Greene County herald. (Leakesville, Miss.) 1898-current, 1911-01-20


and soft voice from
some PARKWAY place says Mum
ber 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 a job with the telephone
company and through it develop into
a 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 1878, and that now there are
100000 in use in the country, and
that the conversation over the 13,000,-
600 miles of wire number eight to ten
thousand million annually; that the
total revenues of the telephone COM
panies are $1S5,000,000 a year, and
that this business gives employment
to hundred and twenty thousand
persons, as compared with a paltry
twenty-four thousand employees In tel
egraphy-when the father is told all
this, he is apt to think some and to
wonder If, after ALL it wouldn't be a
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.
1t is fact that the boy, without
knowing in the beginning a telephone
from foghcrn, 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
their growth to all parts of the coun-
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 PEG
pie who install the phones and fix
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 fc~ --~~'-'-
cry, or the technic of anything, as he
thinks he is better fitted naturally
for straight business life. So he gets
into touch with the commercial or con
tract, department and asks for a job
Knowing nothing in particular he
will get nothing in particular-prob
ably he will be given a job as messen
ger and his duties will be to run
errands, answer the telephone, carry
messages and do such work as gen
orally falls to the lot of Office boys
His pay will be about five dollars q
week.
But the boy is determined to get out
Of this position as rapidly as he can
and looks toward the clerks longing
ly, studies their methods of figuring
and bookkeeping, and improves his
penmanship. Of course here, as else
where, his employer-in this instance
the chief clerks watching his efforts
to make progress and as soon as the
COY is worthy of it, will put him on as
one OF the junior clerks at a slight in
crease in salary, probably paying him
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 so
cial chances that may come up, and
gradually gets into little better grade
Of junior clerk, finally, after a couple
Of years, earning probably as much
as SIS week.
Then the chief clerk of this particu
lar office Is promoted or goes away
and your boy, being the most CONNIE
tent of the juniors, gets the place at
say, $25 week, with The Office boy
ana several lesser clerks working I'M
her him. The logical promotion from