Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1892-08-10
CENTRAL" IS REAL MAD.
Her Services Are Likely to be Dispens
With,

Her Services Are Likely to be Dispensed
With.
From the New York Advertiser
''Say, girls, said short-haifed, curly headed
blonde to several of her companion operators
in the telephone Office on Cortlandt stree,
Saturday, sit looks as il we will have to give I'D
our business Of making telephone subscribers
miserable and turn our attention to the type
writer for living
A chorus Of "Why SOP came from the per.
spring faces of the pretty operators in the
speakers vicinity.
Didn't you girls see by the morning news
papers that some crank has invented a machine
that will do away with central office operators
altogether" queried the indignant little
blonde. Some of them had and some Of them
hadn't. For the benefit of those who hadn't
read the startling news the indignant one
started in to explain it. Subscribers rang and
rang and shouted, Hello, Centralr' but they
were allowed to bury themselves in graves of
profanity until the somewhat hazy explanation
of the new invention had been made.
'Wel, you see, girls" said the Disguised one
as she pushed back her dripping curls from her
face and gracefully mopped it with a dainty
lace handkerchief, "a man by the name Of
Stronger, think it is, who must be a brute,
has"
''Of course he is,' shouted the excited audi.
ence in chorus.
''Has invented machine that will enable
subscribers to call up whoever they want with
out consulting us. Did you ever hear of such
a thing?"
A few wads Of chewing gum were shifted to
the other side of several shapely mouths The
concerted action was followed by another
chorus: well, l should say not The very
idea"
~, - -, H.,
needle revolving over its surface by means of
some kind Of electrical magnets. Near the
periphery Of the dial (whatever that isl are the
ends OF the wires from the circuit and the
needle makes and breaks connections with
these. The needle, which works automatically,
is governed by the operator at the telephone.
''Placed on top Of the battery board of every
telephone is a row of keys. The first is re
lease key used to throw the telephone out of
circuit. The next key calls for the unit num-
beers, the next tens, the next hundreds and the
next thousands, and SO on. Where the SUBJ
scriber wants to call up a telephone-say SIS,
for instance-the release key is first pressed.
The hundred key is then pressed three times,
the ten key once and the unit kew five times
As the buttons are touched the needle of the
dial registers the number" said the little lee
turer, as she gasped for breath and again
mopped her forehead with the dainty piece Of
lace.
swell. declare" was the next chorus.
A red-haired. freckled girl, who had listened
attentively to the description of the new inven-
ton, but had not taken an active part in the
ejsculatory chorus, then spoke up:
apparently we are booked for q discharge
before long. girls, but we can comfort ourselves
with one thought, even in this hot weather.
Subscribers are in our power yet.''
"Well, should say they are" chorused the
injured innocents.
Telephone bells were ringing at every station
watched over by the indictments by this time.
The curly haired blondes started to hum, .'Siup
Again, Nightingale" The others took up the
chorus. When the song was finished they took
pity on worn-out subscribers and condescended
to connect them with the numbers they wanted
after three or four wrong connections.
II you don't get what you ask for over the
telephone now you will know the reason WHY.