Albuquerque evening herald. [volume] (Albuquerque, New Mexico) 1911-1914, 1912-12-28

Immediately after the great cxplos-
| Ion In San Antonio when sO many men
were Killed 10y the blowing up of "A To-
connective. the Southwestern telephone
| switchboard almost fumcd with signal
lamps Then more at any time In the
history at the city since the telephone
became u part OF the life OF the com 10
munity II played the conspicuous part.
From the windows OF the operating
| room, over the roofs OF adjacent
buildings and the screens at trees,
| could be seen the great column ~
smoke as It rose skyward Then came
the jar and the muitlcd ruur.
\ second later ana u hundred sig
nails seemed to flash simultaneously
, They seemed To- he crying for hell
even before the telephone girls could
answcr. The exchange record tells
,'thc story of the FIRST call.
"llrlp help doctor quick"
| screamed some grief-strickcn woman
to the young woman. The round.
house has blown UP ana my husband
| Is In there"
what happened during tho next
hour would br difficult - describe,
As II by one accord 1t seemed as II
every Southwestern subscriber was
calling central Ocials at tn" COM
pHny took aCtlN" command In the up-
Grating room. The telephone became
something more than convenience.
| II had "A mission to perform.
Lines to the hospital must be- kept
| open tor actual necessity, ambulance
| owners notified and doctors summon.
| ed. The lives OF some at the injured
| hung on more than one machine.
| Women In anguish were praying that
| busy" connections might hr over
looked go they could learn the fate
Of relatives,
ON that day the calls uf the appar-
entity curious were disrcgardcd M
| questions or idle import could he am
swcrcd by the telephone girls upon
| whom so much dependent. In all the
| city none occupied a more important
post than did the young women who
| fought 90 gallunty to relieve distress
and at tn" same time kept open the
| avenues for communication upon
which everything else depended
Hut II is not always In the darkness
OF the night that telephone operators
are called upon To help. Not only
men aud women but even little chit
drcn turn ~ II by instinct tn this one
facility which has not been robbed Oi
its human influence.
Onc winters evening the accents ul
- hHby's voice fcll on the ears at a
Telephone girl who had "a little sister
Of her own.
on oh, want my mumma," wcpt
| the child.
Where IL she" asked the young
woman al the switchboard, "whuts
the natter"
shes Ron" To- the store ana every.
thing all u-burning,"
In vain the operator rang bnrR
| upon the line tor more fucIS ThCr,
was no response. Through the inlor.
nation desk the street plumber Of the
nous" WAS usrcrtaincd ana a list al
tn" stores In tn" nrighborhuud So
cured, The iir" department was not,
ih"d Ia Investigate aud by cullins
~t"r" after st"r" the mother was To-
Gated.
The frightened wuInnn arrive,
home almost simultaneously with tn,
changing iir" apparatus. They wrr,
In time.
\ burning coal from the great llr,
hal fallen Un the ilUur Iud ignitcd IN,
wood, The child could not oscar,
and the flames were licking NJ IN,
side Of the vail. 4 few minutes NOR,
| IN" house would have been destroyed
TIA" baby In ashes.
Who were these people
Nut even the telephone girls cuul,
Civ" tn" names ana ut the time the
wcT" only asCUrtuiuCd by recourse T.
1
entries In plain mnttor Of fact wa
telling the telephone numbers iron
| which the calls were made with Ia
only entries "nrr" or police" afiD
them and ia" notation which show
ia" call I" huNc been properly han
dlud.
IN tho midst of the work nf tha
day IN san Antonlu one Of tho opera
turI heard her own name called owe
IN" wires She HnFWcred
"inur cousin has been Killed,
came the message
Sh" started 10 break away from IN
switchboard Her fic" WAS asher
for this cousin VAS more to her tina
brother. \ supervisor ran Ia sup
port her, bat the girl cliuRlng tn he
chuir looked hack AT the position sh
was guarding.
An hour later, after relief opera
tors had arrived they helped III
stricken girl from IN" building. I
stress she had stuck Ia her post
He was dead" she explninc
quietly II could not help him. bu
thought 4 might help some on
else"
From tho ruins of the roundIious
whore the explosion occurred anOthe
locomotive had rolled forth, scare
and dentsd but under lts own BteaI
Ia take the one that had been do
strOyed Lives had been snuffed on
death and destruction lay behind, bI
the train at the station with Its huT
dreds Of passengers. was destine
westward. some things have TO b
done
II was 80 at the tel. phone ~
change. The whole city depende
upon the means for communicate
and those soldiers OF the switch
board" were undaunted.
Heroic?
Yes. out OF the humdrum life &
IA telephone girl come stories Of sell
sacrifice and bravery and endurance
and tact to set the heart a-thTObblnI
soldiers die upon the battlefield
perform great deeds In the excite
ment of the combat, but who has eve
known more than this-tnat one Ion
woman should have saved whOl
community and given her lifo IL
stead?
They honor the name OF Mrs Je
fers In the telephone world. II wa
she who did this thiEg and her az
has been ImmOrtalized In song an
story.
She was the night operator in
little Wyoming town which In .
more. II lay In the valley and n
a n