Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1902-01-18
WATER
THE TELEPHONE GIRLS.
And Some Of the numberIess Annoyances They
Are Obliged 10 Suffer.

n walk down to central and watch the
girls a few minutes. They are a very
pleasant lot and not the demons that
thew sometimes seem to be from the
other end of the wire. If half dozen
line happen to be hopelessly out of or
der for the time being they may have
time to talk to you and give you some
points on what not to do when using
the phone. But if things are all right
they will probably just nod and go on
with their business.
You won't understand any thing at
all about what you see there unless you
happen to be an electrician. There VIII
be two or three girls sitting on high
stools with a wicked looking cOntri-
vance about their ears and their lips
pressed to a receiver suspended in mid
air. In front of them is large board
with little doors continually dropping,
which have numbers painted on them.
Then there will be big bunch of plugs
at the ends Of long cords. The girls
will be keeping up running fire OF
talk into that little continuance under
their nose while their fingers are busy
shutting up the little doors as fast as
they open and putting in the plugs here
and there or pulling them out. There
remind you of threshing machine or
saw mill according to how you spent
your youth.
Watervile central is not so very
large but it is mighty busy. Your or
ders come in through that head gear
and are translated through the fingers
of the girls If the orders come one at
a time it wouldn't be so bad, but when
an operator has to wait while two men
have a scrap for the wire and then
takes an order on the fly it is not so
= easy and it is not so pleasant for the
girl when the man who lost the wire in
the mix up gets on earth again and
gets on earth again and gets his con-
ersation steered towards central once
more. The subscribers are not sup
posed to swear but, land sakes alive, 1t
sounds sometimes as if there was q
training school for mule drivers on the
other end,
Everything else passes through CEN
trail. but the kicks stay there. Now Tor
instance: a woman suddenly finds that
she has forgotten something in regard
to a pattern for a tea wrapper that she
has just borrowed from a friend.
telephone has just been put in the
house and she remembers ali at once
about that. She has been told just how
1t works and is very proud of her knowi-
4 edge and of the fact that she has Il
l telephone. To all intents and purposes
that telephone is for her special benefit
Her husband pays so much per month
for it and kicks regularly about the
tolls that have been charged. 1t is to
be used according to her honest con-
victions just like the chatting dish she
got Christmas.
So she rushes up TO the phone, takes
n down the receiver and twists the bell
Il crank energetcally and then waits for
an answer. Seconds seem like hours
when you have that bit of hard rub
Der against your ear. Then she lays
I the receiver down 50 that she can get a
I better purchase on the bell and turns
the crank the wrong way and it comes
4 off in her fingers. That's awful! But
after much work she manages to get
3 the crank back into place and perhaps
q gets some grease on her fingers. Her
n temper has suffered considerable in the
, operation thus far. The girls over to
y central are awfully stupid and slow.
n But she finally remembers that she
z must have the receiver on the hook
h when she rings. So she put it back
gets q good grip on the bell and rings.
q Holy smoke, how she does ring! A
g regular long drawn wall of agony. Per-
III haps you hae got one like that in your
III ear when using the phone. Pleasant
r. isn't it?
r But the trouble is just commencing.
Z The irate lady drops promiscuously be
n tween two men who are trading horses.
|! She hears some one talking but they
y have no right to do that when she
e wants the line. so she gives the bell
+ another vigorous turn and somebody
+ gets another ear full The man who
Is got it last is mad He heard the re-
Z Cever come off the hook when the
lady made her first try at central and
( H. is sure it Is Mr.. Ak who is on the
/. same line and knows he got cheated
( in the last trade. He doesn't want
I anyone to know that he is trading
I. horses again.
l, After all three are mad there is n
n general mixup. Perhaps the girl Mt
T central knows what is going on or per-
= haps she doesn't. There's trouble on
| the line somewhere and she knows that
I. she will the blame anyhow, so she lets
/ things stew. But when that woman of
r the dress pattern gets her ear, Wow,
r whoop lar tar tartum! Talk about n
+ woman scorned, You ought to hear
E one emerging from telephone miXup.
I When she Of the pattern finally gets
h into communication with she who
= loaned 1t. the former has to tell the lat
i ter all about the time she had getting
q there and how the girls over to CEN
tial ought to flirt less with the mar
Il ried men and pay more attention to
\ business. At the end of half an hour
y or so they get to the pattern and it is
: all over. But perhaps the girl at CEN
4 trail has misunderstood. OF course she
I, should be mind reader, wireless
Z telegrapher. Spiritualist medium and
4 other things too numerous to mention
\ and above all things infallible. But as
3, matter of fact she isn't half of this
4 She is just an ordinary girl with nerves
y and a fair share of feeling But per-
a haps she understood that the horse
!, men had finished because they didn't
say waiting" when she did and has
allowed the dress pattern to intrude.