Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1914-07-21
Rural" is "He1lo"
Girl for Farmers
Give me rural"

Give me rural"
That's what you said to central
| many times when you wanted to talk
to some one in the country. But did
you ever stop to think that this rural
for whom you asked is the connectinS
link of the local telephone exchange
that joins you with the net work OF
rural wires that run into this city. She's
the medium thru which the farmer
talks with the city and the world out
side. But for her the farmers phone
service would be limited to the rural
line he is on.
Because of the great number of rural
lines that run into the switchboard OF
the city exchange, and the nature or
the service, "rural's" job is one of the
most difficult of all the places on the
switchboard. Three girls handle the
calls that go to and from the eighty
rural lines during the forenoons. one
can handle the afternoon business, but
two are kept busy at it at night, and
especially in the early hours after
dark.
Each of the eighty rural lines has an
average of probably eight phones. That
makes q total of $40 rural phones
these girls handle, and altho the calls
for these telephones and from them
are not SO large for each one, as is
the case in the city, still the larger
number of instruments makes the work
heavy and at times strenuous.
During the forenoons one of the
three rural" girls does nothing else
but connect rural lines with the toll
hoard for messages to and from distant
points. The others answer the direct
calls to this city or to other rural lines
nearby.
Then, in addition to the eighty lines
and the $40 telephones that these girls
handle. they also handle the calls thai
come from the lines that ramify out OF
Albion and Green Mountain, and which
are connected with this city by free
rural wires.
And in the afternoons when only one
rural" is there to answer the sum-
mons over all the lines her hands arr
literally filed every minute with cords
that tie Your telephone wires TO those
Of any rural line YOU want in the the
switchboard. She has no time To PLAY
or tat-not she Her shift requires
mos. capable operator.
In addition she must memorize a
code OF calls. When YOU want 265 on
&, if there is such a number and line,
rural connects you to the line. then
rings the number with two short. one
long. and five short rings. To her the
call did not mean 265, hut so many
short and long rings according to the
code OF rings. BY the code the dislts
one to five stand for corresponding
number Of short rings; the disits six
to nine represent !, 2, 3, and long
rings. respectively.
Having connected YOU and rung Ii
code signals for that number. you
talk-providing that every one on the
line has not taken down his receiver
and so interrupted the electrical cur
rent by so doing that the persons talk
ing get sassy" and make some sar-
castle remark TO the effect that Mrs.
Eavesdropper probably is away from
home for she hasn't taken down her
receiver yet.
Click. click, click-you can hear the
receivers go back into place. But the
Marshall Telephone Company is not to
blame for the eavesdroppins. Neither
is it responsible for the condition of the
rural circuits outside the city's limits.
II maintains connections with the rural
lines at the edge of town Beyond the
rural companies are responsible for
their own wires.
MARSH All TEL ,EPHONE CO.