Santa Fe daily New Mexican. [volume] (Santa Fe, N.M.) 1885-1897, 1894-05-15
HELLO. CENTRAL!"
Inauguration of Santa FEES New Tele-
phone System-A Great Con-
yenience to the Bust
ness Public.

The capital city at last has telephone
system that citizens may feel proud of.
Last July Messrs. e. B. Cartwright and
I. Sparks started in upon the the task of
supplying a 'long felt want" by construct
ing here telephone system, and after
overcoming many obstacles they to-day
have the satisfaction of knowing that
they are now on the winning side.
No longer will the housewife, in whose
homo is telephone, tire herself out by a
long walk down town to order her gro
ceries. The Inauguration of the ''helo"
system marks an era in the advancement
of Santa Fe and the completion of it is a
cause of satisfaction to every business
man.
There are twenty-five miles of wire
strung and up to noon to-day there we're
thirty instruments In place. The COM
pany has orders for seventy-four tele-
phones, but only s1xty-eight have arrived
and these will be in place by tomorrow
noon.
visit to the office of the company, in
the Lamy block, is we'll worth the time of
anyone. The switchboard, made by the
Utica Fire Alarm & Telegraph company,
is presided over by Arthur Hurt and
Willie Hogle, two bright youths, who are
rapidly learning the business of connect
ing There is an annunciator attached to
the switchboard which obviates the
necessity of giving more than one num-
Der; thus if No. Is wishes to connect with
No. 81, it is only necessary to give the
latter number.
The rates are S. month per instru-
ment. and this is decidedly lower rats
than has obtained heretofore in the large
cities. Under the Bell monopoly the
rate in most towns and cities was $50
year.
These instruments were made by the
Western Telegraph company and are so
constructed that conversation can be
carried on in whispers for long distance,
this was demonstrated yesterday when
whispered conversation was held between
the brewery and the central office.
The company has placed phonogra
in the office, with collection of 100 mu-
steal pieces, for the benefit of its patrons.
The instrument is SO arranged that it can
be attached to the telephone, and thus
those having the time to spare, may call
up the central Office and instead of talk
ing through the phone may listen to
musical selection. The novelty is one
that is sure to attract the ladies.
To those not accustomed to it the tele-
phone is a hard thing to handle, and
therefore a few instructions may prove
of value.
When you wish to talk, touch the little
black button, ring the bell, take the re-
ceiver down, place it to your ear, put
your mouth close to the transmitter and
give the number you wish to be connected
with in clear and distinct voice, but do
not shout. Patrons should not expect too
much of the company for the immediate
present, for it should be borne in mind
that the operators are new at the bust
ness. But they are learning fast ana will
soon be thoroughly conversant with the
details of the business. A list of the
number of each telephone will, in all prob
ability, be published in to-morrow's issue
| of the New MEXICAN and when all the in
struments are in place each patron will
| be furnished card containing the name
| of each subscriber with the number OF
their instrument. This card should be
posted above the phone 80 that one may
tell at glance the number to call for.
The Office will be open each day in the
week from clock in the morning until
midnight.