Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922, 1915-03-12

To be told that the telephone been in operation
less than forty years recalls that Omaha amoig
the first cities TO be telephonicaly equipped over in
President Yosts office there hangs the wall fac
simile of the first telephone directory for Omaha.
which is dated July TO- 1879 and is about the size Of
small handful printed side 1t contains the
names Of all the subscribers the eptome OF the pro
gressive citizenship OF the town at that the and in
the list both the office Of The Bee and the residence
its editor. have OF the early directories going
back almost far. The directions for use printed
in these old directories, follows, make Mr. Wat
sons account OF the first telephone instruments and
their operation more vivid:
Il Always hang the telephone OH its hook as
your circuit cannot be used by others until the
telephone is so hung.
%. Never touch the instrument when the bell
hammer stands away from the bell, that indi-
Gates that the line is in
g. To signal, press the button the right of
the bell.
- To communicate with the central office sig
nal two bells. wait for their response, after which
remove the telephone from its hook, and be care
ful to push the hook to the left and then holding
the telephone firmly to the ear, you will hear the
voice of the operator at the central office you
hear nothing, turn the switch TO the right and call
as 1t may be someone your circuit.
70. To converse with stations on your own cir
cut; signal slowly the number OF the station you
desire to converse with. After receiving their re-
Spouse. sound your own signal, that they may know
who Is to talk with them
49, To converse with stations not on your own
circuit: Notify the central office with whom you
your own name; then hang your telephone on its
hook and as soon as the desired connection is made
the operator at the central office will tap your bell
once as the signal to go ahead. and prompt atten-
ton to these signals is desired to save waiting on
the part Of either party.
- Speak clearly and distinctly. with your lips
gently touching the telephone
%. When your signal is sounded always answer
by repeating It, then will hear the station call
ing sound their signal that you may know with
whom you TO talk
Sub will
the telephone to three minutes i'm succession as
others may wish to use the circuit"
In the Watson narrative he told of the difficulties
encountered in devisng method of signaling to let
people know when someone wanted them 10 respond
on the phone and relieve the original necessity of
keeping the receiver constantly at the ear He did
this by call bell system. which meant that every
them did, and he had hitched up twenty to forty
phones on circuit, with the result that whole neigh
borhoods were kept awake by the ineessant ringing.
My recollection is that five six phones circuit
was a maximum here I'm Omaha each being numbered
and operated with corresponding signal with short
taps OF the bell When the phone IT, for example
we were No. s. we had to listen more than three
taps sounded to make that the call was not for
Us The only advantage OF these old-fashIoned four
and siN-party line phones was that they enabled all
the connected houses to break in on the same con-
versaton and listen and back and forth as II IT
were a family gathering
never think Of the telephone without barking
back 20 the dreadful night OF Omaha tornado and
the mercfu service rendered by the telephone in that
The Atlantic Monthly not long ago con-
tanned short essay depicting the switchboard story
OF the great lroduos theater fire-how the flash OF
the lights and the quick messages from homes to hos
pitfalls and morgues, to doctors and nurses and po-
cemen and firemen, wrote the story blazing lines
before the eyes of the operators The same word
picture could have been painted using the switch.
board experiences OF Omaha storm for material
When referred recently in this column 10 an 'ex-
position OF manufactures which I had seen set up in
a big department store I'm Baltimore, in which the
processes OF making the goods sale were Illus
trated by live exhibits, had idea than an expos-
ton of omaha-made goods being planned along
similar lines by one Of our big department stores
looked through this exposition at the Burgess Nash
establishment and was very favorabiy impressed by
It. Such enterprise is especially calculated TO omen
BUR eyes TO the number and variety OF things We use
that are being made right here among US 1t empha
sizes too the vast good that may be accomplished
By patronize-home-tndustry campaign. BY compali
SON with the exposition had the east the one
here is perhaps moro exhibit Of nome products
Than OF home production but Il will well bear repeat
Ing and suggests possibilities for widened seopo
which ampler time for designing and preparation
would easily insure.