Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1913-08-17
Men and Wamen Make
Little Effor. to Be
Courteous Over the
Wire Lovemaking
by Modern Conven-
fence Has Made Letter
Writing a Thing Of the
Past.

some one could lay down cut and
dried code Of telephone manners.
fewer discourtesies would pass back
u and forth between friends and neigh
bors every day. But the telephone IS
as yet q fairly new convenience. When
it Is as old social institution as after
noon teas or saddle horses, there may be
definite rules regarding its use.
Among both women and men telephone
manners are bad. We make little effort,
in fact, to be courteous over the tele-
phone.
Hello. who is this?' is the insistent
call that comes over our wire day after
day. The courteous thing to say, Of
course. Is this: Hello, Is this III Main?'
And. IL an affirmative answer is given.
.This is Mrs. Blank. Is Mrs. Brown at
homer
x
The method Of most women-of calling
the number they want on the telephone
and then rudely demanding the name OF
the owner Of the voice that answers them
| lis reminiscent of an experience business
men sometimes have. One busy man was
l-consulting with a very important business
associate. He gave word to the office boy
that he on no account could be disturbed.
A man called to see him and heard the
Office boys statement that Mr.. Y was en-
gagged. The caller waited five minutes
and then, seeing no chance of gaining an
| interview in the near future. went to the
switchboard, connected himself with the
| Office of the man he wanted to see, and
1 had his conversation over the telephone.
The Office boy. overcome with unaccus-
| toned timidity at the visitors nerve"
sat quietly by and thought OF the scold-
ing he would receive presently from his
employer. He was not disappointed. The
| employer, righteously angry at the boy
| for connecting him. with any telephone
| call. would listen to no explanations, and
| the boy had to suffer for the mans rude
ness.
man on the other end of the wire as to
, who you are is to say: This is No. I'll,
| or whatever your number may be. Maids
| should be taught to answer the telephone
| In this same way.
Or they may say This is Mrs. Browns
residence But 1t is better not to give
your name over the phone until you
know who has called you up The person
who has called you has taken upon her.
self the responsibility of giving her name
| first.
The telephone invitation is SO usual to-
/ day that there is no use preaching
| against it. And indeed 1t is in no way
| harmful. 1t saves time. trouble and
| worry. and when 1t is given carefully and
/ good.
! But somehow we do not regard tele-
phoned invitations with the same rever-
1 ence We bestow on other invitations.
Few OF us would fail to keep an engage
ment which had been suggested to us
by means of an engraved invitation. Few
/ of us would neg. ect written invitation.
| But many of us will say, at the last
minute. IL we are too tired to feel enthu-
siastic about some social gathering to
| which we have been hidden by telephone.
| We'll, she got me on the phone: I'll just
telephone her and tell her L cannot come
and she can get some one else on the
phone"
| serves just as much consideration as one
, engraved on gold, or a formal summons
from king
Letter writing-love-letter writing-has
degenerated into a despised necessity to
! be made use OF when one is without the
zone-either geographical or financial-of
the telephone, local or long distance. A
| futtering Hello travelling over hundreds
| Of miles Of wire now produces more
ecstasy in the manly breast than did the
/ old-fashioned scented note. written on
pink paper and filled with pressed forget
menots and heartsease.
+
And the maidenly heart, too. lis stirred
more quickly by the thought that some
body cared enough about her to spend
S. on a telephone call from the ends OF
the world, than it is by the sight Of a
! pile OF letters two inches high.
There is no use bewailing this sad state
Of affairs. Doubtless Cupid can balance
on a wire as well as he can hide in a
scented enevelope.
But. seriously, many men and maidens.
too. take unfair advantage of their privi-
! lege Of using the telephone. A girl will
telephone a man and interrupt him
thoughtlessly. perhaps in the middle OF
an important contract which he is trying
to put through. Or a man will call d girl
on the telephone and corner her with
questions as to her engagements and
her willingness to make engagements.
He will be far more persistent and in
Sistent than he ever would dare to be
IL he were talking to her face to face.
Yards and maybe miles Of wire stretch
between them. and give him confidence
and. to certain extent, rudeness.
But bless the telephone. In spite of all
the bad manners that are learned be-
cause OF 1t. In spite of all the rudeness
that flashes over itS WiraS IN iu haa,,