The morning journal-courier., 1908-05-27
TALKING BY PHONE
Interesting Operations at Cen
trail Little Known
Outside.
DAILY CALLS HERE $4,000
just What Happens When You Take
Your Receiver or TO
Converse.

The man, woman or child who has
never had an opportunity to see the
operating room of a telephone eX-
change has no idea OF what this busy
center Of telephone communication
really Is. He does not realize in the
picture the scores OF hands that are
constantly busy putting up or taking
down connections. He has not heard
the strange hush OF the central Office
which Is broken only by the soft
clicking Of the plugs and the almost
inaudible voices Of the girls on duty,
If you will step into the central office
in New Haven and stand at one end
of the room you will see extending
around three sides OF the room the
local switchboard, on the fourth,
where the toll line and long distance
calls are handled 1t Is very re-
markable thing, this board In each
one OF the sections there are 400
wires, each section Is divided into
three positions, before each one Of
which sits an operator caring for one
third of this number. Repeated on
each section iswhat Is known as the
multiple Jack, and hundreds Of little
holes into which each operator Is able
to plug, thus establishing the connec-
ton, with any station IN the city or
division. Miles and miles OF wires
are to be found IN this board, and all
together there are more than 322,220
soldered connections. In this appar-
ent maze OF wires and connections Of
various kinds, the experienced trouble
men clear up any difficulty that may
arise. In the center OF the room are
two desks occupied by those young
ladies who are known to the world at
large under the singular title Of
Number %" At another desk sits
the chief operator and his assistant
Across the room from him Is what Is
known as the recording table.
When you take the receiver off the
hook at your office desk or home, a
white light looms up in front OF one
of the operators Taking the plug on
the end of one Of the pairs of cords
In front OF her she inserts It in a hole
directly under this light and throwing
back switch which allows her to cut
In on tho line comes the familiar
query What NUMBER" Having as
certained your number she takes the
plug on the other end of this same
pair of cords and inserting It In an
other hole or Jack in which the line
OF the called subscriber terminates,
pressing back the key, with which she
has cut It, rings the desired number
of times on this line and the connec-
ton Is established.
In the New Haven division the av-
erage number of calls handled for a
single day is $4,000, so 1t may be seen
that the operators are kept busy all
of the time.
When YOU ask for toll line call
the operator connects you with the
recording table and one of the opera
tors sitting there takes from you the
information regarding the call you
desire. This she writes down on a
ticket, which is passed over to one
of the toll line girls. seated at the toll
line board, and the desired change Is
obtained. The moment the subscrib-
er begins to talk the ticket Is placed
In a calcuagraph and stamped. When
the conversation has ceased, the
watchful operator being notified OF
4 this by two electric lights, the ticket
4 is once more stamped. showing the
exact length of the conversation
There are to-day in the New Ha-
ven division approximately 9.997 sta
/ tons. and assuming that 100 words
i are spoken day from each station
i an idea Of the amount OF talk that
goes on over the telephone may be
/ gained.
Then there Is "25," who has been
/ so aptly called a human encyclo-
paedia.' She is supposed TO be able
i to give any information from the
time of day down to what the weather
is to be- Be It said to her credit
that she does all that 1t is within
bounds Of all possibility for her to
give. A sample Of some OF the ques-
/ lions that are asked her follows;
Hello rs, my dressmaker lives on
4 Winchester avenue, next to lady
whose name I have forgotten; think
she has telephone, Can you find
out for me whether she has, and II SO
connect me with her I have forgot
- -