The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1897-01-16
TO TELEPHONE
SUBSCRIBERS,

BeueVlng that knOWleQge OF the man.
ner in which switches or calls from one
subscriber to another are made by the
young lady operators of the company will
be interesting and OF benefit to our sub
scribers, we give in this article, IN Ian
guage as free from technicalities as sach
description will admit, the means and
method by which all calls are made and
answered.
We would first like to say that no tele-
phone system now exists or will ever. be
devised which will be either automatic or
free from constantly recurring troubles
A gas company, water company or an
electro light company, after its system is
once installed, has but TO pump supplies
into the mains and its patrons tap off
such quantity as may be desired. Every
telephone subscriber, however. must have
an individual medium of supply in the
shape of separate pair OF wires running
from his residence or office on exposed
poles (where they must be protected from
the electric light currents and induction)
thence underground through frequently
miles OF streets to the central or one of
the branch offices. Here they are equipped
with number of small devices, all OF
which are essential, and are then terml-
mated at the switchboard within reach OF
the operator.
Remem Der further that all this mechan-
Ism, which is necessarily very fine, is con-
stantly in motion during the greater part
OF the waking hours, and to a limited ex-
tent all night. This continues 365 day s
in he year, so it is apparent that The wear
and tear upon the larger part of the sys-
tenn, which is common to the use OF all
SUBSCRIBERS, Is very great, and in spite OF
the utmost care and unremitling atten-
ton, Interruptions in subscribers circuits
Will sometimes occur.
The telephone statistics of the United
States, which have been carefully kept, in
dictate that San Francisco has the most
rapid service OF any large city, and the
service troubles are less We make no
com parison with European cities as but
few of them make any effort to give quick
connections, and the plants, as a rule, be-
ing operated by various governments, lit
tie attention is paid to complaints.
SWITCHING APPARATUS.
The switch board, on which the sub
scribers' lines terminate at the central and
branch offices, is a long upright structure
divided into sections of about three feet
wide, each section being the end of from
fifty TO 100 subscribers, according as the
lines are frequently usei or otherwise.
Each pair OF lines terminates in asmall
shutter (the Office of which is to fly up
and expose a number), a minute mean
descent lamp and an orifice into which a
plug can be inserted. Each section is also
provided with a large number OF plugs
tached by flexible cords TO pairs of wires
running TO each section OF every other
switch board in the City, whether in the
main or branch Office.
Two young ladies sit at each section
wearing very light telephone at one ear
| and having just in front OF their faces
| suspended telephone transmitter, thus
| leaving both hands free.
| One of the young ladies answers only
the signals of subscribers who call the
| office, with whom she talks direct, and
| the other connects to and rings up these
same subscribers when they are called for
| by some one else. Each young lady at
tends strictly to her particular duty and
does not interfere with the work of her
associate.
METHOD OF SWITCHING.
A subscriber takes his telephone from
the hook and puts 1t to his ear Instantly
| the miniature lamp attached to his line on
! the office switchboard lights and the little
shutter flies UP, disclosing his number
| The young lady at once inserts plug into
| his line and says Number" Upon re-
| ceiving the same she Immediately con-
| meets with tho operator having the sub
scriper called for, telling her the mum Der
! wanted, and the latter completes the con-
nection and rings the subscribers bell
| The act of ringing the subscribers bell
always lights a small lamp, which con-
| tinues to burn until the telephone called
| for is taken off the hook; it then goes out
| When a subscriber terminates a tele-
! phone conversation and hangs up his
| phone red lamp lights in the office, and
| the young lady pulls out the plug and the
toh io finiy nod r-Jfh h..
| hearing any OF the conversation except
when she comes on the line to ask for the
number
| All of this is very simple, and # the
| calls were evenly distributed over the
| working hours of the day. the young lady
| operators would be happy in their calling
and our su bscribers would commend our
service without STINT but unfortuna tely
at times a number of subscribers, some
times five, sometimes ten, whose lines ter
| inmate in the same section will have &C.
casion to call the office at precisely the
same instant and then it is the young
lady, unless she is very experinced and
cool headed becomes agitated and con-
fused, for she knows that the impatient
gentleman whom she answers last, al
| though only thirty or iorty seconds may
elapse, is apt to find fault. with the delay.
In order to meet this difficulty we have
what is called the overflow switch board,
and if the calls in a section come in so
rapidly that it is impossible for the girl to
handle them, she simply plugs those to
which she cannot attend into this over
flow through lines provided for the pur-
pose, and here they spread out among a
number of young ladies who sit all day
waiting for such splashes from the busl-
ness waves. After reading this a sub
scriber will be conscious that his call is
OVERT we'd by slight delay in the in
curry for the number anu two or three
sharp clicks which precede it. From the
overflow board the process is the same as
from the subscribers sections Just ex-
planned.
Now it is fact that ninety out of every
100 calls are received, connected up and
disconnected without any loss OF time
whatever the other ten come to US in
times of rush and are subject to a slight
delay. Furthermore, most of our opera
tors will get little confused if the rushes
are long continued, and perhaps make the
wrong connections, neglect the signal to
disconnect. or make an error in the num-
Der. If this occurs frequently with the
same girl we have to dispense with her
services, and it is sometimes pitiful, Tor it
| is usually those that try hardest and have
urgent need of the positions who are most
troubled in this way. Our best operators
leave from time to time and we have a
class of new ones constantly in practice,
but great many never acquire needful
GOODNESS and seif-reliance.
1t occurs to us that many of our patrons
who may be required to wait for half a
minute will do SO more patiently if they
| 81 Il ,xx1 H.