The Parisian. (Paris, Tenn.) 1907-1962, 1920-01-30
PHONE COMPANY
GETS new BOARD
Local Facilities Enlarged Preparatory
To Increased 1920 Business;
District Manager Here.
Every story has two sides.

Every story has two sides.
The telephone story IS no excep-
tion.
To the average person, the opera
tor is only voice. He cannot see
her sitting before huge board,
where a maze of cords Irvine and
intertwine, where plugs and keys and
things KEEP up a constant clickety-
click greatly resembling a first class
bee hive, that is strengthened in it's
realism by the incessant hum o
voices. Few persons appreciate the
fact, that maybe an operator is a
human being, after all, and rs subject
Away sto great nervous tension,
because that it the other side of the
story. ..
A visit to the telephone Office would
be enlighteming, and Manager A. W.
jackson says he wishes everyone of
the six hundred telephone sui scrib-
ers of the town would call at the
office and look over the details of the
service they are receiving. He feels
that the Cumberland Telephone Com
pany in it's ecorts to please and be
efficient would welcome public in
spection of the local situation.
No business was developed in the
town by the company the past year,
from the fact that they did not have
the facilities for handling am enlarg-
ed business, but a bran new multiple
magnetic switch board is being in
stalled at the present, and upon its
completion February |, the company
will be enabled to take care of at
least hundred new subscribers. This
comes as good news to those who
for several months have not been
able to have a phone installed, and
the only regret will be that the COM
pany has not seen fit at this time to
furnish Paris with the fiashlight sys-
tenn, as is used in all cities. There
will also be some just jealousy of
Humboldt on that score, because it
is understood that fashlight service
is being at present put in at Hum
boldt. Why the preference, one
cannot determine.
Twelve operators serve the six
hundred local subscribers. 1t is a
mistaken idea that each operator has
certain section of the board, that
is, that each operator answers only
certain numbers, because any opera
tor on duty can answer the signal of
any number for so is the switch
board arranged. A recent addition
to the service force is supervisor,
who stands behind the operators,
keeping an eye on their work, seeing
that all calls are answered as the
line drop falls, closing all clearing out
drops, when the ring-off signal clicks.
When the line drop falls, an oper-
ator takes the tip of the cord and
plugs in, meanwhile pushing tiny
knob back and speaking into the
mouthpiece around her neck, repeats
the, number please" repeating the
number after you, she plugs in on
your number, but isn't it funny, how
as sure as you call for seven-six-six,
she corrects you with a polite, "sev-
en- double six?"
| The manager declares that it is
foolish to accuse an operator of not
ringing your party when you call
for number, or of telling you that
they are busy as an excuse. He will
explain to you how she must put up
plug, insert jack, and push listening
key before she asks for your number,
and then to give you the number is
the easiest way out for her. Other
wise, the whole thing is to do over.
He says that one cause of lot of
trouble is a persons failure to ring
off, when he has finished speaking,
thus not signalling the operator that
he has finished his conversation, that
an operator has to plug IN and receive
clicking error before determining
that a line is busy. She is not al
lowed to listen in and wouldn't il
she could because she hasn't the
time. To watch her, you think she is
Just about the busiest little person
in this town and you Instantly resolve