Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1904-01-30
PHONE MANS WOES
Some Little Things That Cause
Big Worry to Managers of
Rural Lines
AN OLD LADys specrAcLEs
carelessly Laid Upon the phone Box
They Connected Two Wires and Put
Who'll. Line Out of Business-Farm
ers Curiosity Caused No End of
Trouble.

Special to Times Republican.
| Webster City, Jan. 30.-That tele-
phone men have troubles of their OWN
is evidenced by the following instance
which Manager Martin of this city
relates:
~ peculiar incident occurred on ora
of our farm lines the other day which
sows how an old ladys glasses put
a whole telephone line out of business
at intervals for several days" said he,
The line would work clear as a bell
| a part of the TIME and would then
go dead for an hour or two. We had
u lineman out on the job with the
mercury right around twenty-five be-
How zero. The man would no more
i than work over several miles of the
| line than 1t would clear up and Of
course the source of the trouble could
not be found. 1t would soon go deal
again and the subscribers on that line
called at the office and registered the
most vigorous kicks as TO its condition.
! The lineman chased this will-o-the
wisp for several days when he finally
stumbled upon the cause. 1t was noth-
| ing but pair of spectacles laid upon
top of the telephone where an old lady
would put them safely away from the
children's reach. She would use ther
at odd times during the day which If
| course would clear up the telephone
line, and as soon as she would lay them
away again the line was in trouble. =
| Mr.. Martin explains this as follows.
The spectacles had metal bows and
when laid on top of the telephone
| would make connection between IT, .
| line post and the ground wire post.
thus short circuiting" or crossing the
line. All OF the electricity thrown on
to the line would go to this point and
escape instead of going thru the bells
and ringing them.
| A similar case some six months ago
occurred on the farm line just west OF
the city. the line man making several
trips before discovering a tin button
box setting on top of the telephone.
thus crossing the line.
1t cost the telephone company over
$50 trying to locate this button box.
Another case of the farmers inquis-
tive turn OF mind with regard to the
Itelepuole Unopened just tUe OtIleT Gay.
The farmer was trying to see what
was inside of the transmitter. He took
the screws out and of course the spring
forced the diaphram off. and the granu-
lar carbon was spilled over the floor
The farmer, not to be fooled this way
refilled the transmitter with powds
tpowder looks exactly like granular
carbon) and "winked the other eye
thinking that he ought to have been a
telephone man instead OF farmer.
connected the transmitter up again and
called his neighhor to see how It
worked. AS soon as he lifted the re-
ceiver of the hook the electric current
flowed thru the transmitter, igniting
the powder. which blew the front OFF
the transmitter and very nearly put out
the farmers eyes. The Martin have
many cases where telephones have been
taken apart and put back again, OF
course generally wrong causing long
drive on the part OF the lineman to e.
pair the phone and a vigorous dental
on the part OF the subscriber that the
telephone has been touched is always
forthcoming.