Wausau pilot. [volume] (Wausau, Wis.) 1896-1940, 1912-03-26

2. This building will be opened to
ing the first Of April, notice
i'll be given.
the needs of the occupant and consists
of waiting room, large general Office
or work room, private Offices for the
general manager and viCe-president,
private Office for the secretary, priv
ate Office for the accountant and a
vault 10 IA feet. The rooms occu-
pied by the Employers Mutual Liabil-
ity Co. are at the back and a large
waiting or general Office room, two
private offices, vault and large
supply closet.
The entire third floor Of the build
ing is occupied by the Wausau Tele-
phone company with its automatic
switchbOardS and central Office appar-
atuS, except a room at the east end of
the building which is to be the long
distance switchboard room of the
Wisconsin Telephone Co. There is
also a rest room for the operators
The interior finish of the first and
second floors is quartered oak in a
light golden rubbed finish. The vesti-
bule, corridors, ETC., are tiled with a
marble base and ornamental stucco
ceiling. The vestibule steps and the
main stairs are heavy white Italian
marble slabs, with marble riSers,
stringers and balustrade wall.
The entire building is lighted by
the indirect or eye comfort system.
In this system by means of special re-
Electors the light is all thrown up on
20 the ceiling, which is painted an
old ivory color for this special pur-
pose. These reflectorS are so con-
structed that they throw the light
over the entire upper part of the
room where by the aid of the special
ly prepared ceiling and walls the light
is so evenly diffused about the room
that no matter where you stand you
cannot get your work or paper into a
shadow. There is no such thing as
taking your work to where the light
is stronger, for it is equally strong
everywhere. And the best part of it
all is the entire absence of any glar-
ing effect to tire the eyes, hence the
name 'eye comfort system"
All the telephone wires enter the
building from the underground con-
duit system, part from the front on
Fourth street and part from the rear
| from Fifth street via Mcclellan street.
| There are five of these cables each
cable containing four hundred pairs
or eight hundred single wires.
Upon going to the third floor one
sees the entire switch room open to
view In the immediate foreground
on slightly raised platform are the
information and trouble desk, the
cross-connecting or main distributing
frame, and the power board
Stretched out in long row on the
south half of the room are the switch
boards. The first board being the
1000 board; the second, the 100 board:
| the third, the 1900 board, etc. Pass
ing on down the aisle between the
switchboards and the platform before
mentioned we pass the machine room.
In this room are the motor-generator
sets 1.-TWO in number) for charging
the storage batteries, two sets OF
ringing motor-generators, for ringing
| the telephone bells, and making the
| busy signal and two sets of harmonic
converters for furnishing the power to
ring the Selective party line bells.
Next beyond the machine room is
the battery room with its two rows
of batteries. Here everything has
been done that could have been done
| to eliminate wood and iron or other
| metal work, for the acid fumes the
battery quickly destroy any metal OF
| unprotected wood work which NAV
| be left in the room. The room is
also provided with two large ventiIa-
tors.
Beyond this room and filing the
space between it and the front of the
building are more sWitchboards.
The switchboardS from the old
Office on Third street, have been
moved and set up ready to be con.
nected and put into commission as
wanted. This makes the total switch
capacity Of tie plant TWENTY-FIVE
| hundred single lines and fifty-four
party lines or grand total of twenty
four hundred stations.
The Wisconsin Telephone Co. has
leased two rooms in the south east
corner of the third floor and will in.
stall new long distance switchboard
there some time during the summer.
| For the present they have moved
their old board from the Third street
office and are using that. The wires
for the toll board, i. e. the toll lines,
enter the building through the under.
ground conduits the same as the wires
for the local telephones. As the cleo
trio light and power lines also enter
the building underground there are
no wires of any description to be seen
attachad to the outside of the build
ing.
The entire work of engineering and
| installing the central Office comm
ment mas been done under the person
al supervision Of Superintendent IT
| |. Crawford, by the regular EMPLOYEES
OF the company assisted by special
switch-men from the Automatic
Electric Co.'S factory in Chicago.
1t has been the aim of the directors
of the Wausau Telephone company
TO have the central Office housed in a
| fire proof building, so that its users
might not be without service i'm case
of fire. We now have that buildino
and there is no danger from this
source in the future.
1t was in 1895 that our citizens
formed the Wausau Telephone com.
pany. The Wisconsin Telephone com
pany had occupied the field from the
time telephones were brought into
use, but its service was abomnable
and its rentals almost prohibitive
When patience was exhausted in try
ing 10 bring about reasonable condi-
items. our people organized and incor-
porated the present company. The
stock was placed on the market and
sold under the wise provision that no
x1orSrra could -