New Britain herald., 1926-06-16
MANAGER EXPLAINS
 TELEPHONE COSTS.
I. P. MCAUlifG Gives Interest," ing Talk to Exchange Club

Many of the mysteries attached to the telephone were revealed by Ex- change Manager T. P. McAuliffe of the Southern New England Tele- phone company to members of the Exchange club at its usual weekly meeting in the Burritt hotel last evening.
 He afforded the members much amusement when he described sit- uations that occur from time 10 time at the exchange. People often say they would not want my job for anything in the world" he declared. "I enjoy the work. The people Of New Britain are very pleasant 10 work with and in many cases com plaints sent in are the results of long suffering"
 "Woman In The Case"
 Tn describing the use of the tele- phone by two parties longer than is necessary, he said he has never known a case where two men were guilty of holding the wire for such an unreasonable time that his fellow subscribers on the line were forced to complain. Most of the long con- versations have been between two women or young man and young woman.
 The increase in rates which goes hand in hand with an increase in telephone service is due to the neces- sity of the added expense of con- h every other subscriber in the com pany, he explained. The single eX- pense for every connection is $37.50 and every added expense must be taken care Of in the final reckoning.
 "A mystery to many people is the necessity of much effort on the part of the subscriber when he wants a private line installed" Nr. McAuliffe said. During the period immediate ly preceding the war the company conducted an active campaign to in- crease the number of private lines ill the service, but during the war the company had 10 stop making material for its own use and supply the government with the material"
 company BACK 10 NofIidi
 According 10 Mr. McAuliffe the increase in demand for service after the war was so great that material for the next five years was used up. At the present time the phone company is back to normal and the supply is sufficient to take care of the demand.
 One improvement which has cut down expenses has been the chang ing of the billing time from the cen tra loffiee in New Haven. Formerly subscribers throughout the state re- ceived their bills at the same time, but now every section receives bills at different times. The saving in clerks by this system amounts to s25,000. Substitution for one state telephone directory of several small CT books for each district acts as a saving Of about $5o,O00 yearly. he said. T don't think we will ever return to the state directory again" he added.
 Conscnicnccs for Operators
 In describing the conditions at the exchange he said a small hos pital has been installed for the care of the operators, Many of the girls become i'll while at work because Of the strain they are sometimes put to- A special wheel chair and first aid treatment are always available. MT. McAuliffe told his hearers that the operators go on four hour shifts daily and each is obliged to take Is minute rest period during each of the two shifts.
 At the conclusion of his talk, ho invited the members 10 visit the cX- change and assured them they would be shown through the plant by one who would explain all de- tails connected with the service. President Edward H. Christ accept ed the invitation on behalf of the club and voiced the clubs apprecia- tion If if