Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1905-02-13
THE TROUBLES SHOOTER"
Something About the Difficult Task of
Telephone Maintenance.

The telephone subscriber who Is
called to his instrument each morning
to hear "Central' murInur "resting.
thank you rarely thinks anything more
about the performance than that it is
nuisance. Behind this little call how
ever. lies am elaborate system of MAIN
tcnHucc of which the subscriber sees
only 4 little part. The currents used In
Telephony are extremely delicate and
sensitive, ana between the switchboard
and the transmitter thousand and
one things may happen of the existence
Of which tie average subscriber has
never even dreamt. To secure good
service 1t is necessary not only to pro-
Vide numerous and well-trained opera
tors but also to see that the whole
plant is in perfect condition at all
times; and because of this fact. in the
upbuildinG of the He'll telephone system
which covers all parts of the country.
elaborate machinery has been provided
to remedy the little defects which APP
pear from time to time and To repair
it'll all possible dispatch the damages
done by storm, fire and serious acct
dent.
one of these maintenance depart
HientS Of the BELL companies in its or
2anzdtion and operation bears re-
markhbl" resemblance to a big daily
newspaper. For the condition at all
times of the wires and instruments in
his territory the wire chief is RESPONSE
bic, just as the city editor is responsible
tor obtaining all the news in his city
rs the city editor has his staff Of re-
IDrt Iln ,lirn chief 1,lS. hiS.
OF trouble shooters and inspectors
whom he sends out each morning on
their assignments ana whose reports he
receives and tabulates. He must know
the location Of every bit Of trouble any
where ana ne must promptly send a
man To remedy it, just as the city ed-
tor must know where Il story is to be
found ana must have q man there to
obtain it. The editor and the wire
chief alike must solve the problem or
covering their territories quickly ana
thoroughly. Each must know at all
times where his men are, what they arc
doing and plan how they are to do their
work without wasting their time in
street cars and wagons.
Near tho switchboard where the long
row of operators is busily engaged in
answering the calls of subscribers
there is another department of the tele-
phone exchange which the subscriber
never sees. This is the region where
the wire chief reignS supreme in the
midst of dynamos, long racks Of wires
ana all the complicated. beWiidering
parapheinalia Of a telephone exchange
At his testing board sits the chief in
spectCr, with large map of his dis
trict close to his chair. receiving re-
ports from che trouble shooters all
day long and writing the stories of
the trouble. as ihese mems brief re-
ports Of what they have done are
technically called. Each trouble
shooter carries with him a portable
instrument by which he is enabled to
telephone over any line securing COM
munication With his Office and thus
make certain that his W ork is COM
pleted
The life Of the trouble shooter IN a
large district is not 4 particularly easy
one. When he is not chasing" trou-
Die. he is inspecting lines and instru-
m"nts in order to forestall it, for
eternal vigilance is the price of good
telephone service. This means con-
tinuoUs activity and III lad weather
nobody not even the postman, has a
harder job. The trouble shooter is to
be found anywhere from the main
street of village to an isolated farm