The L'Anse sentinel. (L'Anse, L.S., Mich.) 18??-current, 1913-10-25
I'M FAR NORTHLAND'
Important Events In Sweden,
Norway and Denmark.
BRIEFS FROM OLD COUNTRY
Interesting Items From the Threo
Great Kingdoms Of tho North Sc
iected for ScandInavians and
Their Descendants.
BY MARTIN w. oDLAND.
Denmark.

DcVmdFk.
Kristen Moller. general superinteni-
emit of the Copenhagen and Zealand
Telephone company, who visited the
United States and made q study Of
the American telephone service, has
contributed to the Telephone Review,
an American publication. an article
comparing the telephone service OF
Denmark with that Of the United
States, and II will interest the read
ers Of this paper to reproduce part
OF his article. In the first place, he
brings out the fact that In Denmark
the work OF the telephone girls Is
made secondary to their home rights.
on which account. they devote only a
few hours to the telephone service
each day. thus permitting them to
keep up their home interest and work.
II they work on Sunday or in the eve
nings, they are paid extra. The sal
airy Of the operators is necessarily
the short hours, and are determined
according to principles quite different
from those In vogue in the United
States, where a telephone girl, says
Mr.. Moller. gets the maximum salary
as soon as she Is considered perfectly
trained This necessary training is
generally acquired in America in from
one to three years.
With us wages increase quite slow
Iy and reach their maximum q hard
ly dare write it, after 25 years Of
service" says Mr.. Moller. ION my
American trip was always met with
an incredulous smile when l spoke
about operators with 20 or 25 years OF
service. can. however, assure my
readers that in Copenhagen we have
several skilful operators who have
served the company for more than 25
years. One operator who Is still in
active service Is seventy years old.
"Of course there is no doubt but
that the principle according to which
wages are determined in America is
perfectly correct from business
standpoint, especially for young girls.
who In American cannot expect any
long time of service, but in Europe.
and especially in Denmark, the meth
cd of paying wages according to Sc
niority is based upon such an ancient
and deep-rooted tradition that 1t is i'm
possible to alter 1t at present.
Furthermore in Copenhagen the
operators have to take into consider
alton that there is possibility OF their
not getting married, and the COM
pany has to allow for considerable
expense in pensioning its employees,
and in the face of these two facts our
method of paying cannot be said to be
so wrong after all, even from bust
ness point Of view.
"All employees of the company have
right to a pension after Is years OF
continual service. The size of the
tension increases from one-third to
rwo-thirds of the average wages OF
The last Ave years, inasmuch as the
time of service has been from l5Nto
20 years in succession.
Another important feature is what
may be called our care Of the operators
during their leisure time. Our COM
pany shares the cost of keeping
sutler, who furnishes food and bever-
ages at very low prices. In America
there are perhaps more rooms for
rest, but the operators in Copenhagen
have small cosy garden--an inviola-
BILE spot In the midst OF the hustle /
OF the great city. At several OF the
exchanges there are bathing establish
ments for the girls, and lastly, the
company encourages the girls by pro-
viding them with partly or entirely
gratis board at homes of recreation,
with gratis medical aid and with part
ly gratis instruction in gymnastics and
languages. The company gives each
operator one uniform year, which
they wear when at work"