Omaha daily bee., 1919-10-12

number the subscriber is repeating
to Sighting the jack as they
call it. When she has found the
proper "jack" she taps It with the
end of the plug If it buzzes the
line is in use and if it huns the
line is out of order.
People would not call US lazy
when we tell them the line is busy
said one of the girls the other day
If they realized that it is far easier
to put up their connection than to
tell them the line is busy and drop
the plug back"
She memories her emergency
calls for hospitals, doctors and fire
stations, and she must learn the
geography of the board size is to
face day in and day out. There are
the little white lines under a row
of Jacks" which mean a number
of trunk lines running into some
large store or plant, the "P. B. X"
(private branch exchanged, as it is
called. There are red and green
chalk marks at some peculiar angle
about the holes which mean private
line, or ring r, or w, or M, or J,
or X, or Y, the last two meaning
three rings and not appearing in the
telephone directory And lastly she
learns that her dead lines, where
there is no telephone corresponding
to the number, must be plugged
with little black plugs,
Maybe She Has to Cry.
Now the girls training is over,
she has listened in OH some of the
operators for few days and she is
ready to go on the board. She soon
gets used to the headpiece with the
receiver pressed against her ear, al
though some operators are troubled
with ear wax hardening in their
telephone ear" which is usually
the left one and she doesn't mind
| the weight of her set pressing on
her chest, except in the very hottest
weather, when it sometimes seems
unbearable. But it is dreadful
feeling to sit down facing the board
and take on a normal load of calls
| for the first time. Her fingers seem
all thumbs when she "opens her
key" by pulling down one of the
row of little black handles before
her and a few seconds later rings
the number wanted by pulling down
a little black handle in the CORE
spending row. Her hands will ge,
crossed, which they are not sup
posed to do, when she reaches to in
sert a plug in some far-off Jack
and a succession of calls confuse
her until sometimes she even drops
her calls and cries, as one girl con-
fessed to doing.
But the supervisors are very kind
and patient with the girls, and they
come to the rescue in such situa
ton. 1t is hard work to be a ST.
pervisor, because it means being or
your feet during the seven or eight
hours which you work, walking up
and down behind the seven or eight
girls which are your charges and
being ready to straighten out any
tangle of connections or conversa-
! ton in which any of your girls be
come involved. You have two 70
minute periods of rest during the
day instead of 15-minute periods as
the other operators do, but that is
the only difference. Many girls who
have been in the telephone office
long enough and have had expert
ence enough to be supervisors con-
tinue to plug the lights" because
they are not strong enough to stand
on their feet through their working
hours.
Ever Mad at Central?
If you think your operator is care
less and makes lots of mistakes, Just
stop and think of all the plumbers
which one girl might make in the
course of one days work. In the
first place, think of the rows OF
figures and "multiples" which her
eyes must travel over before she
lights the one which will connect
you with the person you wish to talk
| with; is it any wonder that out OF
400 calls in an hour she reaches the
wrong hole once? Think for NOM
ent OF the variety of voices, soft
and loud, clear and husky, gruff and
gentle, which pour number into her
ear, threes that sound like twos and
skies and sevens which are exactly
alike. Do you wonder that she
hears wrong and so gives you the
wrong number once in day?
Then that commonest complaint
of all, "She disconnected us" Now,
she did not listen in your CONVEX
sation and decide that you were
through or that if yon were not, it
was time that you were, neither did
she take down the connection alb
sent-mindedly or with malice afore-
thought. What happened was that
she accidentally loosened the plug in
its socket or she reached to take
down connection where the sub
scriber had finished talking and her
| fingers lighted on the wrong one;
but in the latter case she discovers
| her mistake, because the other end
of the wire is still open and she
remedies it by reconnecting as soon
| as possible.
| And Here is Information"
| Did you ever wonder when you
asked for information how one girl
seemed to know so much about tele-
II