Imperial Valley press., 1922-02-13
THE PRESIDENT
A LARGE USER
OF TELEPHONE
The White House Telephone
System Kept Busy by the
Nations Chief
Holo 1t Supplies q Short Cut
for Work of the Chiefs
EfecNtiUe

During the terms of Presidents
Harrison and Cleveland, the White
House had but one, solitary telephone
and that was used principally by the
servants. Today the executive man
sion has private branch exchange
and four male opera. .ors providing a
twenty-four hour service, though Jho
board itself is in operation only till
midnight. The telephone exchange is
located in The office building to the
west of the White House proper. The
switchboard connects with the resi-
Dental portion of the White House,
with the offices of the President and
his secretary, with the Capitol, with
the clerks in the office bui uildjng, and
has direct private lines to the office
and home of every member of the
cabinet. There are also about fifteen
private lines from the White House
switchboard to the homes of import
government officials. There is tele-
phone in every room of the White
House and office building.
Two lines connect with the Capitol
The government has its own inter-
departmental telephone system, which
connects every federal department in
Washington, but the, White House
switchboard is entirely Independent.
The President, to get the Secretary of
War, does not have to call first
through the White House operator,
thence through the inter departmental
operator and finally through the War
department. All he has to do is to
pick up his receiver, ask for tire Sec
retary Of War and he gets that mem
Der Of his cabinet Immediately.
"Main s" is the White House tele-
| phone number, but not everyone WHO
| calls that number in the hope Of talk
| ing to the President or his secretary
is allowed to do so. Every telephone
caller is oueried by the operators,
who are given discretionary powers
and rank as assistant secretaries. The
youngest White House operator in
point of service has been working on
| the switchboard for eighteen years
| and the official in charge has been in
| the White House twenty-three years
| Under the Spoils System these oper-
ators could be removed with changes
in administration. but this has never
been done.
Long association with the White
House switchboard has made the op-
crators familiar. with the voices OF
"abinet members, most Of the senators
and other important officials and they
readily identify them when they call
| up the White House on the telephone
1t is said that when Mr.. Wilson
was president, the White House op-
orators had instructions never to ring
him and that during the entire eight
years Of his incumbcncy, President
| Wilson seldom talked on his Whit
House telephone.
President Harding is said to use
the telephone more than any previous
Chief Executive, employing it tC
transact much Of the routine WORK
Of the day. Cabinet members anc
congressman Invariably call the Presi
/ dent or his secretary before visiting
the White House. President Mckinlc.
was a great user of the telephone, a
likewise was President Taft, whil'
President Roosevelt is said to have
used the telephone mainly for emer
gencies, while Presidents Clevelan,
and Harrison used the telephone bu
little.
The White House press room j
connected by direct wires with eacl
newspaper and press association Oh
flee.