
ment was tried; the telephone girl was in.
tYoduosd
AZ nrst she was an old girl, quiet, sedate
md thoughtful. with a knowledge Of human
nature acquired through lost youth and the
scars Of experience. She came in modest
gray and melancholy black. Her WAYS
we're kittenish and also motherly. She
brought . piece Of soap. a piece Of comb
and I piece Of looking glass. done up in a
paper box.
Under tho influence Of her gentle pres
ence at the switchboard, her fingers at the
plugs and cords, her lips at the transmitter
and her ear At the telephone. discord
dropped to q minimum. There was no
more swearing or blowing up. no back
tall" and no serious complaints or threats
Oh the part Of subscribers to withdraw pat
Tonage, but the service was still but a
mediocre success.
The girls were stiff. They lacked MALE
ability and dexibility. They did not seem
TO adapt themselves to the requirements,
BY degrees spriRhtly. girlish girls were tax
en- the force. also as an experiment., and
they "caught ON" 80 readily and swung into
line SO naturally that all unconsoiously
they solved the problem of efficient tsle-
phone service. From that time the decline
Of telephone widows and old maids began,
and q decided preference was shown for
girls less than rs INC more than 16 years of
AGE.