The Lake County times. [volume] (Hammond, Ind.) 1906-1933, 1909-03-03

enjoys a unique distinction in regard to
the calls sent through at this period.
IN no other exchange in the company's
district is the number so large Dur
ing the five hours ending at a. m.
one call each minute may be expect
ed. The messages which go through
the switchboard after midnight and
during the early morning hours are
usually caused by sickness and acct
dent
From the peg count it is learned that
large percentage of the early morn
ing calls are made BY farmer patrons.
Telephone lines spanning the distance
between the country and the city, and
giving the farmer patron immediate
communication, make unnecessary four
hhtsf Of the trip that have in the past
been made over country roads The
practical ways in which the farmer and
his wife use the telephone are num-
berless.
A Necessity for the Farmer.
In case farm machinery breaks down
or stock falls i'll, the lost time involved
in a trip to the nearest town is avoided
by the use of the telephone Arrange
ments for additional labor. market quo
tations, news of the world, social con-
versations, calls for help in case of
| illness, fire or accident. orders for pro-
visions and supplies-these and many
other uses make the telephone simply
| invaluable on the modern farm. Farm
| ers even market berries and other pro-
duce over the telephone.
| To appreciate the real value of the
telephone, one only needs think how
/ enormously the total volume of com
mercial and Industrial transactions
would be curtailed were the telephone
wires suddenly to become nonresident
| Thoroughfares would be crowded were
1t necessary to employ human mes
sengers to convey even a fraction of
| these messages. To a small extent
patrons realize the meaning of the
loss of the telephone service to a com
munity when a storm temporarily tan
giles the wires.
Appeals to the Women.
The social side of the telephone ap-
| peals to the women. Appointments
can be made and social affairs be ar
ranged or postponed as necessity re-
quires. One has the advantage of a
personal Interview without leaving his
home In dozens of ways the house
wife finds that the telephone aids in
making for economy of time and ener-
gy.
From to 10 o'clock in the morn
ing when orders are being placed for
supplies for the day, more than 2,50C
connections are made by the operating
force at the exchange. Owing to the
heavy rush during certain periods OF
the day, it is found that about one
third Of the entire telephone bust
ness of the community is transacted
within four hours.
To provide for this irregularity tht
company arranges a schedule for op.
orators by which every position i.
filed during the busy hours and tht
number Of operators is reduced in &C.
cordance with the decrease in number
Iiof calls. Telephone users note littl,
variation in the time required by tn,
operator to answer a signal,a but wer,
it not for the company's provision II
this direction. the service would b
4; much slower during the busiest hours
Possible Through Efficient Service
Computing on the basis that 500
calls are handled daily by the operat
] | ing force, it is estimated that an aver
age of 100000 calls are sent through
4 the exchange board monthly and tina
the yearly number aggregates nearl.
5 100000 If the service were indif
4 ferent in any particular such an.amoun
would not be possible.