Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1927-12-25
BY BEN McKELWAY.

The importance Of job Is not to be
weighed by the notoriety IL attracts.
Sometimes the most important, AL
though importance In relative, Ii the
least known because IL II taken for
granted. And while the life OF city
IL so involved and 40 complex that no
one man can hold IL In the hollow OF MS
hand, there comes To mind the picture
of two men who stand in watches Tor
"a hours a day OF every day In the
year between two long switchboaros
in room at the Benning power plant,
forever testing and feeling the tenn
perature and the pulse Of big city,
stimulating It's throbbing heart at
times, slowing II down at others.
noting the flicker Of red and green
signal lights and the nervous tremor
Of hands on dials to see that life blood
Ia flowing strongly and freely and
that all is well In toes and fingers ana
digestion. There is nothing heroic In
their job. and whatever romance there
IL to II Is lost in their eyes, for eight
hours day IL eight hours a day. But
should their senses fail them. should
their minds wander while their hands
are busily at work among switches
and buttons and levers and things, the
life blood Of the city would cease its
pounding course through big arteries.
and for a time the city would die"
Lights would flicker and fade away,
elevators would stick between floors
with high-tension loads Of bundle
laden shoppers, whirlng wheels would
cease to sing and become inanimate
metal again, while thousa nds who
curse their street cars alive would
mournfully eulogize them dead. It
has happened. Once man pulled the
wrong switch. To the unframed eyes
of the layman, these switches are alike
as two peas. But there Is always
right one and a wrong one. The
wrong one was pulled, life was for
felt and the city slipped back nearly
half a century for several hours.
There have been other lapses. One
time a man thought he had his hand
on one thing. and he had 1t on an
other. I have haZy idea of what it
was, but the explanation Is too in
volved. He kept punching this wrong
thing and In few minutes the dy.
namos that pump their fluid into
Washngton's veins were running wild.
The city was dead az door nail. Mil
lions of dollars worth of costly ma
chnery threatened to run itself to
death. And only when the company's
chief electrical engineer. responding
u tHc didTfn IKE d SpeCldlISL TUsEIHS
to the bedside of sinking patient, un-
tangled the mess did the city come to
life again. That mix-up is still pro-
fanely, though eloquently. described at
Benning. Nothing out there Is entire
ly foolproof. But accidents are few
and far between. a credit to the train
ing of men upon whose skill so much
depends.
You blow a fuse in your home
With nashlight or candle you grope
your way to the fuse box in the cell
lar and survey somewhat hopelessly
the array Of copper switches and por-
celain insulators and the rows OF
fuses. some of them still good. You
tentatively unscrew one Immediate.
~ there is uproar and clamor upstairs.
Instead of righting things. you have
brought about confusion worse con-
founded. Instead Of supplying the
light that failed. you have plunged
the whole establishment in darkness
You think OF short circuits and fire as
there descend upon your head the NAL
edictions of persons who allege your
shortcomings. Finally you locate the
burned-out fuse. You screw another
one. none too confidently. into its
place. Triumphantly you ascend from
the cellar and continue the pleasant
reading OF The Star. The thought
filters through your mind tina, YOU
should have gone in for electrical en-.
cheering for YOU always had a talent
in that direction.
At the main switchboard at Ben.
ming the operators know the city's
habits. for their business is to watch
them. They know that the city be-
gins 10 need more blood. and the need
begins To increase in a slowly ascend.
ing curve from some time after mid
night. They anticipate the need by
having the additional supply OF cur.
rent ready long before il is needed.
nut II they did not thus anticipate il
the city would begin calling for 4, by