Daily inter mountain. [volume] (Butte, Mont.) 1881-1901, 1899-03-22
MAKING 1T PLEASANT.

New York World: SOuSa, strauss, Nine.
Patti, Jean de ~Reszke-they and a hot Of
other musicians have already been maxi
ing the dreary last hours of the telephone
girls on the night watch fly as they do
fer Their more fortunate sisters Wio spend
their evenings at the Opcra or the theater
instead of in a room in an office building,
high up. lonely. cut off from every en-
joynrent except what may be had in work.
There are telephone girls whose hours
are from I a. M, to > p. m, they are the
lucky ones: others who work from 5 p. M,
to 1 in the morning, and still others who
Stall t in then and who keep the exchanges
open until the lucky girls come back
again at I a. m.
Those who get away at 1 O'Clock in the
morning have several hours after the
rush of business in thu earlier part of the
evening when time hangs heavy-it al
ways hangs heavy for the girls who work
from l OF Z a. M; but that's another story
as kipling says.
Some of the girls sew, others read or
study, otntrs play simple games-all the
time with the receivers up to their ears,
waiting for an important or belated sub
scriber. But it is hard work passing the
time when calls get inf aqu2nt, and many
glaNces are cast lOnginS!y at the clock.
Two or three weeks ago the operator in
one of the town exchanges was striving
hard to keep awake, when there came a
ring al the telephone.
"HellO?' she said.
This is Torpkins viIIe-Tompkinsville,
! said; keep your ears open!"
Il wasn't asl2ep!" angrily retOrted the
operator. You needn'e get huffy!'
"NCthing the matter with me-" replied
Tompkinsville. Ring off if you don't
want to heal the concert"
"Concert?" was the eager rejoinder.
Keep your ears open,' was Tompkins-
ville's reply again.
RafIya tha act1,icI-l o,ntr tor oo-11
ask any particulars she heard coming
over the vie the sound of one of Sousa's
most thrilling marches. Then followed a
strauss WaltZ-my, 1t was almost as good
as being at the annual ball of the Lady
Killers Cam Chowdsr and Pleasure Club.
Then followed in rapid succession songs,
Rotations, more dance music and finally
Home, Sweet Home"
II was 12:i5 O'Clock. The concert had
been going on with Interruptions when
Subscribers had called up, for an hour.
Tfe young woman who had thus been
entertained told about it last night over
the wire.
You see, the American P~honograph
con- has its factory at Tompkins-
VILE she said. They are working at
night now. The operator down there has
friends IN the photograph works, and late
at nigh they hang the receiver of a tele-
phone near a photograph so he can hear
the music.
= He calls me up and switches me on to
the same wire; then | switch some others
on, 50 hat before we get through a doZ-
en- of the girls are listening to the music.
What did they play tonight? Oh, lots
of fine pieces-'Au Revoir,' 'The Last Rose,
of Summer CHATS a song, you know;
Gilmore Band don't know what 1t was
thay Played, Sweet Little Lady (haven't
you heard that? 1t goes like ~this'-hum-
minG).
Tine best? Well. the Charge of the
Rough Riders was just fne-you could
hear the words of command, the men
rushing forward, the bugle calls, the
shooting, the cheers, and then came The
Star-Spangled Banner and Yankee Doc
dle'-oh, it was great!
But | guess I liked When Thy Loving
Eyes Meet Mine best of all"