Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1914-07-13
."TOLL' is THE GREAT GATEWAY
TO THE PHONE WORLD OUTSIDE

| It's thru "toll' or "long distance" as
she is called and as the telephone user
knows here, that you talk to the world
out side the city. 1t is she who opens
the gate thru which your thoughts and
WORDS pass thru space by connecting
! your wire with nearby and distant cit
! it's and towns. For all purposes OF
comparison she serves you in the same
way when you want to talk out OF town
! as central does when your CONVERSE
| ton is over only the wires inside the
| city.
| But her task is somewhat different.
, Five girls handle this work during the
daytime at the local exchange. A les
ser number are on duty at night. It's
! their business to open the way for talk
! that goes out and comes into this city
night and day. They put the local teie-
phone patrons phone on to the great
! system of the American Telephone ana
Telegraph Company. whose wires tap
almost every city, town and hamlet
I If you want to talk to. let's say Du-
buque. you call central and ask for
"long distance" The girl who an
swers you is not the girl who serves
you eventually. remember that. She
who first answer back, this is long
distance" is the recording operator. 1t
is her business to take your order
the name of the person wanted, town.
state. your name, phone number and
whether you will pay the charge or the
reverse the call to the person you
want.
All this essential information she
places on card which is an order for
! service. This card she passes to one
of three operators who sit by her side.
/, 1t constitutes their instructions regard
/ ing who to get. 1t is their duty to fill
the order promptly.
/ IF it is a person in Waterloo or Des
Moines that you called instead Of Du-
buque, and that person has a phone In
! his home toll acts for you just as
| tho you wanted John Smith in town.
! The exchange operators have telefhone
books of Des Moines and Waterloo
They call for that number from those
exchanges and the call goes thru direct
to the phone wanted without the Des
Moines Central doing more than to
make the connection. She does MOI
even keep a record of the call Meth
err does Marshalltown toll on calls
from Des Moines for telephone pat
rous in this city They are direct wires
and direct service, that's why it is SO
prompt.
Long distance" here has direct wires
also to Ames. Cedar Rapids Boone and
Grnnell but the direct method Of max
ing connections applies only to Water
; loo and Des Moines Where there is
mo direct wires long distance" mus
work thru an intermediate or relayine
eI11 anti
Davenport she puts Your call into the
. Grinnell exchange Grinnell calls DaV-
export, then makes the connection ir
her board thru which your message
passes. But if it be that the Grinnel
to Davenport wire Is busy, and Other
, calls from other places are waiting
} then your message must wait its turf
3 over the Grinnell- to- Davenport wire
Now Tong distance" calls you. Sht
, has the person you wanted at Du
: buaue on the wire. You start talking
!, When you begin long distance" tool
that ticket with your order on it ant
put it under the edge of a clock, which
stands face upward on the table of tn
ton switch board before her. Bling. sh
/, hit an attachment on the clock sharl
blow, then pulls out the order slip. o.
+ the reverse side of the car she ha
, stamped little dial like a Watci
, face. and the hand on 1t points to tn
, time when YOU began talking. Whel
: YOU get thru she biffs the stampe
again. That shows when you stoppet
!, talking The time in between Is wha
somebody must pay for If toll" is no
able t. get the person at Dubuque tina
you wanted. she notes the reason VIII,
on the reverse side of the slip. and re
ports to you. In fact when the cal
IS completed the order blank shows al
the details Of the transaction, including
o the exact time.
I When the people of twenty one small
, towns of central Iowa want to talk t
distant points their talk must pas
thrue the local, toll board. One oper