Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1907-12-08
WEIRD "OUTS|DE" OF
TELEPHONE SYSTEM
Particulars of Interest the,
Layman Passes BY.
CENTRAL TO SUBSCRIBER
And the Manifold Mysteries of
Tanning Out"
SYSTEMS OF THE BIG CITIES
Progression From Aerial to Under.
ground and What the Wonderful
Work Has Meant.

folks Indeed, the ability to wtelde
about this and that and the other thing
is more or less of a national characters
tic, and is comprehensively exercised ever
DAY in the year. Just suppose, for in
stance, that a wide-awake citizen O
Washington, while strolling home fror
work one fine day. should see descen
from the clouds balloon as long as tn
Capitol and carrying a couple of hundre
people. Would he merely remark
Mercy! What an extraordinary larg
balloon, and then wander placidly home
| ward to his fried steak and onions O
what not? Well, hardly! He'd stay Their
all night if necessary, until he found GU
| all about the balloon; where it scam
from; who made it; it's first name, an
every other detail, big and little. An
that same spirit of inquiSitiveness hold
good on pretty nearly every other propos
ton under the sun.
Doesn't Every One Wonderp
Take the telephone for instance. l
there subscriber who hasn't at som
time or other, perhaps while wire-chattin
from the warmth of his own firesids
thought, either idly OF seriously, of tn
| WONDERFUL instrument in his .hand, an
the manner IN which it has revolutionize
the methods of business ana the GOV
enants and commandments of commerce
| is there one who hasn't, mentally an
more or less mistily, followed in fancy tn
i1ghtning-like flight of his voice throug
air or earth? Lest all signs fail, tn
proportion is wonderfully small.
So. there's no doubt in the world bu
that many millions Of people are inter
ested, in an inquisitive rather than
commercial way, in the telephone and it
mysteries: And yst most of these yer
caring. the most interesting part of til
whole proposition. They appreciate. O
course, the difference between the trans
mitter and the receiver; they know Their
| is central office-or several of them
where numbers of nimble- Fingered. alert
| witted young women, weave weird though
| connections on demand, and of late. a
least, they have learned that tits posi-
BILE to speak through the chest, the Shout
| der. the stomach, and even the feet, an
that the vibrationistic delicacy of tn
diaphragm disk is almost too refined 70
the lay understanding
They Know Not a Thing.
But-and here's the call-wnat d
+ these interested folks know of the tele
phones outside" of the manifold null
| Implications of the labor of the wire
man. of tanning out" and block sys
| TENS" and ring runs? Why, not eve1
one blessed little thing-most OF then
though all these things are OF an in
terest quite conceivable. All the news
papers contain interesting articles from
time to time about the telephone an,
telephone systems, but it is always tn
visible and tangible not the invisibl
and intangible, that is discussed an
described And yet, after. all, it isn't s.
certain that the latter proposition ism
the more interesting of the two.
Just, for instance, to show now littl
is known about this Outside" propo
sition, people often ask the telephon
folkS-when any little thing comes vi
to disturb the subscribers equanimity-
why it is they don't install permanen
underground connection to each build
ing, as is done by the city in installin,
it's water system, or by the gas ant
electric light and power companies il
arranging for the distribution Of thei
products.
The answer is quite simple With wa
ter, gas and electricity no particula
share or portion of the product fur
nished is intended for any particula
customer. Pipes or wires are laid il
the streets, and to these all house
along the route are connected, regard
less of their size or character. Thes
main pipes or wires-as the case ma.
be-are arranged to deliver an amour
Of water, gas or electricity which i
only a fraction of the amount tina
would actually be required in case o
| necessity. That's to say, If all the Gus
toners were at one time to attempt t
use all the water, the gas or the cleo
tricity for which their premises wer
piped or wired each would get only
small part of the amount wanted.
change in the size of the water faucets
gas tips or electric lights does not ne
cessitate a change in the service pipe
or wires.
Here's the Difference.
But, with the telephone it is an en-
tirely different matter. for every tele
phone must have it's own wire connec
ton with central Office. If the sub
scriber wants to change from party lin
to direct or from direct to party lin
certain changes must be made in tn
| underground wires. If an old residenc
Is reconstructed fer Office purposes tn
increase in telephones may be tenfold
| though the consumption of gas or waite
| or electric light may not perceptibl
| increase. Even if it does the origina
pipes or wires can take care of the JUMP