The Savannah morning news., 1900-12-16
IT'S PuT TO MANY USES.
now THE NUMBER or TELEPHONE
CALLS VARIES DURING THE DAY.

the Ttme Business IL Transacted
la savannnh-Low Tide u at $3.50
O'Clock In the Morning, when for
Halt Hour or More There l. Lit
tie DOING at the Exchanges.
butchers Are the first to wake An
the Morning From 10 90 II
O'clock the Operators Are busiest.
Company, Tells How the Phone L.
Used.
The number Of calls over the telephone
systems q Savannah an ris an * client
me. hid o. determl ing when the business
o. the merchants AM 9th rs Is done The
tide Of telepa. mic conversation Gibbs and
flows with the varying activities OF the
hours o. the DAY and night
Between and O'Clock In the morning
the number % calls reaches SIS lowest
point a, that hour good citizens and bad.
except those who have 10 De awake and
burglars. are ell asleep and the operators
az the exchanges have but little 70 do
Abo1r O'Clock there Is an increase tn
the number Of calls. though tho reason
for @ Is not readily apparens. Along about
40 the butchers begin 20 wake from their
siumbers and they call up the packing
houses and order their suppl IS for the
day.
From O'Clock on there Is a steady and
rapid increase In the use OF the telephone
All over The city there ere scattering
calls Tor telephone communication and
az O'Clock the business Of IN, day r. BE-
ming 10 require add onal operators
aus more concentrated attention a. the
exchanges.
AZ O'Clock the housewives begin 70
order meat from the but hers and grocer
!cs from the grocers. and within half an
hour the business men. Ia one calling or
another, are reaching their offices and
h1nE.rg up their coafs Ter the day
They get down % real buslress between
$50 and 3 o'c.ock ara between 30 and II
the highwater mark in the number Of
conversations over the wire Is reached
Then business an over the city Is az its
ferecst and clam 1rous d .mands for 4-li-44
ana other combinati as Of numerals arc
made upon the operators Between Il ana
2 o'clock the number Of calls per hour
does not greatly vary. but az 2 when
business savannah goes home 70 dinner
or luncheon. there la a sudden luli II
continues until nearly o'clock. when the
business men begin again 70 reach their
offices
Betwdtn 40 ana $50 IN the afternoon
the telephones are kept as busy almost
as they are az any other time during the
day Abow this time the business for
the doy IS being closed IN. orders are
hurried IN and tire use Of the phones l.
IN constant requlsit on A. s O'Clock the
use OF The phones by business houses
ceases almost com nletely
Put from the residence sections % tNe
city there Is new demand that sun e
almoef 20 on the void Perhaps Il & b.
cause the wearied business or p-ofas-
s'ona' man now finds himself AZ leisure
and In a position 70 appreciate the a'trac-
lions Of a conversation n long distance
hat so many 81 these occur. At any rate.
it is not until n O'Clock there IS any
marked decrease In the number OF these
calls
At II the tide begins 10 ebb with very
great ranidity. After mat hour the calls
are principally FOR phvsicians or ior so ne
OF the railroad offices After Midnight
there is SIN more profound stil ness.
broken only by these emergency calls and
1 an occasional demand from the Morning
News for Double s." the number OF the
phones az the police barracks and toe
hospitals. ran Odd offices and hotels.
Z
varied purposes the phone IS
I put." said Mr. r. n. Polk
general manager OF the Georgia
/ Telephone Company. There are some
/ persons on our list who ask 10 be calied
I every morning at a stated hour. and they
are reused with a punctuahty that rivals
/ that o. -'e alarm clock AS che telephone
bell continues 70 ring until q IS answered
/ there Is no chance for the drowsy to roll
] h. cot
up and answer the call. and once up he
| Is likely 20 stay up. IL beats che alarm
! clock system an to pieces
/ Every now and then the night opera
! tors are asked 10 find out " one Of the
night trains Is on time and 20 call a sub
/ scriher IN time 60 reach IL. She calls up
I the station gets the Information about
/ the train and II II happens 20 be an hour
/ late. gives the subscriber that much long
/ 81 TO sleep
AS YOU have noticed the calls during
! he late hours OF the night are not very
/ frequent. but occasionally this state OF
/ affairs II changed IN \ tricc. This han
pens when there Is an alarm OF fire tn
! The business section, and every subscriber
I who Is Interested IN building anywhere
/ near the box sounded becomet anxious to
/ know what Is ahre. The insurance agents
I feel q Ike interest IN the matter. and 81
I sometimes happens that for a iittle while
I the service is congestei In a few min
I utes the excitement wears on and the
dun mono,ony Of these midnight hours be
I gins again"
/ Mr.. Polk said that twenty years ago
\ when he FIRST entered the telephone busl-
I ness q was considered quite a good days
! work for an operator TO make 30 counec-
/ tons. The primitive appliances OF that
| period were exceedingly cumbersome, AMI
I the operator walked a bout nve miles, from
| ore end OF the room TO the other. IN the
I course OF his days labor. with modern
/ apparatus & is possible 20 make 20 con
rectlons an hour though 90 probably
l s about as many as can be handled prom
I erly by a single operator. Often. how
{ ever, during the busy hours Of the day.
! ,li5 atMheF Is exceeded