The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1900-02-16
NEARLY DONE
HonoluIu's New TeIe-
phone Equipment.
viii be in Successful Operation as
Soon as Necessary Changes
Are Made.

Superintendent John Cassidy of the
Mutual Telephone Company now has
charge of system of telephony as
near perfection in every way as the
most up-to-date improvements and
methods can make it.
The new system, as furnished by the
Pacific States Telephone Company,
represented here by Mr.. Aston, one I.
of that company's electrical engineers. |
| is now an established fact in Honolu- |
lu, and in a day or two will be in per-
feet running order.
The telephone building on the cor
ner of Merchant and Alakea streets
has been fitted up to accommodate the
new system and a number of girls
have for the last few days been be-
coming familiar with the new order of
things by constant practice.
i A branch exchange is in operation
4 at Waikiki, and others will undoubt-
, eddy be established in the next few
days. The superiority of the recently
, adopted system over the old method
is well known, having been proved in
all the big cities of the Western States
as we'll as in the smaller towns.
All cause for complaints from sub
scribers will now be done away with.
None of the many little annoyances so
characteristic of the passing system
. will be encountered in the more mod
ern affair. The subscriber can now be
sure of getting an immediate answer
from the central office, whether he be
in Waikiki or next door to the tele-
phone building. As soon as he re-
leases the receiver from its holder on
his instrument the central exchange is
aware of the fact and answers him. BY
merely taking down the receiver he has
rung up Central the bother of ring
ing again and again, as was often the
case with the old system, being en-
tirely done away with.
Yesterday Superintendent Cassidy
and Mr.. Aston conducted an Advert
ser reporter through the operating
room, battery room and power room
Everything has been reduced to the ut
most simplicity and order; cables
wires, signals, batteries and instru
ments are so arranged that necessary
alterations and repairs can be made
quickly and without handling AM
other than the particular part requir
ing repair or alteration.
y
as exact as clockwork. By a system o
light and color signals the operator i
enabled, without wasting words, t.
ascertain exactly when a subscribe
commences or completes his message
whether the person called up by cen
trial has answered, and whether any
thing is wrong with the line or instru
ment. There can be no cross-talk, n
interruption and no breaking in on
| call.
I Nineteen operators and an oversee
/ will be employed, each operator seate
I before her board, the overseer havin
| a desk of his own in a position com
l manding the line of nineteen hello
J girls. Each operators board is cor
I nected with the Overseer's desk, an
1 he is cogniZant of every call and
able to hear all the talk that goes o
over the line. 1t is his business &c
her business, for it has not yet bee
= decided whether the overseer will
:, man or a woman) to see that bus
ness is strictly attended to, and pr
vent useless conversation on the pa
of the "hello" girls with subscriber:
and incidentally to discourage tel
phone fiirtations between the operator
and eligibles at the phone.
j. For the benefit of the new system
be thoroughly felt, it will be necessal
that the last vestige of the old syste
be done away with. New instrumen
must be placed with all subscriber
this will be accomplished in course
4 time Five thousand subscribers c;
, o be accommodated. Every cable co
tains forty-three wires, and the ms
lation on each wire is of differe
pattern, so that any defect can
speedily remedied, as the seat of {
n trouble is easily found.
Honolulu has certainly done WI
~ thing in adopting this system, sd
Mr. Aston, "for it embraces eve
known Improvement and modern q
vice for efficient and speedy service
Mr.. Aston expects to return to 81
a:.-..., +hn rayt A1IStralia