Coeur d'Alene evening press. (Coeur d'Alene, Idaho) 1907-1929, 1908-03-06
PHONE FOR RAIL WAYS
The Telegraph to Be Displaced
by 1t After March |.
WOMEN WILL BE EMPLOYED.

Many Men Operators to Be Let Out.
Automatic Block Signals Will Be In
stalled and Many Small Telegraph
Stations Closed.
A new field Of employment for wo-
men is to be opened by the railways,
says Washington special dispatch to
the Chicago Record-Herald. This does
not mean that the roads will employ
women telegraphers: but. on the con
trary. their employment will be for
the purpose Of taking the places Of te-
legraphers already in the service. The
future women railway operating en-
ployees will be engaged at the smaller
| stations taking train orders over tel
ephones, where formerly such orders
were transmitted and received by tele-
graph. This new field will be open to
women when the new nine hour day
law governing the working time of
railway telegraphers goes into effect
on March l.
1t was confidently expected that this
law would work revolution in rail-
way operation, and 1t was with this
end In view that the Order of Railway
photographers procured it's passage de-
spite the determined opposition of the
railway managers and even against
advice direct from the White House.
The revolution is coming, all right. but
1t VIII be revolution which will rele-
gate the telegraph to back seat as an
adjunct to railway operation and will
throw thousands of operators out of
employment and annually will de-
crease their number until they will al
most disappear from American rail-
ways.
II was expected that the reduction In
the working hours OF railway telegra-
pliers to nine hours would compel the
railroads to employ at least 5000 add.
tlonal men at once It was also known
that 1t would be impossible to secure
this number OF men when needed, and
1t was therefore hoped by the men
that an increase In wages would be
part OF the revolution planned.
The railway managers ut first took
similar view of the situation, but 1t
soon was discovered that 1t would be
impossible to supply the demand II all
existing telegraph offices were to be
maintained after March |. As result
of careful study OF the situation the
nine hour day for telegraphers will
bring about the following changes:
First.-The abandonment of all sta
lions as telegraph stations except dlvi-
sion headquarters and functional points.
Second.-The substitution of tele-
phones for the receipt and the trans
mission of orders and messages.
Third.-The employment OF women
as agents In many stations thus trans
formed into telephone stations.
Fourth.--The transaction OF ire
mendous amount of office business by
letter which formerly was transacted
by telegraph,
Flfth.-The rapid extension of the
automatic electric block signal system,
which viii make telegraph stations UNI
necessary,
In determining TO inaugurate these
changes the railway managers found
that they had In reality been preparing
for them for years. II was discovered
also that by adopting the most expen-
slve system OF block signaling train
orders aud telegraph stations could for
the greater part be done away with.
The railroads therefore decided that
they would rather spend millions IN
providing aud maintaining automatic
block signals. which never 20 to sleep
and which never fail unless they spell
danger" than to spend the same mon
ey In maintaining telegraph stations
and telegraph operators, The closing
Of stations as telegraph stations Is
made possible by the fact that with an
automatic electric signal all that Is nee
essary is to start trains as fast as the
terminal block Is empty and keep them
going until semaphore says stop"
Accordingly many Of the big systems,
notably the Hartman roads. have been
Fastening the installing Of such sig
mails, and the new year finds them