The Sauk Centre herald., 1936-05-14
Forced To Add New Lines
To Sank Centre Switchboard
Expansion Will Care For Lo.
cal Telephone Exchange
For Two Years

what they're waiting for at the To-
cal exchange Of the Northwestern
Bell Telephone Company. Certain
conditions have arisen, says Man
ager Forsyth, that necessitate the
addition of forty new subscribers
lines which take their places on
the switchboard ranging from the
numbers $50 to 500. A Western
Electric installer Is expected today,
Thursday, to begin work on the
necessary changes.
At present the switchboard car
ries 460 lines and this addition Of
40 Is expected to suffice expansion
Of business for the next two years.
Certain other arrangements on
switchboard equipment are to be
made supplementing the number
addition.
Quoting from his records, Mr..
Forsyth points out, that an increase
in the use Of the lines has been par
TALLY responsible for the further
need of service. During the year Of
1885 the local exchange shows q
net gain of four stations, or tele-
phones. Up to April 1, 1896 the net
gain reached the total Of seven.
Not astounding but as an average
it is good gain. He explained that
some months the increase has run
as high as twice that of the net
gain, but lower figures in other
months had dragged the average
down. The situation is given en-
phasis by reason Of the fact that
during the past year there has
been greater movement of persons.
Depression years, says Mr.. For
syth, are stable years in telephone
circles. Persons do not move fire.
quently, new business ventures re-
ceive little incentive for promo
ton, and so the list Of short time
subscribers for telephone service
Is at a minimum.
During the past year, however,
persons have branched out in new
business fields and require a tele-
phone, others have moved into the
city, and others have joined the ex-
odus from Sauk Centre. AS q result
the greater fluctuation in INSTALL
ing and removing stations has left
the local exchange without suffic-
lent numbers to take care Of the
rapid changes.
Whenever 1t Is possible numbers
are not reused, once a party has
vacated a line. until the next dir
ectory is issued and the proper list
ing can be made. For convenience
sake when a subscriber moves out
of the city it is much better If that
number be left vacated until the
next directory when 1t may be as
signed to someone else. But when a
party Is well-known in the COM
munity and it seems improbable
that the number will receive many
calls for the old party then it is re-
used. Fourteen. such lines have
been reused this year. Short time
subscribers such as new businesses
do much to cause the number
shortage. Mr.. Forsyth was mind
ful also that the transmission Of
service from party to private lines
leaves one number that cannot be
reused with convenience.
Taking peg count" during the
past four Sundays to determine
the status of their Sunday "toll," or
long distance calling, the local op-
orators have found a marked in
crease of nearly 40 percent over
several months ago. They give as
their reason the extension Of the
night rate over Sunday. Persons
may now call all day Sunday as
cheaply as they call in the evening.
This greater advantage of service
has strengthened the load on the
operators, and the peg count will
determine what schedules will be
mapped out to handle the business
increase.