The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1922-06-24
PLAN new SYSTEM
Machine Switching Telephones
Being Installed in Topeka.
SeYenty-Fiye Per Cent of the
Equipment Is in Place.
$50 employees AT WORK NOW
Material Being Received at
Present in Carload Lots.
New Phone Building on Jack
son Is Busy Place.
$50 EMPLOYEES At WORK NOW

Rapid strides are being made in
the installation of machine-switching
or automatic telephone service in To-
peka- About 5 per cent of the cen
trail office equipment is now in place
in the new building on Jackson street.
and over 1000 Of Topeka's $4,000
telephone instruments have been re-
placed with instruments equipped
with dials.
The Southwestern Bell telephone
company is devoting every energy to
bring about Misunderstanding in To-
peka at as early a date as possible.
About one hundred and fifty men are
now giving their entire time to the
are employees of the Western Electric
company. all of whom have special
lied in different branches of machine
switching
Carloads OF New Equipment
Shipments Of material are coming
IN rather frequently at this time in
carload lots one carload of telephone
instruments-and you can imagine
how many instruments It would take
TO fill a box Grand three carloads
OF cable arrived this week. In addi-
ton there was an entire car of sui
phuric acid which is needed in stor-
age battery plant. This weeks ship
ments are somewhat typical OF what
viii occur for the next few weeks
and also OF few weeks past This
idea of the magnitude of equipment
and material necessary to provide To-
peka with the latest and most highly
developed method of teIephoning.
More than million and a quarter
dollars. including the new building,
IS being spent in this city by the
Southwestern Bell Telephone COM
pany 10 provide this service.
It is now anticipated that the Con
version"-and that is the technical
word which the telephone men use
from the present or manual system
10 machine-switching will take place
sometime toward the end of the year.
The work 5 all carefully scheduled
out for weeks aid. for it virtually
means the installation of an entire
new plant in Topeka Telephone men
refer TO the task generally as the 'in-
side" and outside" job. BY the for
mer they mean placing of the central
office machinery in the Jackson street
building: and the outside" work con-
sists in the main of the replacement
of present telephone instruments, the
re-running OF inside wire at the sub
scrIber's premises. the re-running of
new drop wires and a replacement /
and exten=on OF cable in certain sec |
tiOns OF the town which Will provide |
IA cilities for congested areas and new
additions to the city.
Telephone Building Busy Place.
There is probably no buster place /
than the new telephone building in /
filled with wonderment and astonish- 1
ment at what looks to him like a vast /
maze of complex machinery. He is 4
fascinated watching the corps of ex- |
perts testing out and linking up the /
various units.
As a matter OF fact the machine
switching system is being set up right /
along side of the present or manual 4
system so that the conversion can vir-
tualiy take place in the twinkling of
an eve. It is for that reason that /
telephone instruments are now being |
replaced in the business houses and /
viii all be in place when the change
IS made.
The Telephone company is urgently
requesting all of its subscribers to not
rotate or manipulate the .dials until
the conversion is made. Doing so will
cause a serious interference with the
service. To call this to the attention
of telephone users circular card is
being placed on the transmitter Of
every new instrument, :. hich bears
tins legend: Please Do Not Use the
Dial"
A. ]. Mackey. district manager Of
the Southwestern Bell Telephone COM
pany. said today that this point is
matter OF TIE utmost Importance.
While we have only about one-sev-
euth Of the new instruments installed
at this time said Mackey, I wish
TO express appreciation for the fact
that we have so far experienced very
little trouble due to the manipulation
or operation Of dials- But the matter
IS one of so much Importance to the
telephone user himself, that I feel that
It should be strongly emphasized"
Just how is the service interfered
with ?" he was asked
Well" he replied. avoiding all
technical terms and putting it in the
way, a subscriber a Z this time
who operates or rotates the dial while
he is using the present manual serv-
ice. cuts himself off from central.
Just the same thing happens to him
that would happen now if he hung !
up his own receiver while he was talk
ing to someone.
The purpose of the dial is to open
the circuit at intervals to operate the
switching equipment in the
central office. I can describe the cir
cult from the central office to the .
su bscriber's telephone as similar to a | =,
circle. OF which the dial is a part, and
in operating the dial the subscriber ,
opens the circle and causes the circuit
to break. Since we are setting up
new system right alongside of the !
present one. the situation is such that ,
II a subscriber operates the dial now
while using the present system, he
causes the two to conflict and breaks
the circuit and disconnects himself :
from control 1t IS plain that 1t Is to
the subscribers own interest to re- I
frain from using the dial in any man {
ner at this time
Waited for Good Tfres-Stole Car. i.
Parsons. Kan. June 24.-For three
weeks the 1920 Studebaker motor car
Of J. L We.ton, this city. stood in I
front OF a garage with four flat tires ]
Y esterday morning the owner had the
car retired with new ones That was {
about 10 o'clock At noon his car was ]