Spirit of the age. [volume] (Woodstock, Vt.) 1845-1913, 1907-09-21

The Information" operator is one
of the most important persons in
telephone exchange Not only is she
a compendium of all useful knowledge
and great convenience to all tele-
phone users, but she Is indispensable
to quick and efficient service.
1t was as a means to quick and eff
cient service that Information" came
into existence. Just as the telephone
company found itself obliged by the
growth of the system to require that
subscribers should be called by num-
Der and not by name, so it had to find
a way of informing the public readily
as to the numbers of new stations
added to the lines day by day and as
to changes In old numbers. The com
pany always avoids changing numbers
if it Is possible for 1t to do So Every
change means a considerable rear
rangement of circuits in the central
office plant and sometimes in the out
side wiring; besides, it complexities
"Centrals" work just so much until
people become familiar with the new
order of things. In certain circum-
stances number changes are uHaVoid-
able, however.
For instance, when a man moves
his Office or his home the company
generally has to put his telephone on
a different line from the one with
which he was previously connected.
If he has a special line, with nobody
else on the same circuit, it may be
possible to alter the connections in
the exchange so as to avoid altering
the line number. But if he is on a
party line this cannot be done, 1t is
easy to see. Also, in rearranging the
wires to accommodate growth, or in
expanding the central Office plant, it is
sometimes necessary to change line
numbers. And as the use Of the tele-
phone increases there is all the time
an increasing number of people who,
finding that they need more facilities
than formerly, progress from party
line service to special line or from a
line on which there are several par
ties to one on which there are only
two. In such cases, naturally, new
numbers must be assigned since en-
tirely different circuits must pc EN-.
ployed.
Thus there is an unceasing stream
of queries coming to Central" and
the regular switchboard operators
neither can have conveniently avail
able all the information required to
answer these questions nor, if they
did have it, could they, without seri-
ously interrupting traffic, stop their
work of handling regular calls to an
swer inquiries. Therefore, the New
England company has in all its Offices
of any size an information desk,
where are kept the most easily avail.
able form lists of all subscribers con-
nected with the exchange-lists ar.
ranged by name, by number and by
street addresses, so that however a
subscriber is asked for he can be
identified and his number given i'm
mediately.
Every operator at the switchboard
in an exchange has the means of con,
Meeting any line on which she an,
swers calls with Information" TIC
Information" Is referred every request
from a subscriber that goes beyond es
tabllshing communication with a tel
ephone the number of which is given
in the first instance. You will always
save time If you will ask your oper
ator to connect you with "Informa
ton" when you find it necessary to
make any sort Of inquiries regarding
the telephone service; and no charge
is made for calls of this sort, whether
from a subscribers station" or from
a public pay station.