The Brookings register. [volume] (Brookings, Brookings County, S.D.) 1903-1971, 1907-08-29
Little Journeys.

N"''y
II. THE TELEPHONE EXCHANGE
On Williams street and the alley,
iust a few doors back OF the Blniorc
block NAV be found a small but SUBJ
stantial and neat brick building.
This is the home Of Bookings tele-
phone system. 4 municipal owned
and well conducted convenience that
Won probable never think OF except
YOUR phone be ont OF order or your
wife afraid the lightning viii come IN
via the phone and harsnIy smlte the
children. T..
F. L. Rebman IL superintendent OF
the plant. MIR. ketman has mad III
teen years experience IN the telephone
business, eight with the Bell people
and seven with the independents. he
knows the business thoroughly u
his administration mas been most
satisfactory. That ne Is busy may
be evidenced from the fact that all
trouble is cared for, as well as the
management, with bat d additional
man, Ward Waltz.
There are in use n the city OF Brook
ings 527 phones, besides which they
do the switching for 275 country
pLOISE dnO AOOh a4tNs AZ aOAS NAS
lance business. Don't know what we
should do today without the phone.
4 the baby gets the tummy ache or
you want TO talk TO Governor Crawford
at Pierre or Senator kittredge at Sioux
Falls, you can get the former three
minutes for M dollar, the latter the
same amount Of time for forty cents
or the doctor for the baby for a dollar
or two. Doctor calls, by the way,
have the right Of way over all other
business.
And the hello ladies. These are all
known and called by the name OF
Central, though there nave been lm-
patient, rude and dlscourteous folk
VINO have called them other things.
Thel.'e is a nerve-racklng, haTG task
and the patience ana ~prOmptness
evinced by the B~rookings centrals is
certainly 10 be commended. The first
of the mont Miss Ethel Albertson,
OF Dixon, H., Will be toll and chief
operator; Misses Genevieve Prouse
and BIRDIE Mcknight are local opera
tors, Miss Ora Peterson, relief opera
tor, and Miss Edna Hoag has been
engaged as night operator.
The ladies have 10 be courteous and
obliging in order 10 retain their situa-
tons and the public owes them, at
least, the same consideration that is
due anyone that ministers to your
comfort. When Central says the line
is busy or that she cannon get your
party do not fly into a rage and con-
denim the service. Getting mad will
make wrinkles u your pnysiog and
not help the matter at all. The girls
never say these things unless they be
so, so take il easy and you will surely
get your party IN about the hundreth
part Of the time il would take you to
get ready TO 60 and see them, the way
your granddaG mad to do.
From the time ehe Is given a place
at f4e switchboard, the rule con.
stantIy impressed upon her by the
management il: You must control
your temper. GOI must never talk
nack or argue. There are certain
forms OF speech you must use, IN
reply 10 complaints. Never allow
patrons 10 nag you into a display Of
lll-tempeI, no matter what their Of
lenses may pc
1t will be seen that from her frs
day OF service TIE telephone girl is il
a school where her ~seli-cOntrol anC
patience are tested every minute. NJ
matter now unreasonable and cross
other people speaking 10 her over th'
wire may be, she must answer II th'
polite phraseolOgy set forth in tn
rules. she is not supposed TO los
her temper any more than the curren
is supposed to. She is there TO serve
with the dispatch and efficiency 0
impersonal electricity.
She must not stop TO explain to
p~etulaui ana tOo frequently scOldins
public that troubles complained OF ar
not, as a rule, IN the least degree 0
her making. She must bear tn,
blame patiently for defects which III
human ingenuity mas yet been able t
eliminate from the mechanical side 0
an intricate system.
The effect OF a pleasant voice coming
over the wire into the ear OF a tlret
and nervous business man is marve
lOus for the good il does toward modi
Tying the general state Of %irritability
IN the rushing, roaring, swapping
business world.
When they do not get a number
they want instantly, some people
imagine that the telephone girl must
be lnattentive. They imagine thai
she is wasting her time gcssiping with
the other operators. AS a matter. oil
fact, the operators cannot talk TO each
other while at work.
Perhaps the particular form of in.
temperance that most assail Our girls
in everyday life is that of yielding to
ill-temper-oi being cross and incon-
siderate OF the feelings Of others, in
the home and out of it. "a soft
answer turneth away wrath" says the
Scripture. But il is not always easy
to give the soft answer. However, il
the telephone girl can do it, under the
stress and strain OF her daily trials,
what can be said OF the thousands OF
young women VINO have less cause to
complain OF tired nerves. and heavy
burdens?
The telephone is a necessity today
and the city Of Brookings is to be
congratulated in that the foresight OF
her citizens saw fit to Own and operate
their W plant to the everlasting
| benefit Of themselves and their DOS.