Walker Lake bulletin. (Hawthorne, Nev.) 1883-1926, 1902-01-24
WOMEN TELEPHONISTS.
Their Superiority to Men Is a Question
of Vocal Chords.


Their Superiority to Men Is Question
of Vocal Chords.
In Its decision to employ girls as tele-
phone operators the British postoflice
has submitted to the inevitable.
If ever nature created a monopoly In
a profession, she did SO when she en-
dowed girls with the voices they pos
sess.
In lands as diverse in custom as Rou-
mania and America, Italy and Eng
land, men yield place to women as tel
ephonlsts. Even In the land of the
Gelsha this natural advantage reveals
itself, and the rapidly growing tele-
phone service of Japan is stated en-
tirely by women. Germany has re-
jected women as telegraphlsts. but ad-
mits their superiority over men as telc-
phonists.
The proprietorship of the profession
Is dependent mainly upon one anatomi-
cal character, viz, the length of the
yoealsehords. This prime character is
supported and REINFORCED by num-
ber of subsidiary qualities, but 1t con-
stltutes in itself the indisputable claim
which women have to superiority over
men as telephonists.
The vocal chords of woman are con-
siderable shorter than those of a man.
AS a result the voice has n higher
pitch The telephone diaphragm re-
spends more accurately to the higher
pitched voice, the magnetic disturb
ances are more rapid, and, therefore,
more potent, and the currents trans
mitted to the remote station lose less
In transmission. Until some method Is
devised for equalizing the value of the
sonorous waves set up by the longer,
slower vibrating chords of men, and the
shorter, more rapidly vibrating chords
of women, this primary character rem
ders womens position secure In the
profession of telephonist.
But there are other less important
characteristics which aid in securing
erage woman speaking, and compare
her with an average man of her own
class, you will notice the following
among other things: Her enunciation
of the words Is better. There is
lesser tendency to cut the ends of
words, or to drop the voice and num-
BILE the examinations, than is displayed
by her male companion. Her choice of
words, too, Is better, and there is
natural purity of diction that Is dis
tinctive. She will use larger percen-
tage of the short, crisp, homely Anglo
Saxon words, and show an avoidance
of abstract, Latin-derved words. All
this helps in conversation upon tele-
phone.
In telephone exchanges, too, the ner-
vous organization of women helps
them. They are more patient Qet tele-
phone subscribers say what they WILD,
and less likely to suffer from prolonged,
monotonous work. They are not so
readily responsive to the effects of ner-
vous strain. Perhaps 1t would be bet
ter to say they do not feel nervous
strain under circumstances where the
more highly strung male becomes ner-
vous and restiye.
These are few of the causes that
contribute to the superiority of women
as telephonists, and it will be obvious
that they are not likely to be ousted
unless some new and important modi-
fication of the telephone is invented.
The Postal Union has in 1t forty-seven
administrations, and of this number
thirty-five employ women as telephon-
lists. In addition to this, all the large
telephone companies in Europe and
America employ women.-London Mail.