The Ketchum keystone. [volume] (Ketchum, Idaho) 1885-1899, 1892-04-09

NO. II.
E 3.-f,ssssEs etf ,s,tsst tGss gNG etsE1s Ii
the TELEPHONE eiat.
She Was = Riaky Experience, but She
Solved . Pushing Problem.
The telephone girl may not be
educated, but she must be nice, ~
they Say in the South, and must be
possessed ola medium grade Of in
telligence. She must be able to write
= letter, make q clear statement in
good English, hold her tongue, keep
her temper under every provoca-
ton and give her undivided atten-
ton to the business of the Office,
Any defect in speech or hearing
would necessarily disqualify her for
the work. Tact and Judgment are
indispensable, and lacking one or
the other she will break down in q
very short time, for nothing 30
quickly develops q pugnacious tend
ency as service at q public telepone.
Fifteen years ago, when the instru-
ment Was instroduced for general
service, the telephone companies
employed boys between the ages Of
Is and 19, with results that we're
first disturbing, then discouraging,
and finally threatened to be de-
structive to the interests of the
company. Incessant and emphatic
stress was laid upon the necessity
for absolute civility of speech on
the part of the boys. Terms of ex-
preston were reduced to the soul Of
brevity, 80 that the language of the
Office was humorously monosylla-
bic, and all conversation over the
wires was prohibited. Rules in let.
ters of belligerent hue and formid-
BILE size were posted in conspicuous
places, forbidding the operator to
add a syllable more than was nec-
essary to answer the subscribers
question. AS q further means Of
preserving harmony and protecting
business interests, monitor-opera-
tors were stationed in every section
to lend ear to the sayings and do
ings Of the boys.
But the average boy is no respect
er of persons, and when an irritable
money-bag or crusty old bank
president, impatient of delay and
wholly ignorant of the war among
the wires, was so forgetful Of richesse
oblige as to dilate on internal"
things, "lazy puppy and the like,
the impulsive youth quietly but
distinctly told the opulent old party
to take himself to the place Colonel
Ingersoll says sis not" Such fla
grant violations of the rules resulted
in immediate dismissal; but not
withstanding, similar ofenses were
of daily occurrence and necessitated
the employment of q relay force as
large as the original staff of OPP
orators. ~
Everything that could be done by
the company to inculcate spirit of
forbearance was done; but boys
will be boys, and unable to knock
down the man at the other end who
gave them any "sass," they glee-
fully blew him up and took the con-
sequences. To employ the services
of men Of mature judgment and
business sagacity would have en-
tailed greater expense than the COR
poration cared to stand, and as a |
last resort what was deemed risky
experience was tried; the telephone
girl was introduced.
At first she was an old girl, quiet,
sedate and thoughtful, with a knowl-
edge of human nature acquired
through lost youth and the scars Of
experience. She came in modest
gray and melancholy black. Her
ways were kittenish and also
motherly. She brought piece of
soap, u piece of comb and piece
of looking-glass, done up in paper |
box. Under the influence of her
gentle presence at the switch board,
her fingers at the plugs and cords,
her lips at the transmitter and her
ear at the telephone, discord drop
ped to minimum. There was no
more swearing or blowing up, no
"back talk" and no serious COM
plants or threats on the part of
subscribers to withdraw patronage;
but the service was still but q me-
diocre success. The girls were stiff.
They lacked malleability and fex-
ibility. They did not seem able to
adapt themselves to the require
ments. BY degrees sprightly girlish
girls were taken on the force, also
an experiment, and they caught
on" so readily and swung into line
90 naturally that, all unconsciously,
they solved the problem Of efficient
telephone service. From that time
the decline of telephone widows
and old maids began and q decided
preference was shown for girls less
than 25 and more than 16 years Of