The Washington herald., 1911-02-12
CHINA WAKING Up
TO THE VOICE OF
THE HELLO Girl"

| How do they say Hello" in Chinese
was the question that presented itself
to many frivolous minded persons when
| II became known that the Chinese gov
! ernment intends to equip an up-to-date
| telephone system for the benefit of its
| subjects?
| Inc telephone plant is to be installed
| in Pekin, the capital city of the Celes-
tials. 1t is 10 be as thoroughly modern
| as any Of the up-to-date systems in tho
world. The equipment is of the central
battery type, with all it's little miniature
lamp signals, and Chinese girls will OF
crate it. America and Europe have
| learned that a network of overhead
wires is an unsightly and unnecessary
evil. China, therefore. is t" put her
wires in lcad-covcrcd cables and To lay
| the greater part Of them underground
The beautiful thing about all this
Chinese activity is that it IS an awaken
ing and not reconstruction. Over hero
in thing of this sort people have to
learn and progress by experiment and
experience. wrcckinG old equipment
when the new Is installed. China, therp-
fore. gets all the advantages of West
ern development without going through
the costly stages Of experimenting.
But as to the Chinese central girls,
and the way they say hello"
Few Phones in China
Until the present time there have been
few telephones in China. Throughout
the whole empire of 100000 people
only half-a-dozen cities have telephones
at all. and the total number of the lat
switchboards have been used are small,
and all in all there has been little use
for hello girls in China. Yet Chinese
operators are not unknown. They are
found in San Francisco's Chinatown.
The Chinatown switchboard is in quaint
surroundings. The guardian deity of a
joss-house presides over the room. one
corner of which is set aside for telephone
purposes.
Here the contact of the Oriental with
the enlightened West has a striking de
monstra ton. For. seated at the switch
board. with all its down-to-datc scien-
tihc equipment of lamp-signals. multiple
jacks, and highly perfected apparatus.
are four little Chinese girls. clad in
flOwered silk. over their jet-black hair
the regulation heGd-piece and receiver
used by the telephone girls. and resting
on the nrass rail of the switchboard arc
four tiny pairs OF sandaled feet. A
greater incOngruity of surroundings could
scarcely he imagined.
Yet from all reports this branch Of
the service is a successful one. anf
the girls make good" operators.
something Of this sort reached ;he ears
Of the three Chinese commissioners who
visited this country looking for ideas
for the new telephone system for gen
cral adoption in the empire. They came
first to New York. then to Chicago. and
from there to San Francisco. when th"T
were still further uCkled to find tho
same kind Of equipment as tirst seen IN
New York and Chicago adapted to their
own people and their own language.
That seemed to be the kind of tele-
phone material their empire wanted.
Accordingly the contract for selling the
telephones came to an American COM
pany. which made this Chinatown equip
mcnt and which has built the exchanges
Of all the big cities in this country.
The German and English makers, VII"
had left no stone unturned to Introduce
their apparatus, of course were disaP-
pointed.