The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1902-01-06

Cap1tal for Their Backing-Work-
ings of the New System.
In yesterdays New York Herald APP
peared an interesting article on the
passing of the telephone girl. The
passing" is made possible, or rather
imperative, by the automatic telephone
exchange. The article Is extremely in
teresting of itself, but 1t is of especial
local interest, because of the fact that
Scranton plays an important part in
the automatic telephone.
First the article; then the local
flavor:
."Hello Ccntral' was one OF the nineteenth
century's pet phrases, with its answering cry, in
dulcet or sharp tones, from some feminine threat
far away, what number, pleaser' But "IIello,
Ccntral!' now that the twentieth century is
here, promises soon to be phrase merely historic.
Science has made n stride forward. The "hello
girl,' presiding genius of the telephone ever since
its installation. must seek fresh employment be.
fore long. For there has arrived, and is now i'll
practical, successful operation grlless, central.
less telephone system, with which, with few
twists of a curious dial any one get the
number he wants, directly, in few seconds
No delay, no maddcning reply, They're busy,
III let you know" turks in the recesscs of this
new instrument. No third person sits in the
tantalizing somewhere, ready TO "listcn i'm if
she plcascs to cut off the hurried man or the
hurred woman at will, to jugge with wires, put
in and pull out plugs and when the subscriber
is driven TO the verge OF desperation not nfrc-
quently to ''talk back
HAS A PRIVATE WIRE.
On the contrary. lie who "calls up now. if lie
b, IN fla linn nf tbn foln, ,,l,,Nn,
private wire in his hand.
He slips finger tip into one Of the ten little
holes along the curving sides of this metal dial
on the telephone box (the holes are numbered
to o. having first taken the receiver off its hook
lie jerks the dial around sharply until it catches
Swung on a pivot the dial moves easily and
quickly. 1t moves back to its place automatic
ally
If 2,741 is the number to be called, the man
inserts his finger in the No. 9 hole and makes the
first movement. For Nos. :, and l he twists
the dial in the same way.
As the disk finally comes back to its starting
point he presses a button just below At the
other end the bell is already ringing The con-
nection has been made, the person called in four
to five seconds.
Had the other end of the wire been "busy,"
the would have heard, after he had gone
through these rapid motions, faint buzzng
sound. Automatically, again, does this telephone
announce the fact that any other wire is
gagged. Otherwise, if the finger is put into the
right holes, the proper number is secured IN
falliblv. The delicate, complicated, perfect me-
chanism behind it all never fails. Operated on
mathematical principals, it is surer even than
human hands.
A big, bare room, filled with rows of high
keyboards of glistening metal, is tie substitute
for central A strange Central this, in.
deed! 1t is nothing but machine room, with
single electrician listening to the constant clicks.
These begin at one row of boards they are echoed
on to a second, thence to third.
NO OPERATORS.
There is no sign Of a petticoat or any sort of a
telephone operator. The man in charge has sim.
ply the task of keeping this machine in order.
saturday night he, with the clerks in the front
office and the manager, locks up the exchange.
not 10 return until Monday morning. And
through seven nights in the week and all day
Sunday the exchange clicks away, the service
goes on without hitch, with no human hands
10 aid it,
The banks of instruments in the room click
away, subscribers call each other as they please.
the ''wipers" move up and down the SOLICITORS"
The telephone girl is truly passing. She is no
more a modern necessity.
Fall River, Mass, has the most complete, larg-
est and most practically operated OF all the girl.
less telephone systems OF America, thong it is
closely pressed by those OF New Bedford, nearby,
and Augusta, Ga. The latter cities have each
more than five hundred subscribers on these au
tomato wires.
Fall River has seven hundred, however, and APP
probation of this service i'll this New England
mill town is rapidly growing. Yet these three
cities are but few of those that operate telc-
phones OF the new order with no girl at ''cen-
trail"
Geneva, \. y; albuquerque, y. NJ; Albert
Lea, Mimi; Auburn, n V. Madison, Wis.
Princeton y. j.; Ithaca, \. Y, and even the
far distant wilds OF Skaguay Alaska, all have
automatic telephones
But the going of the telephone girl is on no
such small scale as this short list would indicate
The German government has experimental, and
successfully, with the new invention. 1t has had
trial set OF keyboards for 400 subscribers work