The enterprise. [volume] (Harlem, Mont.) 1899-1926, 1910-10-06


= full public utility figure. ::
= BY c. w. JENNINGS. s
E4naltM9 HE average man using a
.N#kA telephone probably doesn't
Y A " know any more about 1t
&NNX than that when he takes
~G8&z the receiver off the hook
INA and soft voice from
some far-away place says: "Num-
Der, please" and in a few Sec
onds he Is talking with the per-
son he asked for. If questioned about
the employees and the chances for his
boy to get job with the telephone
company and through it develop into
q prominent and wealthy citizen, he
would probably shrug his shoulders
and say: "Oh, there is no chance; for
all the people they use are a few
men to string wires and an army of
Hello Girls"
But there are numerous chances for
boys in telephony, and as promising
an outlook as in any big business in
the United States.
When it is considered that the first
telephone was established in New
York in 1873, and that now there are
100000 in use in the country, and
that the conversation over the 13,000,-
900 miles of wire number eight to ten
thousand million annually; that the
total revenues of the telephone COM
panies are $185,000,0O0 a year, and
that this business gives employment
to a hundred and twenty thousand
persons, as compared with a paltry
twenty-four thousand employees In tel
this, he is apt to think some and to
wonder If, after all, it wouldn't be e
good thing for his boy to go into the
phone business.
He would be right. And another
thing: The multitude of jobs that
are possible to the boy are by no
means all technical, though the bust
ness itself may seem at first flush to
require great deal Of technical
knowledge.
It is fact that the boy, without
knowing in the beginning telephone
from foghorn, may start and work
up to be general manager of one of
the big telephone companies, and it
is even possible for him to become
president ultimately.
Well, father and son have been read
ing about the colossal business and
earnings of telephone enterprises and
try, and decide to take the plunge.
This boy knows no more than the
average, and has no more than the
usual common schooling; but he
wishes to get out into the world and
be man.
He finds at once that telephoning Is
divided into three great branches, the
commercial, or contract branch, the
plant, and the traffic. The first Gov
ers all relations of the company with
its real or prospective subscribers
The plant includes the technical peo
pie who install the phones and fiji
them when they get out of order
The traffic department makes the
connections with the people you
wish to talk to and includes the Cen
trail girls.
Our boy doesn't care for machin
cry, or the technic of anything, as he
for straight business life. So he gets
into touch with the commercial, or con
tract, department and asks for job
Knowing nothing in particular, h.
will get nothing in particular-prob
ably he will be given job as messen
ger and his duties will be to ru1
errands, answer the telephone, carr!
messages and do such work as gen
orally falls to the lot of office boys
His pay will be about five dollars =;
week.
But the boy is determined to get GU
of this position as rapidly as he can
and looks toward the clerks longing
ly, studies their methods of figuring
and bookkeeping, and improves hi
penmanship. OF course here, as else
where, his employer-in this instanc
the chief clerks watching his effort
to make progress and as soon as tn
ooy is worthy of it, will put him on a
one of the junior clerks at slight in
crease in salary, probably paying hin
eight dollars week at first.
The boy attends strictly to business
being more anxious to improve him
self than to join too much in the sc
cial chances that may come up, an
gradually gets into little better grad
of junior clerk, finally, after coupl
of years, earning probably as muc
as SIS week.
Then the chief clerk OF this particl
lar Office is promoted or goes away
and your boy, being the most compt
tent of the juniors, gets the place a
say, $25 week, with the Office DO
and severd lesser clerks working III
der him. The logical promotion frol