Evening journal., 1916-11-09
JOURNAL TELEPHONE
Service POPULAR
Requests for Election News
Keep Battery of Phones
Busy
CROWDS SURROUND
BULLETIN BOARDS

AANlAoA AtAAL HliEAAn III AnAo N0unAAg heo
there been so much interest in an
election rs there has been in the
present one and never before have
the facilities for disseminating the
news been so complete. While the
election returns were made known
to the people of Wilmington by THE
EVENING JOURNAL through the
regular editions OF the paper and
extras, a stereopticon screen, mega
phone announcement of returns and
brief bulletins posted on the long
bulletin board erected for that pur-
pose in front OF the building, big
feature of its election service was
that given by telephone.
1 With the determination to give the
/ best possible service in making the
results of the election known quickly
and accurately, and realizing that
there would be numberless inquiries
sent into the editorial rooms over the
! telephone, THE EVENING JOURNAL
augmented its ordinary service by
! the installation OF nine extra phones,
aud to say that the public generally
accepted the papers invitation TO call
over them for information to an ex-
tent never before experienced is put
/ ting it mildly. The public fairly over
whelmed the office with requests for
/ information Tuesday night, all day
yesterday and last night, and began
agan first thing this morning, until
all attempts to keep a record OF the
number OF calls had to be abandoned.
1t was some traffic you people han
died. said one of the telephone men
! today, while the chief operator YEARLY
! % rI a fuand eft a awful lOf OF
calls-up in the millions, l guess"
! Besides its leased United Press
wire. THE EVENING JOURNAL de-
pended upon its three regular ID. & A.
] phones. Nos. 50. SO and 500. and its
1 automatic. No. 1903. for the receipt OF
election returns. it installed six extra
d. & A. 'Dhones-Nos. 1900. 1901. 1902,
, 1908. 1904 and 7205-and three extra
automatics-Nos. 2939. 1898 and gees
; for inquiry calls. But the thirteen
telephones hardly proved adequate to
handle the volume Of business. With
an operator for every nhOne, the
force proved too small IN take care
of II Tuesday night between the hours
Of and IL o'clock. when the greatest
number Of calls was received. IL was
expected that the need for the extra
phones would last no longer than yes
tsrday morning. but the uncertainty
OF the results kent the public on the
qui vive all dav Yesterday and last
evening was almost a reDetition of
Tuesday night. INQUIRIES are still
coming in at the press hour. although
haDDily for the operators at the tele-
phone switchboards as we'll as for the
force of EVENING JOURNAL work
ers the number OF calls is slight as
compared with Tuesday night and
YESTERDAY.
The actual election telephone SER
2, vice was begun about o'clock Tues
day night BY that hour an oper-
ator was seated before each one OF
the thirteen telephones in the edi-
torial department ready to reply to
b inquiries. Meanwhile the election
] news was coming in over the wire in
the form Of bulletins. As fast as it
4, was received their contents we're
made known to the telephone attend
ants and the news was Immediately
available to any one who asked for
it In this way telephone users we're
able to obtain the latest news as
quickly as the telegraph brought IL
into the newspaper office.
BY 1.3O o'clock the service was in full
swing. The ID g. 4. Telephone Com
pany estimated that 1000 calls were
handled by THE EVENING JOURNAL
stan between the hours of and 1890
o'clock election day night, and the man
ager characterized it as "some traffic
There was a perceptibe lull in the num-
her of calls after midnight and they
had dwinded down TO only occasional
calls in the early morning hours, but
the demand for information opened up
with vim soon after daylight yester-
day morning and was kept up until THE
EVENING JOURNAL force, learning
that there was no likelihood of getting
anything definite in the way Of returns
until today. closed up shop and "let
the phones 90 hang" That is why
patient reader. you were unable to get
] any response when you called this Office
: between II o'clock last night and 73C
o'clock this morning
The d. & A. Telephone Company
= won much appreciation from the pub
lie for the manner i'm which il han
died the vast amount OF business
Tuesday night and yesterday. In the
case of THE EVENING JOURNAL a
p call for this paper either by number
i or merely by name was met with an
equally quick response. II one phone
$ was busy the switchboard operator in
the telephone building cut in another
and there we're no delays save those
occasioned by the piling up OF calls.
\ II may be AIDED in this connection
q that yesterday was the busiest and
= biggest day the ID. & A. Telephone
Company has had in Wilmington. i
is estimated that 10000 calls were
handled by the company yesterday o
which 1000 we're for this office. Their
was the regular business OF the day
the calls TO the various newspape
- Offices and the headquarters OF tn
two political parties as we'll as an un
usual number of Out-of-town calls
Yet all this business was handled b,
the regular force. A shift in hour
: was made Tuesday to accommodate
the expectations OF business. o.
Tuesday morning a full force wa
required TO take care of the calls
but in the afternoon business wa
: light. The force of operators wa
cut down Tuesday afternoon in an
, ticipation of the rush at night. an
in this way the company was en-
abled TO handle the numerous call
3 promptly and accurately without an
! of the operators being loaded wit
! an overwhelming amount Of work.
!. The only arrangements made b.
q the company 10 care for the extr
|, business for THE EVENING JOUR
: NAL was to make some additona