Evening journal., 1916-11-10
10000 TELEPHONE
CALLS FOR Returns
This Number Sought lnfor-
nation Over Evening Jour
nal Wires in 3 Days
DIAMOND STATE co.
ESTABLISHES RECORD

down To routine MOlh dAd4is Ahe
cheering crowds that faced the build
ing since the first telegraphc bulle-
tn was posted Tuesday evening and
listened to the announcements OF the
megaphone man melted away with the
assurance given last night that Pres
den. Wilson was reelected. but the
greatest change noticeable in the edi-
lorial rooms is the absence of the con-
tinual ringing Of the telephone bells
and the incessant calls for elect on
news over the phones.
The calls that came in over the
phones today are occasional inqulr-
les as 10 the election results and the
usual business Of a newspaper once.
Since the large demand for telephone
news was discontinued late last night
the reportorial staff has been delving
into figures and was surprised to
learn that during the period from Z
o'clock Tuesday night, when the first
calls began coming in, TO IL o'clock
last night, approximately 10000 calls
had been received and taken care Of
over nine Diamond State Telephone
Company lines in THE EVENING
JOURNAL office. and 5000 calls over
the four automatic phones of the
Wilmington and Philadelphia Trac-
ton Company, or a total of about TO-
900 calls.
Beginning Tuesday night at Z o'clock
the service given the public by The
EVENING JOURNAL was kept up unn-
teTuptedly until II o'clock Wednesday
night and taken up again at 30 o'clock
Yesterday morning to be continued until
nearly midnight last night. 1t is esti-
mated that "A hours of continuous SER
vice was given the public by the Is
telephones installed IN the editorial de-
partment, which figures means that
about 400 calls were received and an
swercd during every one of the Al hours,
am average of 80 calls an hour for eacl.
of the thirteen operators, or one every
two minutes. When it is remembered
hat the traffic was not continuous dur
ING the Al hours the phones were in
commission. and that at times there was
lull. it viii be seen that quite often
he operators were often handling calls
much faster than that.
Many times the operators in THE
EVENING JOURNAL Office did not
have an opportunity TO hang the
telephone receiver back on the hook
before another voice at the other
end Of the wire would be heard.
AS for the automatics. they took
care of themselves, and gave the pre-
else service that any well made and
accurate piece of machinery can be
depended upon to do.
Actual figures compiled m The
EVENING JOURNAL Office over theiI
nine phones. exclusive of the regular
traffic was as follows: Tuesday night
1000 calls: Wednesday, 5000 calls, and
Yesterday. 5000 calls THE EVENING
journal. force attempted to keep tally
on the number of inquiries received, but
loon abandoned the effort as the oper-
ators had all thew could do TO answer
the 'phones. But from figures available
the force estimates the number Of calls
received over the automatics as fol
lows: Tuesday night. 500 calls; We'd
nesdav. 1000 calls and Yesterday, SoOu
caU. This, too was exclusive Of the
ordinary business handled in connection
with the special election service given
THE EVENING JOURNAL depend
ed upon its three regular ID. A
phones. Nos. 50, SO and 500, and its
automatic. No. 1908. for the receipt or
election returns. It installed six extra
u & A 'phones-Nos. 1900 1901, 1902.
1909. 1904 and 7s05-and three extra
automatics- Nos. 2939 1898 and 29sS
for inquiry calls. But the thirteen
telephones hardly proved adequate to
handle the volume of business. With
ar operator for every phone. the
force proved too small to take care
of IL Tuesday night between the hours
of 3 and II O'Clock. when the greatest
number of calls was received.
The u. g. A. Telephone Company
won much appreciation from the pub
lice for the manner in which II nan
died the vast amount OF business
Tuesday night and "Wednesday. In ehe
case of THE EVENING JOURNAL
call for this paper either by NUMBER
or merely by name was met WIN an
equally quick response II one pnOne
was busv fhe switchboard operator in
tbo telenhone building cut in another,
md tbere we're no delays save those
occasioned bv the piling up of calls.
"Wednesday was the busiest day the
n g Telephone COMPANY has ever
had in Wilmington The company
stoff ON that day handled $4,000 more
ooiis Than il ever handled before. to-
tai OF APPROXIMATELY ANN'NNN
These $4,000 extra calls were Ovid
ed between the three newspapers OIL
the city. the headquarters of the TWO
political parties and one or two other
Sources for the dissemination OF cleo
tion news. or the $4,000 extra calls
Wednesday. 600 were into the office
OF THE EVENING JOURNAL.
This unusual condition Prevailed
only during Wednesday for yester-
dav the extra traffic had dropped
down 10 about $500. the telephone
company stated. The current dis
charge of telephone batteries which
supplied the individual telephones
from the central Office Wednesday
was the greatest ever noted by the
company in Wilmin !ton. Yet this
business was handled by the regular
force.
The only arrangements made by
the company to care for the extra
business for THE EVENING JOUR-
NAL was to make some additional
switchboard assignments. The new
numbers for THE EVENING JOUR-
NAL were simply added TO regular
lists and the operators notified
thereof.
PERSONAL.
Miss Edna NJ. Vreeland entertained
a Few Of her friends Monday even