Chicago eagle. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1889-19??, 1898-11-26
NEW SCHEME M ,PHONES.

within n few weeks tho users of al
telephones In the business district oi
Chicago will cease to be lmpnticn,
crank turner's. That Is to say. instead
or having to make u rotary motion with
the right arm when they want to call
the operator. after the manner Of an
organ.grln,icr. they will simply have Ia
raise I'll" receivers from the hooks. and
"Centrar Will do the rest. This change.
which is u development of the present
express service. ana covers MI tcle.
phones within the ccntral part of the
city. has been promised by the Chi,M.
90 Telephone Company for some
months. AMI active steps are now being
taken to redeem tho pledge.
As u starter the company Is now ~.
moving It's central Office from head.
| quarters at Washington AMI Franklin
streets to tn" second floor of the chi.
cago Title and Trust building. 1O,i
Washington street. The name of the
new exchange will 10 Central" AMI Its
operators will control 5000 wires. The
work Of removal win occupy all of the
present week, rs II amounts to pr,,r.
tically u complete new installation of
modern apparatus known rs the "rcluy
multiple switchboard" system.
Eighty operators will bc employed at
tn" new central exchange. The latter
will cover One-half Of the business dis
trict. AMI the other half viii he COW
cred 10y u new Harrison" exchange,
which IL to be installed within u few
weeks, ar as soon rs 'C"ntrar' II In
running order. The new Harrison"
exchang" viii DO hi the Munhatt un
building on Dearborn street. south of
Van Buren,. AMI will also control about
1000 wires. As soon rs the quarters In
the Manhattan building are occupied.
the company will abandon the old IIar.
riSon exclnng" ut Harrison street and
Pacific avenue. There will br eighty
operators In the new Harrison" OK.
change.
Already the company has laid its I'M
dergro'ind cOnduits ana made all prep
aration> for connecting It's main wires
with the new West Side exchange on
Sangamon street, just south OF Madi-
son street. Here the company will
build an entirely new structure for it's
own use, AMI expects To break ground
for II shortly after the new year. The
West Side exchange will he slightly
smaller than the two South side az.
changes, controlling about 5000 wires.
and employing about fifty operators.
The present West Side exchange nj
Ashland boulevard and Madison street
win he continued 10 care for The out
lying service in the rest of The west
division.
The Increase In telephone business Is
considered phenomenal by those who
are charged with keeping pace with the
orders. In this city alone according To
General Manager Hibbard of the Chi
cago Telephone Company. the number
of individual telephones in use has in
creased 5000 during the past year. Not
only has the number of telephones in
creased, but the usage of telephones al
ready In use has increased about 30 per
cent. during the last year. The average
number of calls for a single telephone
has mounted from twenty to between
twenty-five and thirty each day. The
telephone officials say that the increase
during the last month has been greater
than in any similar period since tele.
phones were first introduced.
The main exchange will still remain
in the Chicago Telephone COmpany's
headquarters at Washington ana
Franklin streets. Here sweeping i'm
provements are also contemplated, the