The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1903-04-12
SCHOOL FOR "HELLO" GIRLS.
TELEPHONE OPERATORS HAVE
TO BE CAREFULLY TRAINED.

A Four weeks Course for the women at
the Central stations-Oniy the Bright
est Admitted to the school-Coilege
Graduates Only Employed a. Managers.
New York has shello' school. A re-
suit not every young woman Sith asvi-a-
tions to be a telephone girl may have q Jop
for the asking. ...
To gain admission to the school is not
easy. In fact % per cent. OF the osndi-
In these days a would-be hello girl
'centrals' that dot Manhattan, Ia directed
to the application department and scho.-.
Of instruction OF the New York Telephons
Company situated In the Eighteenth street
central The school Is now In charge O.
a woman manager and half doz.n or more
assistants and II Mamie and Julie and Kitty
want hearing at all they must apply there
between and 70 O'Clock 10 the morning.
-. The examination that follows has very
ferred. OF course, that candidates shall be
graduates Of a public school but no GER
tifcate Of that fact Is demanded, Indeed.
the manager. who 10 also head teaoher
wants to know about a girls knowledge
OF English and grammar long before tho
interview IL over. She also finds out some
other things which she considers even
more Important. 10 ....-....
For instance. in order to gain admission
to the school, applicants must have good
sight and hearing, pronounce and enun-
ciate distinctly. have a fairly strong, clear
voice, write q free hand, appear to be
fairly bright and alert and In good health
not least, they must not be younger than II
or older than 20. -
Those lucky enough to meet all require.
ments are alone admitted to the four weeks'
- l.. H.. L..
school. which each must take before being
brought into communication with the
public. First. the theory In taught.
This Is done In big class room hung
with maps, which show the various key
boards In use IN central stations. the Local
tions Of the different .centrals, and how
connect ions are made from one to another,
the names and situation OF various subur-
ban places and how long distance connec-
tons are managed.
The first lesson in the course deals with
the simplest phases OF the work and from
that on the pupils are led by gradual steps
to the more intricate ones. During q
lesson. which lasts an hour or more, learners
drawings Of the special feature on the map
| under discussion
Afterward they 60 to another room to
! study, and before they 60 on 20 master
other points they are carefully examined
in what they have already been over. After
v
tude for learning, she is dropped from
the roll.
| On the other hand those that show prom
ise are sent In relays OF fourteen. and for
they are brought face to face with . key
| board which q facsimile Of that In use
| in the main Office, with this difference that
| the wires terminate 1t three or four desks
| in the room instead OF spreading out all
over the city. Each desk Is 10 charge Of an
' onarafOE ubn dpaa pnfhiD0 Aloa
but call up the novices over and over again.
asking for all sorts OF connections from
the very easiest to the moro difflcult. The
keyboard is being enlarged to accommo-
date eiSh sbs ss S5s and thus facilitate the
strange to say. there are no text books
! In the -hello' school. such, for example,
as are said to be in use In Chicago, which.
/ II report is to be believed. are running over
| with polite conversational phrases for tha
.hellos girls special use while on duty.
None seems to be needed. for the reason that
during her four weeks course the New
York .hello' girl goes over pretty much
all the stock phrases brought into Use by
the telephone Epa -. sIyste stem. beginning with
In other words, In the .heIlo' school
students are taught TO explain as clearly
and soothlngly, but at the same time a.
briefly and with as few frills Of speech a.
possible any and every hitch likely to
happen over either long or short distance
wire. Therefore, at the end OF the term
they are pretty sure TO be reasonably ex-
pert in this part of their work at least and
have small need Of book Of Get converse
| tional form. T.. -. 49,.
Unlike the majority Of schools the -hello'
school pays pupils while they are learn
ing-pays each s. . week and In addition
at the luncheon hour gives her tea, coffee
or milk, free Of charge. In fact In every
! central station from the headquarters In
Cortlandt street to the highest uptown
every one Of the 1000 or more 'hello' girls
/ may have all the tea. coffee or milk she
wants at her midday luncheon for nothing
Hot tea and coffee are also ready at
come on duty early In the afternoon and
bring their suppers with them, and those
the rest OF the night-for the oentrals never
shuts up shop.
pupils are graduated into active duty and
take their places among the one hundred
and fifty or more hello girls who sit be-
fore the keyboards that In every Central
station. From now on hello girl's wages
she may soar to $40 week. according to
Until she becomes an expert. she is never
left entirely to herself, Behind every nine
visor, as she is called, who from time to time
comes to the aid OF some one Of her nine
or turns the case Of an especially difficult
connection over to one OF four expert hello
girls who sit by themselves In the middle OF
the room.
As each novice is assigned to duty she
gets a new transmitter and receiver-the
Instruments she must thereafter handle
when on duty-the one strapped to her left
ear, the other held TO her mouth. Both
OF these she Is expected to keep religiously
for her own use. To that end every two
girls share an iron locker containing two
cotton bags. and the minute she gets Cd duty
for the day the hello girl stores away her
individual telephone apparatus In one OF
the bags and locks Il up.
This plan has been adopted to do away
with the fear Of contagion In case q giH
OF tubercular tendencies u among OPERATOR.
!, But II the standard set for the 'bello'
girl by the New York Telephone Company
Is higher than II used TO be, 20 Is that held up
for the managers. Every man who applee
for that post IL expected to have dnished
his education and have taken a collegP
degree at that. There IL no hello schoo,
for managers.
For the last 1--WE years, say. It seems that
almost none. save a college graduate, has
been hired as q manager or assistant man
aRer, and there are very few now In the
Il a -. 49, I