Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-09-08

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| resent her quota Of incoming calls. Each Of
these numbers accompanied by its indi-
| vidual lamp is found but once in a single
| exchange, but is repeated numerous times
| on the multiple switch boards. These are
| above the former and are for outgoing mes
sages. 1t is they, banked up by the thou
sands, that suggest a monstrous honey
comb. Every number In the main exchange
| is arranged consecutively on these switch
| boards. % in a bundle. 100 in a row, with
| the number of the decimal at the head.
That is. there will be %, $40. 2300 and so on,
| each followed by rows of holes which stapd
/ for the succeeding numbers OF those de-
nominations. With these the operator must
\ be sufficiently conversant to be able to stab
| unhestatingly and uneringiy$the right hole.
| More than 5000 confront her. packed in
i closer than peas in a pod. Is 1t any won
| der that she has to 60 to school to learn
| her business and sometimes gives the wrong
| number?
| Covering the Switchboard.
Three girls cover. a switchboard, reach
! Ing with considerable ease to its extreme
/ limits .
+ Suppose your number Is 937 main and you
! call for sos the same exchange. The min
| ute you take the receiver off its hook b
| tiny lamp lights under your number and
larger beacon light CLEANS out lest you be
overlooked beneath your section Central
dives for your hole, asks what number and
| directly connects you by reaching up and
across with 5706, ringing the minute her
| hand Is free their bell by pressing back
| little lever. If, perchance however, you
want 678 north then she connects you with
| the north exchange and repeats your re-
quest to the north operator. This done, her
| attention is turned to others until you
| break your own connection, when another
| lamp lights and she withdraws the plug
| and cord, which spring back automatically.
IT, when you asked for the first number,
| however some one else had been using that
wire. the instant the operator touched her
| plug to the hole a buZzng sound would
! have been made. which notified her that the
| line Is busy and will If you listen attentive
| ly notify you and confirm her words. Some
times in the confusion this is accidentally
disregarded. with the result-a three-cor-
| nered interview.
There are separate operators and switch
boards for branch exchanges. pay stations.
| regular subscribers, the government de-
partments and toll calls. The first are the
! swiftest, having experienced persons at both
| ends; the second probably the slowest. Ere
quently in pay stations. 1t Is said, the oper-
ator has to wait. holding the line, while the
person who made the call goes around to
get the correct change.
When a subscriber has a limited service
but q direct line, his calls are kept by
meter which registers accurately and is
| read every twenty-four hours at midnight,
message Is recorded on a separate slip by
| the operators. When 1t comes TO the toll
messages-the out-of-town calls-the book
keeping becomes still more complicated, for
| the time as well as the number of calls has
| to be carefully registered. This Is done
by means of a calculograph-a CLOCK, which
| by means Of levers registers not merely the
time of day but the tnstants when the con-
versation began and ended
Women Give Most Trouble.
r,,
most trouble?" the chief operator was
asked?
1.-THE women, am sorry to say" she re-
sponded promptly, land after them the bust
ness men-the women do not understand
and you cannot explain to them; the busi-
ness men are in a hurry and impatient
Complaints are guarded against and test.
table, which stands in the center Of the ex-
change room. To 1t, from time to time. GER
tain wires are attached. When call Is
made the operator silently notes the time
connection is gotten, then passes to an
other. She has a stop watch and her re-
ports are tabulated. In this way the gener-
al efficiency is noted and cause for COM
praInr discovered or discounted.
Side by side with this table is the desk
of Information" and that OF the bureau
of complaints. The telephone company
does not pretend to be a news distributing
agency, but it does agree to keep its sub
scribers posted as to the time of day. Not
withstanding the present multiplicity of
watches and clocks this particular inquiry
Is made several hundred times in a single,
day.
Passing in front of the switchboards one
notes through all a generous scattering of
colored plugs, which collectively give the
general appearance of an overgrown score
card. Inquire into their significance and
you will find that one color stands for a.
closed house, another for a changed num-
Der and third for an unpaid subscription.
1t Is in this way the boards are kept prac-
tically up to date.
Passing behind the boards. IL you are
permitted, you will find the cables laid upon
shelf. fifty layers deep. incased In can
vas, and resembling goods in a storehouse.
Each of these carries many lines and leads
them directly into the boards. They stand
away from the wall Of the building about
four feet and are numbered, watched and
cautiously guarded. Dampness and truant
electricity are the telephones worst enc
mics, and In q superabundance Of these
commodities this summer has been rec
ord breaker.
Where to Look for Trouble.
It Is in the room below the exchange that
the telephone employees Took for trouble"
Most people find 1t without searchine.. but
the telephone company believes in fore
stalling It. Here the wires are tested and
existing difficulties located. This room has
| q false door and beneath It's movable boards
the change - made from the outside con-