Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1914-03-26
TELEPHONE GIRLS
NOW WORK UNDER
IDEAL CONDITIONS
BEST OF SHELTER AND CAFE
GIVEN YOUNG WOMEN EARN
ING THEIR OWN LIVING.
WELFARE WORK STARTED
FOR BENEFIT OF PUBLIC
Success of Plan Shown by Efficient
Service and General WelI-Being
of Operators.

workers better Shl tered and better
cared for than in the telephone ey-
change. The Bell Company was pio-
neer in welfare work In startin q ms
work the Telephone Company believed
that the public would be benefited
through the resulting Improvement in
the service. The results obtained dur.
ing the years since the work was
started have more than justified this
belief.
In the early days of the telephone
boys were employed as operators. but
they did not prove successful. They
were inattentive, impatient and mis-
chievous, and often impertinent to
subscribers. Even at their best. they
failed to give satisfaction, chiefly be-
cause their voices were unSympa-
thetic. The boy operator soon gave
place to the girl operator, and the inn
provement in the service was imme
diate
1t was not long until the telephone
girl became a permanent institution,
and because her efficiency is due in
great measure to a composed mind, ev-
erything was done to make her work
as pleasant as possible. From the
early history of the telephone the OPP
orators have been carefully selected
and trained, and have been just as
carefully protected from over-worIl
and unhealthful conditions.
New Engineer Develops.
All the complicated equipment OF
the modern telephone exchange has
been designed for the comfort and
convenience of the girl operators The
standard switchboard has been de
signed to suit the reach of the aver
age young woman's arm. Special re-
ceivers and transmitters have been
made to permit her hands to be free
to operate the specially designed cords
and keys. The chair she sits in while
at work is the result of careful eX-
periments. The foot rest on the chair
is at just the right elevation.
A special kind of engineer has been
developed in the working out of these
problems. These engineers have not
stopped with the switchboard and the
operating equipment; they have gone
into questions of light heat and ven
tilation, striving to ma e hygienic con
ditions as nearly ideal as possible
AS the use of the telephone grew
and the number of operators steadily
increased, additional welfare work
was started by the Telephone Com
pany. An important ST p was the es-
tablishment of the restroom. AS its
name implies, the restroom is a room
where the girl operators can rest be-
fore going to work or during inter-
walls of work at the switchboard Each
exchange has its restroom, we'll fur
nished with comfortable chairs
touches, writing desks and tables In
the restroom the operators time is
her own She can read, write or talk
with other girl operators as she
pleases. The latest books and mag
azines are supplied by the Company
Some of the rest-rooms have a piano
so that the girls can dance if they
wish Every exchange building has
a lunch room. There is also a spacious
locker room in each exchange where
each girl has an individual locker for
her wraps.
Hospital for the Sick
In some of the larger exchanges
there is a hospital room for the use
of the operators who are suddenly
taken i'll All of these various welfare
departments have matrOn in charge,
who in all cases, is a motherly wo
man with the best interests of the
girls at heart.
A recent innovation in some of the
larger exchanges is a drying room
where, in wet weather. the operators
can take off their wet clothing when
they come in from the street and have
it thoroughly dried. They are fur
nished with wearing apparel to use
while their clothing is being dried
An important feature of the welfare
work is the operators school, which is
a recognized necessity, especially in
the large cities To become members
of this school, applicants must pass
preliminary examinations as to their
physical mental and moral qualifca-
tions. Only normal, healthy girls are
selected Those who might injure the
health of the others are excluded The
company aims to get bright and inte
ugent girls who are tall enough to dc
the work without straining, and who
have good voices and have a fair
amount of schooling.
Nfo-k '~-s-'7 = Ct-ls
Telephone r. - sheltered mora
than any other class of working girls
They never come in direct contact
with the public, as do girls in many
other occupations. For this reason
the work appeals to many girls from
good homes, who would shrink from
an occupation where they were not so
carefully guarded,
AS a result of all these precautions
telephone girls are attractive, capable
Young ladies', considerably above the
avarage yOung woman in business Ifs