The Republican journal. [volume] (Belfast, Me.) 1829-current, 1907-10-24
TELEPHONE TALKS.
WHO. "1NFoRMATIoN" IS.

The Conformation" operator is one of the
most important persons in a telephone ex
change. Not only is she compendium of
all useful knowledge and a great conven-
fence to all telephone users, but she is
indispensable to quick and efficient service.
1t was as a means to quick and efficient
service that "lnformation" came into ex-
istence just as the telephone company
found itself obliged by the growth of the
system to require that subscribers should
be called by number 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 company
always avoids changing numbers if it is
possible for it to do so. Every change
means considerable Encouragement of
circuits In the central office plant and some
times in the outside wiring besides, it COM
piicates "Central's" work just so much I'M
til people become familiar with the new
order OF things. In certain circumstances
NUMBER changes are unavoidable, however.
fOr instance, when a man moves his
offlce or his home the company generally
mas to put his telephone on different line
from the one with which he was previously
connected, If he has 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 party line this
cannot be done, it is easy to see. Also, in
rearranging the wires to accommodate
growth, or in expanding the central Office
plant, 1t 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 parties to one on which there are
only two. In such cases, naturally, new
numbers must be assigned since entirely
different circuits must be employed.
thus there is an unceasing stream of
queries coming to Central and the regu-
lar switchboard operators neither can have
conveniently available all the information
required to answer these questions nor, if
they Gid have it, could they, without ser-
ously lnterrupting traffic, stop their work
handling regular calls to answer inquiries.
Therefore, the New England company has
in all its offices of any size an Information
desk, where are kept in the most easily
available form lists of all subscribers con-
nected with the eXchange-liSts arranged
ny name, by number and by street adj
dresses, so that however a subscriber is
asked for he can be identified and his num-
Der given Immediately.
Every operator at the switchboard in an
exchange mas the means of connecting any
line on which she answers calls with SIN
formation" To Information" is referred
every request from a subscriber that goes
beyond establishing communication with a
telephone the number of which is given in
the nrSt instance. You will always save
time If you will ask your operator to con-
meet you with Information" when you find
II 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 pub
lie Pay station.