Norwich bulletin., 1918-05-27
WAR TIME SAVING IN
 NEW TELEPHONE DIRECTORY
Thu,nbcut Page For Different Lo- calities Eliminated is Noticeable Change.

The first wartime conservation is-- sue of the Connecticut Telephone Di- rectory has made it's appearance and becomes effective May 18th.
 The new directory presents several innovations, principal among them be- ing the announcement of a change in the method of receiving subscribers complaints of line and instrument troubles and operating defects.
 Heretofore it has been the GUS tom when line or instrument trouble scriber to call the complaint operator and give notice of the trouble Begin ming with the effective date of this di- rectory, subscribers are asked to call repair clerk, when desiring to report troubles of this nature.
 The new procedure for filing such complaints was inaugurated because 1t has proven more satisfactory than the other in places where, at different times both have been used. It means, also, more direct and expeditions handling of all such complaints and will make for greater speed. accuracy and efficiency in taking care of all line and instrument trouble com p1aints.
 However, if it is desired to make a complaint of defect in operating service, that is, a defect for which 1 the human element appears to be re- | sponsible, it should be made to the chief operator.
 A new feature of the directory is | the omission of the thumbcut by which subscribers were enabled to turn to 1 the section of the book most ire quently used. The elimination of the | thumbcut is a conservation measure in accord with the spirit of the times which in no way lessens the useful ness of the book, nor abridges the in- | formation it formerly contained. 1 One of the officials of the company
 when asked why the thumcut was
 omitted from this issue of the dircc- tory said many causes led to thi: l change. One important reason was the fact that thumbcut books were no ] interchangeable among the telephone exchanges in the state and this caus ed much inconvenience on many oc I casioYis. Books thumbcut for Hartford could not be used in New Haven ana 1 vice versa. Another reason is fount l in the fact that the thumbcut required I that the books intended for each ex
 chansc receive separate attention ant l books marked by the thumbcus ire I ouently e/used confusion in shipping l Embargoes placed by the railroad ol
 certain classes of shipments, includet
 among which is the telephone direc tory, likewise influenced this chang as with the elimination of the thumb cut all the books are alike and the, can be shipped without delay an routed to avoid. the embargoes. The can also be inter changed among tn
 cities as they are needed.
 Ire advantages from this change
 acccI ding to the Telephone copSDan
 primarily, will also be appreciabl
 from the standpoint of the telephon using public.
 The absence of the thumbcut wi
 not be felt to any extent by the user of the book Those who really fet l the need of such a thing can very easi ly cut away the upper right eorne . 1 of the book to- the first page of tn exchange most frequently referred t
 using a sharp knife or scissors for th |. a moment and can be done as neati
 and. satisfactorily as machin
 thumbcut.
 The general appearance of the in
 side of the directory has been great
 Fy improved. AlI4 the unnecessar
 
 waste of space, which heretofore mar red the appearance of the pages, ha been avoided by closing up the tyr matter and also making them appea
 much more business like and sight, , Tn directing these economies, sna , when considered individually, bt
 large in the aggregate, the Telephor ] | company was enabled to effect a say , ing of considerable white print pa } per in each book, which fact is in , portant in view of the well know shortage of paper.
 An Interesting feature of the direc , tory is found in the outside of II l back cover which is given over to a l | advertisement urging the purchas . of War Savings Stamps. This spat 7 twas biven to this cause by the con panv on the request of governmei : authorities in charge of the War Sa1 ] tings Stamps sales in this territory