The daily morning journal and courier., 1907-11-02
ARDUOUS DUTIES
 OF NUMBER 25 Branch of Telephone Ser vice Becomes Informa-
 tion Bureau. TIME OFTEN ASKED
 BY SUBSCRIBERS School Children Call Up to Find Out What is Santa
 Claus Number.

The individual who comes nearer to the public than any other in the busi- ness of giving telephone service is the operator who answers central. She is the one who handles your calls and in order to get anyone you must first tell her what you desire. And of these girls that one that the average sub scriber is best acquainted with is No. < 25. It is safe to say that there is probably no subscriber in the State who has not at some time or other come in contact with this invisible bureau of information.
 Tn the New Haven Exchange the demand on this part Of the operating force has become so great that during the day four girls are kept busy an- swering the queries of subscribers. Four at two desks set Apart from the switchboard, these operators are as busy as any of the girls in the oper- ating room. In front of each girl Is an electric clock, a tide table, the weather report and an up to the min ute telephone. directory. Back of her is the valuable card index from which she obtains the various kinds of information that she is called upon to inpart.
 The importance of the position these girls occupy, the care that has to be taken in their selection and the work that they are called upon to do, their task master the telephone using public, have little. or no idea. The extent to which many persons have come to rely upon, No 25, they have nc true realization and yet slowly but surely these girls have worked their way into the lives of the telephone us- CTS until it is safe to say that were they removed, and the character and scope of the information which they impart lessened, there would be a general cry of protest from all over the State.
 In view of these facts a record has been kept by the Southern New Eng land Telephone company in this city, showing the number Of times that No. 25 is called up during day for cer- tain bits of information. Among these are the time, weather, tide and loca- eion of fires. Because of the fact that the subject ranks first by reason of the number of requests for it comes the time of day. A mans clock has stopped, his watch has run down, two time pieces in his home dc not agree, so he does the most natural thing in the world-calls up for "25' and asks for the time of day, The following table will show the number of calls for the time that were record ed by the operators at "25" during one day in this city:
 Between midnight and noon the calls were; 12 o'clock to 1, two calls 1 to 2, two calls; to 3, one call; tC 4, one call; to 5, one call; to 6 seven calls; to 2, nine calls; to 8 twenty-seven calls; to g, thirty three calls; g to 10, seventeen calls; 10 tC il, twenty-two calls; II to 12, thirty. eight calls
 From noon to midnight calls came in as follows: 1 o'clock to 2, seven teen; 2 to 8, twenty four; to 4 thirteen; to 5, fourteen; to twenty-six; to ', twenty; to 8, ten 8 to g, six; g to 10, eleven; 10 to Il nIneteen; ii to 12, six.
 In other words between o'clock 1T the morning and at night the foul girls at No. 25, told the time of day to 251- people. This means reques for the time on an average of abou twenty-five times an hour or that eacl