Evening star., 1940-04-08
Dial WE. 1912
And Robot WiI|Give
Weather Forecast
Telephone Company
Service Is Relief
To U. S. Bureau

AASAS 40 6oA1S w VIC q AOC uiOiC
talk about the weather today, but
most of it is going to be one way.
To get your share, just dial, or ask
the operator to get you Weather
l2l2-and then listen. Today it went
like this:
The United States Weather
Bureau forecast for Washington,
D. c., and vicinity: Rain this after
noon. with maximum temperature
about 60 degrees tonight. Rain
Tuesday. Cloudy with not much
change in temperature. Minimum
temperature tonight about so de-
grees. Moderate to fresh southeast,
shifting to southwest Winds"
The telephone company put into
use today $4,000 gadget which for
years to come is nots expected to
pause in sweet-voiced revelation of
weather prospects.
This weather chatter will be al
most untouched by human hand. 1t
rolls off slender rotating steel tape
in vastly complicated machine
which extends through two stories
in the telephone building at Four
teenth and r streets NV.
The machine "cans" rain and
sunshine predictions four times
daily, when one of IS trained girl
operators reads into it report dis
patched by teletype from the United
States Weather Bureau. What the
girl says in % seconds the machine
says over and over.
Over 1000 weather fans per hour
can listen, it is estimated.
Bureau Often Swamped.
Chief Francis W. Reichelderfer of
the Weather Bureau says this is
just fine, because on stormy DAYS
the bureau has been swamped by
public questioning. He declares that
the weather man. who isn't too pop
ular anyway. has been the target of
much i'll feeling from those who
keep getting the busy signal and
are convinced the Weather Bureau
leaves its receiver off the hook.
The IS young ladies'. whose re-
corded voices will from time to time
60 out to listeners, will work in a
soundproof room. under domination
OF the machine. They can't get
despondent about the weather and
speak in subdued tones because a
warning light flashes. Another light
wlnks when they get too loud. so
they won't scream even if hurri-
cane sWirls toward the city.
The girls must speak more slowly
than in customary telephone voice
and they can't hail from the deep
South or New England, since the
structure t0lerates no regional dia-
lect.
We've weeded out all the little
GeorglanS who were predicting
Trash northwest winds and the
Boston girls who said the skies
would be 'clawdy,' reported Miss
Bess Ryder. chief operator of Du-
pont exchange. after she had
trained the girls.
Disturbed Molecules,
Their words are recorded on wire
tape by magnetiZation of dis
turbed'' molecules. The message is
erased by second magnet. New
messages are set up at and 10
O'Clock in morning and evening,
and oftener if it becomes evident
the weatherman has guessed wrong.
But, if you find the girls voices
so attractive that you would like
to listen indefinitely-don't try it.
After the voice has repeated the
forecast about nine times, the robot
shuts off, through the operation
of some gadget the technicians de-
Vlsed to discourage just such ac-
tivity. The forecast stays on just
about 3 minutes for each telephone
Incoming calls are received in the
machinery room on seven bays of
trunk lines about u feet high and
IA feet long.
Messages are one-Way; there is
no way you can talk back to the
prediction.
This" says the Weather Bureau
chief, lis a distinct advantage in
the case of some questioners.
Telephone officials point out that
the cost of a call from out of town
to the weather talker is the same
as for any other long distance mes
sage. Thus President Roosevelt can
ring up from Hyde Park. N. Y. and
find out for slightly under 81
whether the White House windows
should be closed. A query from
Boise, Idaho. will be $3.50 and from
the Canary Islands approximately
$2850.