Free trader-journal and Ottawa fair dealer. (Ottawa, Ill.) 1920-1927, 1921-07-30
TELEPHONE GIRLS.
SAY OTTAWA SLEEPS.
WITH ONE EYE Open
CHIEF OPERATOR AT LOCAL Ex-
CHANGE SAYS CALLS FLASH
FROM CENTRAL BOARDS AT
ALL HOURS OF THE NIGHT AND
EARLY MORNING.

Ottawa never sleeps" says the
chief operator for the Ottawa ex-
change of the United Telephone com
pany.
During the early hours of the morn
ing or the very late hours OF the night,
which ever you may please to call,
the city sleeps with only one eye shut,
but it never drops off entirely.
Along about dawn, when most OF us
are just in that delicious, restful
sleep after more or less restless
night after Billy and Jane have been
covered against the chill of the morn
ing and the shades have been drawn
to keep out the early light, Ottawa's
business begins to stir.
First come the farmers calls which
are at their height between 4:3O and 3
o'clock They are making arrange
ments for their days work, the thresh
ing, for extra help or for the borrow
ing of horse or farm implement.
Next the meat men and the commits
sion merchants are astir.
Telephone calls begin to come
through the exchange as these whole
salers call up their early customers
for the first orders of the day. These
calls steadily increase until $50
o'clock and then the business Of the
day really begins.
By o'clock Mrs. Ottawa is order
ing their groceries and meat, Miss Ut
tawa has applied the, dast dab of pow
der to her nose and reached her Of
flee prepared for the days work, anG
Mr.. Ottawa has reached his desk and
the rush of the day is on. Calls come
by the thousands over the $500 tele-
phones in use here and up until 10:30
or some days II o'clock the fingers of
the telephone girls fly from plug to
plug with uncanny speed as they
make and unmake the connections
which throw the talker and talkee to-
gether.
Then after the madame has ordered
for the day she becomes busy at her
housework, business men have made
their most pressing calls and plans
for the day have very generally been
made a lull comes in the telephone
business as the midday meal is eaten
| at home. at the restaurant or the club
| Then follows a period of comparative
| quiet as lunch is digested the dishe:
cleared away, the stenographer rests
and the business man perhaps plays
a game of billiards, reads his maga
zine or takes nap.
BY 2 o'clock the Whirl is again eVl
dent in the exchange. Women folk
have come to the period when they
can chat, make dates or unmakt
them for the evening and affairs IL
the business section are again at higf
tide BY $3.50 o'clock the Afternoon
lull is evident, but soon after 53t
o'clock the tide rises as engagement
are made or broken for the theater
the dinner, tickets are reserved ant
the thousand and one little things tha
make up night life are transacted.
BY s o'clock the lull again falls ant
| continues until 10 o'clock, when tax
are ordered, parties are breaking N
and the various reasons why peopl
= should call each other arise. Thi
, continues until midnight, when
great drop in activities occurs.
From that time emergency calls, pc
lice and fire calls, accident calls, wit
the call for railroad men, constitut
the business. with the ever presen
minor chord of calls for the doctor
the undertaken, the minister addin
the constant stripe of purple Whie
is ever present in the color scheme
| lifa