The Morning Tulsa daily world. [volume] (Tulsa, Okla.) 1919-1927, 1922-06-04
NICE FOLKS POPULAR
Girls Like to Serve Sensible
Patrons and Learn to Rec
ognize Their Numbers
ENUMERATES "HARD CASES"
The Masher, Man Who Chews
Cigar and Sarcastic Gent
Highly Despised
BY A TELEPHONE OPERATOR
on the New York Times

BY A TELEPHONE OPERATOR
on the New York Times
New York may be different from
liopklnsville, Mo-, but the broker In
Wall street and the proprietor OF tho
hay and feed store in Main Street
are brothers. How do | know? |
have been a telephone operator for
both OF them. And, let II be known
confidentially, nobody can hide their
true character from telephone
operator.
In tho bottom drawer OF my bu-
rcau is n respectable sheepskin in
scribod In Latin and lied with a blue
and white ribbon--a reminder OF my
four years Mt collegc--but no psy-
chology, or sociology course in col
lege ever taught me more about
science OF human behavior than the
year In which | said number.
please" on the average OF l20 times
every hour. eight hours In the day
and sometimes at night. so you un-
derstand tina. / am speaking to New
Workers as a T. .. rather than as an
A. Is,
There In a fallacy IN New York
that all telephone operators are
either feeble minded or Just natu-
considered In tho best of Taste TO
call the operator down" and hold
her responsible for every stupidity
under tho sun, including the sin OF
sending your party out TO lunch just
when you wanted to reach him. In
order to dispei these misconceptions
1 should Ike to presen. the other
side OF the wire TO New Workers..
In the first place. It should be Inn
pressed upon come well-intentioned
but ignorant souls---especlall the
man who knows that, tho operator
has an interesting novel by her side
and objects to being interrupted TO
ring his number--that there is q su-
pervisor pacing up and down behind
every eight girls to see that they
are busy each minute Of .he time.
This remarkable creature apparent
ly has eight pairs OF eyes and the
same number OF ears, and / take
my receiver off to the girl who gets
anything by" the supervisor.
l have often seriously considered
the case OF tho man who thinks /
am reading book, and thorough
ly agreed with the girl next 20 me
who got him one time during rush
hour, when the line signals for new
calls kept breaking out all over the
onIANHbphlu IKE Il huuufH IL5n OI
fireworks. He told her the old story
about the novel and even went 30
far ns to say that she was reading
Tolstoy's war and Peace"--an ex-
tremely unjust charge, because I
know for fact that In her leisure
moments she never reads anything
heavier than modern fiction. BE
fore she connected him with the
manager l heard her muttor under
her breath.
Jaw, Hades," or something like
that.
She was a lady and 30 am I, but
/ echoed her sentiments.
All Sorts OF Types.
1here are other stock characters
we operators encounter IN our daily
work, whether 1t Is IN New York or
"A small town. one Of the mos. tire
some IN the phone masher." l have
| reached the opinion after delibern
tion that this individual has been
| bughted in love or has Just had a
tight with his girl. 80 he picks on
the telephone operator. She IL the
easiest to reach and has 20 answer
him whenever he lifts the receiver
| off the hook. lie even offers 20 play
| his phonOgraph near the phone 10
| help while away the operators idle
moments. In regard 20 the idle
moments, | have always bqen tempt
ed 10 reply. "Do you know any more
| funny stOries?' But / didn'. have
| time.
Third In popularity with the telo.
phone operators is the man who
talks with cigar In his mouth. and
expects us to translate the gruntr
which reach our cars into .he mum.
| Der he desires. This Is a sample of
the tired business man which the ex-
changes OF Columbus, Vanderbilt
| bowling Green and many other,
have with them always. Once a year
he stops at the office OF his physl.
clan and demands a cure for obesity
after which he promptly fOrgets the
| prescription. He plays bad game
| or golf with the boys" but is a
jolly good fellow all the same. And
popular with the women 10 hcaI
him tell 1t. We understand all thl,
merely through hearing his voice
iof IKE the blind man, our intul,
tion has developed abnormally
through lack OF sight.
Next, but not less frequent on In,
subscribers roll OF fame, is Tho
woman who cOnfidentiaily tells tn,
operators her life history before sh,
ilnaiIy diyulges her number. From
a coy little apartment In the Bron,
she wishes 20 call up her sister In
Westchester She won't take no foI
"a don't answer" and insists thai
her sister could not possibly be out
There must be some mistake in tn,
number the operator Is ringing
whereupon the operator has TO verI
fy the number II the line OF heI
sister In Westchester Is busy, In,
woman from the Bronx win plead
sSoNIINCED on PAGE foURJ