Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-04-27
DIAL TELEPHONES
TO START SUNDAY
go, 900 Installations Declared
Made in Three Central
Offices.


in the District. Metropolitan and Ma
tional central Offices would affect about
10000 of the 161 $50 telephones now
serving Washington.
The dial system installation, includ-
ing land, building and equipment, has
involved expenditures of about $4,150,-
600. The central office equipment Is
located in the new seven-story building
erected for the purpose at 730 Twelfth
street This building was designed
especially for dial equipment and will
ultimately take care Of three additional
dial system central Offices.
Telephones operated in the downtown
central Offices will be changed to dial
operation with the exception of about
5000 public coin box and party line
telephones, which will continue manual
operation on the Franklin switchboard
for about two months.
Subscribers Instructed Personally.
Telephone subscribers have been in
gtructed in the use of the dial system
BY specially trained employees, who vis~
tied business Offices and homes in
which dial telephones are located. In
each case a booklet giving full details
on dial operation was left with sub
scribers. Similar information will also
be found in the Telephone Directory.
In emergencies, telephone users are
Instructed to dial National 0020 for tn
fire department. National 1000 for the
police and Zero" for the operator. who
will assist in completing calls where
difficulty is experienced or when calls
are made to suburban points For long
distance they will dial Oil, information
All and repair service or for reporting
O telephone out of order, GIL.
Manual switchboards now serving the
District, Metropolitan and National CEN
trail Offices require the services Of 440
operators Notwithstanding the SEEM
ingly prevailing idea of the public. tele-
phone operators will be required in GER
tain phases of the new system. The
dial "a" board where the zero" OPP
orators will assist inexperienced dial
telephone users in making calls and
from which calls will be completed to
Maryland and Virginia suburban points,
and as well, out-of-town station-to-
station calls and the dial cordless "B''
board where incoming calls from man
ual Offices are completed, will require
the services of about 200 operators. In
addition, 100 operators will be required
for the operation of the Franklin
switchboard serving the public coin box
and party line and official private
branch exchange telephones. The re-
manning $50 operators will be trans
ferred to other manual offices in the
city. They will replace a like number
of operators, who have been employed
during the past four months on q
temporary basis.
Telephones directly connected with
the District, Metropolitan and National
central Offices have been equipped with
dials Each dial has 10 finger holes,
numbered from to 8 and the mineral
Pr3an~ AL Al~ Swan lanAn
Of the alphabet with the exception OF
the letters co. and "Z." The numerals
are colored red and the letters black.
For example, in calling National 2674
on the dial system. the telephone users
viii dial N and A and then the nu-
xnerals 2674. The two letters OF the
once code to be dialed in each case
have been indicated in the telephone
directory by printing them In capital
letters.
Dialing Process Described.
The dialing process is performed by
placing the finger in hole on the dial
corresponding to the letter or number
being dialed and then rotating 1t In
clockwise direction until the nnger
comes to a stop. The dial Is then re-
leased and returns to its normal posi-
ton. Then the next number Is dialed
and so on unit. each of the four nu-
merals have been completed. The dial
also includes the word operator" which
Is used for dialing for assistance or tor
special calls.
In the case Of the subscribers pri-
vate branch exchange connected with
the dial central offices, the Swltcn-
boards viii be equipped with dials, so
that the private branch exchange OPP
orators may dial the numbers wanted;
Where the subscribers desire to dial
from extension telephones, these tele-
phones have been quipped with dlals.
when dialing the user first removes
the receiver from the hook OF the tele-
phone. When he hears dial tone, a
distinct humming tone, he proceeds 70
dial the ONCE code and number as pre-
violsly described. This operation dill
fers from the manual system IN that
the removal Of the receiver from the
switch hook of q manual telephone
lights a small electric lamp on the
sWitchboard which attracts the opera
tors attention, causing her to plug In
and ask, Number, please?" ana tnen
establish the connection.
In dialing a number, the system dit
fers from the manual operation in that
q mechanical operation, brought ABOUT
by the dialing of the central offlee code
and number establishes the connec-
ton.
Calls from a manually operated cen
trail office for telephone users In dial
once will be received by the manual
operator in the regular way, as the
calling party gives verbally the Lame
of the office and the number wanted
The former Main central office, later
supplemented by the Franklin office
now being replaced, was cut INTO s'rv-
ice September II, 1904, at which time
there were about 1900 telephones IN
the District of Columbia.
Telephone service in the District had
its origin in 1877 with private lines
Installed by the late George c. May
nard. In December, 1878, small OF
s'peg" switch was installed in Mr.. May
nard's office at 1923 G street, with Si1
telephones In operation.
In January, 1879, Mr.. Maynard in
stalled what he called the permanent
central office" on the fifth floor Of the
Evans Building, 1920 New York avenue
This switchboard was equipped for "a
lines BY April 8, 1879, there were IL;
telephones In operation. At that time
BOYS were operators. The first tele-
phone operator in Washington was Bur
net L. Nevius. Other operators were
Maurice Otterback, now president o.
the -Anacostia Bank; Ben Steipmetz
Irving H. Hoover and Edward E
8awsel.
Women were first employed as .ele
phone operators in 1851. Miss Mar!
Lloyd, now Mrs. Mary Newhgll, wa.
the first woman operator here.
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