davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
New-York tribune., 1909-12-05
Positions That Pay from Two to Fifteen Thousand
Year Are Found in Traffic Telephony.

central Office. the telephone geography Of
the region in which mis- work Will De done
how the girls handle the details OF their
work. and also lie will go into the plant
department for a time 10 get a general
knowledse of the construction OF the tele-
phone.
All TINS learned. he will next take a
course under an able instructor In what
IS known as traffic inspection IL Is inter
esting work. this traffic inspecting. You
know. that sometimes. when the central
girl has told you that the line was busy
and 'stil. busy again and again. OF You
thought YOU had waited tive minutes before
getting central. or somebody else from an
other line broke in on your conversation.
YOU have got on your ear and hoWled for
the manager
Well. nart q your boys work in his first
position in the traffic department is 10 hx
the responsibility The girls involved can't
get away from him. because So complete
is the organization and system that every
detail comes under the eye of this phone
detective. Parenthetically, let II be said,
alUavs believe Central when she SAYS the
line is busy; for. ia ali such cases she has
10 make out a card showing all the details
and is under the yigilGnt eye OF 4 woman
supervisor. who constantly PAGES back and
forth behind every string Of nine girls
and naturally. therefore. doesn't Ike busy
lines any more than you do
ais education finished. your boy rs made
assistant manager Of an exchange OF CEN
trai office at a salary Of so 10 Sl5 a week
Traffic telephone work in large cities Is
generally divided into three shifts. two OF
them WORKING during the day and the early
night hours. when the service is IN greatest
demand. and the other in the less arduous
hours OF night and early morning. 80. the
navy assistant manager work at FIRST Will
nrobably he on the easy night shift BUT
ultimately, II he is ambitious and progress
sive he will be assistant manager IN one
az the large exchanges. where there are
three or four hundred EIrl operators.
Then he becomes MANAGER OF a small ex-
change station, ard nnally. II he attends to
business and takes pride In making ms
exchange a model, where all calls are han
died with the least possible delay and com
pIaiut. he Is rewarded by being made the
actual and direct head OF one OF the largest
exchanges. The salaries OF managers range
from e. O0o 70 g. 800 a year. Their reputation
IS An their own hands. for they are the sole
rssponslble heads OF the exchanges. having
IN. emplovment and control OF all employees
aud being subject only 20 the traiie ehiei'
The next promotion is a big one. being
IN traffic chief itself He Is the immediate
superior OF all exchange stations man
ayers tn a large district. such as the old
city Of New York. or Brooklyn. or Jersey
New-York tribune., 1909-12-05

on December 70 and H. az Jordan Haii.
Boston. Euripides's "5Iedea." in Gilbert
Murray's translation. will be presented
under the direction of the Bryn MaNr
Club. OF that city. The proceeds viii 80
20 increase the endowment fund OF Bryn
Mawr College to the sum which win bring
II large gift from the General Education
Board
Greek plays are seldom put on the nod
ern stage; still more novel viii be a per-
formancs OF one OF Mr.. AI1rray's beauti-
ful verse translations. The spirit n which
he has done his work OF preserving the
substance. the dramatic intensity. rns
subtlety Of emotion. the rhythmic varisty
and TIE poetic images OF his original 10
expressed IN a letter that n wrote -
Gently to one OF the COMMITTEES n charge
cf the Boston production.
Not archaeology and statuesGueness." hs
SAYS tn eject. ARE the things chiefly %
be sought after IN performances. but drs-
matte sincerity. with constant eSe 90 the
psychology OF the characters. which 10
moving to-day as Il was when Euripides
wrote the play"
In it's choice OF professional trainers Anf
guides the COMMITTEES has shown Itself a.
one IN this matter with thu translator
George Riddle who has had practically
rul charge or training me cast OF ana
teurs. aims above all things at dramatic
significance No suitable music for ths
choral odes being in extstsrce-D'Iady'
incidental music for Mendes's ''sledse'' nts
that play aIone--MaIcolm Lang was charged
with writing music that should enhance
and interpret no- interrupt. ths move
ment Of the play as thus eoncsiveds tsss
hs has also himself trained his arlatsu-
chorus viii sru further make ter unity
Finally. under the supervision OF Joseph
LindOn smith the scenery and the cos
tunes. In spite OF the Archaeological lors
that Is embodied in them. VIII oe aooSs
all interesting and beautiful 20 uiodsru
eyes. No curtain. orchestra or tricky light
ing will coune between ths audisncs and
the simplicity and serenity of the trad
tional Greek setting OF the stage, bur tas
solitary building. IN this case Msdsa 9
New-York tribune., 1909-12-05
BY {. ". Jennings.
CHAPTER VII


IN the two articles in this series 'mme-
diately preceding to-day's have told how
q boy OF application. energy and ambition.
rightly directed and controlled. has op-
portunities 10 make himself a power IN
two Of the three great branches OF the
gigantic and constantly grOwing telephone
industry. These are the plant department
(Which installs the telephone equipment
and keeps il in good working order) and
the commercial department (Which gets
the business for the telephones. hunting IL
out and making the contracts Therefore.
In either Of these branches il is not es-
sential that a boy should start 10 work
with more than a rudimentary education
back OF him. and many Of the big" men
IN these branches OF telephony never saw
the inside OF college classroom. The
same is true % some OF the men who are
high executives I'm the third great branch.
tie traffic which actually operates the
telephone system, making the connection
with the people you wish 10 talk to at
any hour Of the day or night But II Is
also true that the bog who has had a fun
college course. or at least a year or Two
AZ college. stands q better chance OF ad-
vancement IN the traffic department than
the boy who enters il minus such a pre-
iiminary educational training.
Won see. about the first actual position
FOR q boy IN the traffic department is an
executive one-that OF assistant manager
Of an exchange. or central oftice-and II
for no other reason than that he is few
wears older than the boy who has not
zone 10 college. he is usually preferred as
a beginner in this department As a gen
eral rule you know, no boy under twenty
one Is very often trusted with executive
mower. Then, too, the more education one
has the better one is fitted for executive
Dosftions; and where a boy f. made
executive almost from the beginning the
eaucatfon ne has. other things being equal,
counts much in his favor In the race uD
the traffic department ladder.
Rut whether or not the boy who becomes
connected with the rafiic department has
hser % college, the minute be has been en-
Moved BY q trafie department head back
70 school he goes In a jifry And not only
hack 20 scnSol, but away back into the
,erv urinary grade for a stay lasting from
six rnouths 10 a year. However. there VIII
- TITS difference between the former ana
b,s present schooling: he viii be paid -
. v,eek All the time he IL a student
As tbe young man is 10 be directly over
-, army az central girls. be must know al
-, now their work is done. 90 he Is
,a,,s,,, he use OF the various parts or the
operating equipment In the exchange OF
New-York tribune., 1909-12-05

syringa bush. Somebody suggested an
apple tree for the Towering shrub, but, OF
course, We couldn't use that because II
would not have been in season. All these
howers are made OF silk or linen. Just Ike
the flowers on a woman's hat They are
reproduced in their natural colors To
hear out our general scheme of light and
shade we had the bright colored flowers
placed IN the light and the dark ones in
The shade. The Cottage in the Air was
IN the light on the left OF the stage while
another cottage was in the shade at the
fisnt In was by means OF the latter that
we got our shadows on the stage. The
whole scene was like a picture PAINTED
with large brush.
In Antony and Cleopatra the tone a.
the scenery was kept down. There was
not single primary color in the whole
Production. The makers OF costumes ana
scenery we're cautioned in this particular
respect. and everything was in duh eolors"
Further inquiry about the manufacture.
manipulation. storage. etc, OF the scenery
AZ ne New Theatre leads one into meeting
claude l.. Hagen. the theatrical director,
Nho IS IN many ways a most remarkable
man. M. Hagen is an engineer who has
devoted the greater portion Of his life 10
plays lie is the inventor OF most OF the
devices in use on the stage at The New
Theatre Mr. Hagen gave 10 The Tribune's
representative facts about the scenery
which could not be obtained from any other
source.
4 visit 20 the stage revealed the largest
house" OF it's kind in America--ioo feet
wide. SIS feet 10 inches deep and us feet
from the stage fcor 10 the "gridiron." on
which are suspended l25 pieces OF scenery.
exclusive Of drop lights. Mr. Hagen said:
The staging Of play at The New The
atre rs a different proposition frem what
u IS elsewhere in this country. because We
have 'drekbuhne' or revolving stage
Most Of our plays are staged ON the dreh-
huhne. and all we have 90 do is TO revoIve
the stage 10 present the next act That is
the reason the intervals between the acts
are 50 short. The other night we he
gan The performance of Strife al SIZE
o'clock and closed at 1870 o'slock Without
the revolving stage II would have taken
until II or HIS o'clock 20 finish the play
This stage is sixty-four feet IN diameter
and il completes a revolution in a minute.
New-York tribune., 1909-12-05

City. his man is the executive director
Cf al traffic business and calls his exchange
managers together frequently To discuss
and decide upon various important phases
10 keep their work progressive and uniform.
His salary is from $1,000 70 $500 year.
Then comes the coveted position Of su-
perintendent of traffic. who gets $4,000 10
SI5Os0 year. is a member Of the company,
is executive head Of all traffic chiefs. and is
on an equality with the plant superintend-
ent and the general commercial superin-
tendent, the three great directors OF all
telephone business except that which is
purely financial and executive. Any one
of the three officials is in line fer the
post OF general manager, and ultimately
president.
There Is. however. another line of ad-
vancement IN the traffic department. that
OF traffic engineer YoI may have noticed
that telephone districts. especially in the
larger centres Of population, are IN con-
ditIon of continual change. new exchanges
being opened. old ones abandoned. etc. To
meet the changing conditions Of telephone
traffic This is where the engineers work
comes i'm.
We shall say that yeur boy. while getting
his telephone education and working as
traffic Inspector. has manifested desire
and aptitude for working up through what
is known as the engineering department
rather than 10 become an executive. His
observant instructor has noticed this, enl
communicates accordingly with the head of
this particular branch. who assigns the
beginner 20 the study OF charts showing
the volume and trend of telephone use IN
various districts.
So your boy watches the number Of calls
made in particular localities, their decrease
and Increase at different hours and from
day TO day. and thus becomes a sort %
traffic prophet. When he finds that the
demands on an exchange VIII be up ia the
maximum OF SIS facilities I'm two or three
years, say, he presents his data 20 the
head OF the department, and a new ex-
change station is ordered built. An ex-
change station has TO be planned at least
two years ahead. as this time is required
10 install one.
traffic engineer also designs the equip
ment and switchboard capacity necessary
fer all stations. and IL Is on his recon-
mendation that steps are being taken con-
tinuaIly 10 maintain the service on a no
delay basis.
The pay OF engineers and assistants Is
about the same as I'm the managing branch
OF the traffic department. and. after be-
coming a full aedged traffic engineer IN
charge OF a large district. the incumbent
is on a par with the traffic chief and In
line for the trafic supeFintendency.
such, in a general way. are the steps
that a boy who desires 10 make traffic
telephony his lifes work has 10 take. And
let me add that with the telephone indus
try growing so rapidly in all parts OF the
New-York tribune., 1909-12-05
SOME GEMS OF CHINESE ART.

Steppins down a few marble steps. one
is transported from the glare and noise
Of Fifth avenue into the perfumed shade
and quiet Jf the Far last when entering
the galleries Of the Long Sang III Chinese
Curio Company. Here are 10 be found
the gems OF Chinese art and a fascinating
display of jade and antique jewellery, en-
hrOidered mandarin robes and furniture.
They compose a charm II the Orient hard
for visitors to resist. Especially interest
ing is the exhibit now being held Of the
rare porceains OF early centuries, repre-
sentins the flower Of Chinese art. These
specimens were made only for the royal
family az members OF the ruling class.
chief among these may be mentioned a
sung dish of the thirteenth century and a
wonderful ivory white Ming temple jar OF
the fifteenth. \ gorgeous royal yellow"
vase and q Celadon vase of rare design
represent the seventeenth century.
New-York tribune., 1909-12-05
Claude l.. Hagen Describes the Revolving
Stage and Other Conveniences-

them six hours. II had II be stretched on
the foor OF an armOry Each man took
long brush. like a broom. and painted his
space. going from side to side and using
different colored paint The result was
sradation from white al the bottom 10
dark blue at the top
The curtains? Mr.. Ames designed those.
There are three sets OF them. grading from
bright red 10 a dark plum color. The first
weighs 2eoo pounds. the second Loo pounds
and the third l. 0o0 pounds. They are raised
and lowered by machinery. They are the
only curtains OF the kind in this country.
do you see these traps In the stagec Any
piece Of scenery. no matter how heavy.
may be lowered 20 the basement through
these traps-that is the way We move our
columns in Antony and Cleopatra We
transport scenery to our shop in sutomo-
biles and send 10 all over the stage house
By elevator. Entrances can be obtained to
the stage from 62d and SD streets, which
Increases the ease with which We handle
scenery We have gangs OF men working
here night and day, and nobody is idle long.
We have to do things quickly here and
we have TO have two ways OF doing them.
so that in case one doesn't work we can
use the other People may wait while their
automobile Is being repaired. but they
won't wait at the theatre"
A short walk through SD street. across
Broadway. leads one TO The New Theatre
shops. at No. 4e West ed street. Here the
scenery Is made The building is five
stories in height and is provided with
large freight elevator. The top floor Is
devoted 10 cutting and making. the fourth
floor 70 fireproohng. the third 10 canvas
stretching the second to designing and
the first to assembling and storing Only
expert men are employed The work is
done with great care and with a view 70
ths future. Nothing is shoddy or i'm
perfect. The stage furniture is all made
with great care.
Reposing modest,y In a corner on the
second door was a set OF court furniture in
gold and rich purple. which was given
recently by Archer NJ huntington. son Of
Mrs. Coils T.. Huntington This set was
owned by a fornlsr king OF Spain Part
New-York tribune., 1909-12-05

house. viii be somewhat fndsrnnihed fos
the loss OF fts ancient Greek surroundings
OF open air. sky and trees. Medea's dragon
chariot, too. viii be Just enough difreren-
from what ths Greeks must have had To
make on the present day spectators the
same impression OF mystery that theirs
made on them The costumes viii be "au-
thentic' In every dstail. but thay VIII bs
the interesting. varied. comparatively slab-
crate costumes OF ths vases, rather than
the familiar sinplided draDeries OF thu
statues. An enthusiastic commentator be-
ueves that the audience should rise from
the performance as people VINO have spenE
two hours under tho identical spell that
Euripides threw over his own audiences
two thousand three hundred and forty
years ago.
New-York tribune., 1909-12-05
HIS COMPLAINT.

In a certain town In south Carolina. ss-
fore the civil War. there was an old Scotch
COvenanter church. the pulpit OF which
bore a strong resemblance 20 a .oG- oGrel-
It was fastened 10 the wall ana reached BY
a flight Of narrow. winding stairs.
Among the preachers who occupied ths
pulpit AZ different times was one who MAS
noted for the visOr and enthusiasm OF his
delivery and the extreme energy OF hls
gesticulations.
The congregation had often trembled Tor
hts safety as he stamped and pounded tn
the Old pulpit. but no catastrophe occurred
until one day when he bent forward over
the edge, and shaking ths unstable struct-
ure, shouted. The righteous shall stand.
but the wicked shall fallH'
Before the words fere fairly uttered
there was crash and the old pulpit and
ITS occupant came 20 the door together
with much dust
The minister picked himself up. and wav-
Ing on the members OF the congregation
said dryly. -Brethren. I ana not in1uroa
and don't mind the fail much, but i 10
hate The connection. Youths Companton.
New-York tribune., 1909-12-05
STRIKING" THE PLAYS.

''No sooner are we through with one play
here than we have 10 take II down. or
strike II. as we say, and set up another.
The other day we struck Strife in thirty
seven minutes ard set up a new play for
the evening performance. despite the fact
that I have q lcs of new men here.
The most interesting bits OF scenery
Let US go down 10 the basement. Here are
the columns in Antony and Cleopatra.
There are six Of them. They are 45 feet
high. are made Of wood. and weigh a ton
apiece. The caps or them are 10 feet
Inches in diamster. They were made IN
our shops and are the tallest and heaviest
columns ever placed on any stage. These
gods here. also used in Antony and Cleo
patra.' are Is feet high They are made
of papier mache, and are very light. Here
IS the Cottage I'm the Air The roof IA
made Of japanese rain coats. which was the
only hreproof material answering the pur-
pose that We could get. There are the mill
stacks in Strife they are 6s feet high,
nearly as high rs they would be in an or
dinary mill. Mr. Amess idea is to make
our scenes as near life as possible. and
avoid the merging OF the real with the
artificial.
Here = ne tin trunk IN The Niger.
II Is made Of imitation bark II is % fesc
high. and . hung with Southern moss. This
Is real lumber, used in the mob scene in
Strife 1t is supposed 10 haze been IN
loaded from the freight ear.
THE effect OF dreproofInS OF scenery?
That is one Of the worst things We have TO
contend with. II destroys ;Hc color and the
texture oe cloth. T. has such an effect on
Italian bluo. COR example t.,at we cannot
use the c0ICr. II causes the bTaids 10 drop
of Of our curtains. II has caused our
great cyelOrama 10 fade from tints and
shades OF blue iato almost white. II
causes the stitches 20 rot where the strips
New-York tribune., 1909-12-05

The other day some men while working at
the footlights laid their tools behind them
on the stage. One Of them reached back
for his tools. and much 10 his surprise saw
them sixtyfOur feet away from him.
Where do we keep the scenery oh.
everywhere. Here is Strife stacked up
at the side OF the stage. We are going 70
use II tonight. In the rooms around the
stage house up eleven stories we have more
stored. Down in the basement, thlrty-eight
feet under the stage, we have more. Then
we have some in our shop in West SD
street
How is it kept in order? On. everything
is taken apart-the great tree in The Mig
ger the little house in The Cottage In
the Air. the great columns in Antony
New-York tribune., 1909-12-05

of cloth are sewed together. But every
thing has 10 be freproof. So there you
are.
How long is the cycIoramae II is 10
feet high and 200 feet long 1t is used as
backing for scenes and stretches complete
ly around the sides and the back OF the
stage. II weighs three thousand pounds.
1t is suspended from tie gridiron and IL Is
raised and lowered by a machine with
thirty-six cables. and every three feet there
is sewed a small wooden thimble, through
which the cable runs. This Is the largest
cyciorama IN the world IL was painted by
a crew Of twenty-eight men and IL took
New-York tribune., 1909-12-05
ON SHORE OF HAMPTON ROADS.

Fortress Monroe. Va. Dec f--The bat
tieship Missouri arrived here last Saturday
10 coal She anchored in Hampton Roads
until Wednesday morning. and later viii
rejcin the tfeet here. Among the first TO
arrive were the battleships New Jersey.
Kansas and Georgia. the aFmored cruiser
New York and the scout cruisers Salem
and birmingham. The Hotel Chamberiin
already has many new visitors. some OF
them mothers and sisters who have sons
and brothers in the navy. They viii remain
at the hotel until the departure OF the feet.
snd many gay dinners and dances have
been planned. Bowling is becoming more
popular here. and there Is not an evening
when the alleys are not In use.
New-York tribune., 1909-12-05
FARMS WITHOUT CHILDREN.

Seventy-twO houses. thirteen OF them
empty. on eleven miles OF road through
excellent farming country. Is what a corre-
spcndent Ia NoraVia regards in his lecture
as typical situation Ia this state. The
farmers down that way are In a large
measure elderly men. Among the original
families deaths are more common thal
births. The problem OF getting help on the
suggests that men must be hired from the
city or village.
And OF all the unhappy details OF the un-
happy situation the most so Is the fact
that IN the eleven miles there are only
twenty-five persons less than twcnty-One
years old. Homes in city where chill
dren might be, but are not. are depiuraDie,
but such homes In the country are not
only lacking In one OF the things that
make home happy, but without one OF
and are depying 10 the nation what has
been the basis or its greatness. farm-hred
boys and girIs.-Syracuse Post t-Standard.
New-York tribune., 1909-12-05

and Cleopatra'-and packed up in the same
way after every performance. So we know
just where TO find IL. The things that We
need next are always nearest at hand.
Just how do we set up the scenery
Well. We assemble II on the stage either by
hand or machine-draw IL up from tfls
basement or drop IL from the grIdlron- The
acts are usually set in the drehbuhne AZ
ter the first act all we have TO do is to re-
volve the stage 90 degrees and the next
act is ready Sometimes we have 10 lower
a drop for another backing 10 the scene.
but usually even this is not necessary. In
so far as we are concerned. We would pre-
sent the acts one after another in full view
OF the audience
New-York tribune., 1909-12-05
ARTS AND CRAFTS EXHIBITION.

An arts ard crafts exhibition viii be
held at the National Arts Club. Ne. I9
East 18th street, by the National Society OF
Craftsmen, beginning tomorrow and clos
ing December %. A cordial invitation is
extended TO lovers OF ART work 20 visit this
exhibition at any time. They Will find
there attendants who will be glad 10 show
the articles on exhibition and 20 give any
needed explanations. Exhibits In the line
OF bookbindIng. silver work. jewelry. wood
carving. textiles. pottery. etc. viii be
shown