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About Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922 | View Entire Issue (Aug. 24, 1910)
, THE BEE: OMAHA", WEPXESDAY, AUGUST 24. 1910. Public Utilities ';' Vi-'J??? o i '?.-' i -L4 V:-. -T-W : '.v.: ; - ,y v.- i.-sinr TELEPHONE OF BIG SERVICE Wonderful Growth Since Invention TMrty Yean Ago. MODEL PLANT IS IN OMAHA Ntkrxka Telephone Compur Has 85,000 Phones ia Operation In Omahn and Baonrba Con. atantlr UcrtMlag. Of all the great public service enterprlMa that have been of Immense benefit to the development of civilisation In this country, as wll as other countries, no dm has boon o far-reaching In 1U scope as the tele phone. A little over forty years ago, when Alex ander Graham Boll Invented this Instru ment, he, little more than those associated with htm, realised the future of this In vention or probably little thought of Its effect on the development of the country. The telephone was first exhibited to the Public at the Centennial exposition In lOTB. At that time an enthuslastio friend of the Inventor prophesied that In 1900 there would be 100.000 telephones In this country. This prophecy, at the time, was considered by many to be preposterous, but the result hss been more marvelous than the most opti mistic thought It possibly could be, and to day there are more than S.O0O.O00 Bell tele phones in use In the Untied States and Canada. The Nebraska Telephone company, a branch of the Bell system, has more than S5.000 telephones now In use In Omaha. The system here consists of five exchanges, Douglas, Harney, Webstar, Florence and Benson, all these being Inter-connectlng- so that a subscriber on any other exchange can reach any one In Omaha, Council Bluffs or any of the suburbs. Omaha's first telephone directory was put out July 10, 1879. This consisted of a single sheet of paper containing less than forty names. This directory oontajned the names of Omaha's pioneers, some of them still in active business life. Those who are acquainted with the tele phone only through the use of their office or home Instrument, little realise the com plicated machinery that Is required to fur nish telephone service to a city the else of Omaha, but to one who has seen the mass of 0,000 wires coming Into the cen tral station, or who tries to follow the message through the various tables in its twisting and turning until It reaches the operator and then back again through CHAS. E. FANNING 4 Contractor of Publio Works OMAHA. NEB. Agent Purington Vitrified Paving Block Galesburg, IU. The Magic City Barrel Co Dealers In ail bind of SECOND HAND BARRELS AND BOXES. Also Jobbers of all standard sizes new slack bcursels. We can furnish you a package suitable for any purpose you may name. 319-21-23-25 North 25th Street South Omaha, Neb. frana R. Dcbner A. W. DeanU Ml-t-a Boyd Theatre BUg. Tel. Bell Red 7tl. W at unttdsK my sttitr kill si link dtskel Omaha. Neb. GEORGE ZIMMER, Sr. S FLORIST CUT FLOWERS Plants and Flowers Designs on Short Notice Moll Orders shipped same day as received. Telephone Webster 1333, 522.1 North 23d Street, 0 1 A. Donoghue FLORIST 1607 Farnam Street Phones Bell, Douglas 10Q1; Independent A-1001. Cat Flowers and All Kinds of Floral Work. Flowers Fresh Eyery Day From Oar Greenhouses 5425 N. 24th Street. 1 IS 8 lllhllil In' j r Omaha Gasket Co., 1618-24 Izard Street Omiht. Neb. ":; ii?.(T rf-Tts, - - it J. A. SIMOJES, Manager Phone Douglas 1 1 OB another pair of wlrea on to the person who receives the mesae, or who has explained to him the complicated, but Instantaneous working of the apparatus that Is necessary to set Instant communication between a local subscriber and a distant city, begins to realise the enormity of the enterprise. Complicates Network. Every telephone Instrument In Omaha is entered Into the escbange by two twisted wires running to the central switch-board. These wires run In bunches of twenty or more In absolutely water tight cables. These cables are moisture proof, for any drop of moisture within this cable would cruse Instant trouble end cause one con versation to Jump from one line to another. Each of the 40,000 pairs of wires coming through the underground passage way Into the Eighteenth street exchangs, represents an Individual telephone or a party line. Shortly after entering the building these cables are "fanned out," which means that ths wires are separated and run Into tus Individual connections along ths rack In order that Interference with lightning and other outside causes may be avoided. Kach circuit Is run through carbon connections so that a stronger force than the ordinary circuit can be thrown off and "grounded," so that any charge too heavy for the switch-board, for which the message must ultimately come, Is by this means thrown Into the ground before it can do any harm. All of the wires from the rack to the basement are run to the second floor where there Is another or an intermediate dis tributing rack, where the paired wires are connected with relays which supply a third wire for each telephone, these three wires being used in connecting with the second system by which ths central communicates with subscribers. The exchange room where the connec tions are made Is a mass of swltoh-boards. A constant murmur fills tuts room as one must realise when it Is understood that 200,000 calls are made through the switch board every day in the year. Before every three or four feet of swltoh-board space a girl sits, constantly on the alert for calls coming in to her section. With her hands she is constantly manipulating the plugs, placing them In the "Jacks," and listening to the calls from other subscribers at the same time. Girls Require Rest. , On aocount of the rapidity of the calls during the "rush" hours, each on of the girls is given a rest period of fifteen min utes during each two hours of work. When the subscriber takes down bis re ceiver a small electric lamp, which repre sents bis instrument on ths board of the operator to whom he is connected, lights up. Ths girl reaches for a pair of cords and piaoes the plug of one of them Into the proper Jack to connect ber with the sub scriber. Than she asks for the number. If he calls for a connection of the same ex change she puts the other plug oord Into the proper Jack that represents this tele phone and presses a lever. The lever rings the second telephone, the one which Is to receive the message. By the working of the signal light she can tell when the called receiver Is taken down and when the con versation is over. When both receivers are hung up she takes out both the plugs and they do service again in connecting two others. If the subscriber Imagines that he is causing the central operator any great discomfort when he Jangles up and down on the receiver he is muoh mistaken, for it never reaches her only as the flashing of a tiny light For every ten or twelve girls there Is an Inapector who walks along behind them continually, supervising, watching, helping and working to Insure patrons immediate service. There are In the employ of the company nearly 400 girls, of which number abouL 200 are at work in the Douglas ex change on regular lines and sixty on toll lines. it eat Room for the Girls. The girls have the use of a big locker room and a rest room, which Is well sup plied with periodical reading matter. A dining room with covered tables Is pro vided where they can eat lunch. Tea or coffee Is kept hut and sold for a nominal price. There is a hospital room well equipped for ernegencles. The exchange room Itself Is ventilated with a special apparatus which suoka air in from above the roof by artificial means and forces it through water vapor to re- i duce the temperature before It goes Into the room. The operator's busiest time varies accord ing to the exchange at which she works. At the Douglas street office, where calls oome in almost entirely from business houses, the busiest time comes between and 10 In the morning. About 8.000 calls come in during this one hour. At the other exchanges, which serve residence tele phones, the maximum hour comes in the evening between 7 and I. This Is the time when the wires are used for "visiting." The Webster exchange gets about 8, WOO calls during this hour and the Harney about 1,100. By means of this vast and complex ma- enme au me wonders of modern telephoning are made possible. There Is no doubt in anyone's mind nowadays as to the con venience of having a telephone in the home and the absolute necessity of It In a busi ness office. KEELEY INSTITUTE A SUCCESS Inatltntlon Gets Parties, ta front AU Over Country. HM Been la City Ton Vtan. Since moving to Omaha, more than ten years ago, the Keeley Institute, which formerly was located at Blair, has been actively engaged In assisting the liquor victim to gain back bis self control. The people who come to the Institute for treatment come from all over the country, even from the two sea coasts. The num ber of patients treated would be alarming wero this fact not remembered. The yearly average varies from W to K0 pa tients. The Institute accommodates about forty patients at a time. Hot Tonga Stepped I'non. "Why, dear," queried a mother of her small daughter, who was crying, "what's the matter?" " My t-teeth stepped on my tongue," sobbed the little miss. A Bachelor's Reflections. All things get further ahead of him who walta. The rasleat things to resliit doing are those that won't cause you any harm A man would rather drink and srnokn hl money up and a womaa dreas It ud than eat It up. a 1 Two iioii Wea LMF Necessltles A Gas Range A Gas Water Heater By cooking with Gas you can save the price of a Gas Range in a few months. Heat your water with a Gas Water Heater enjoy real comfort. Our representative will gladly bring you one of our 1910 Catalogues, or wc will mail you one on request Omaha Gas Company rf mm r x&K )$) fWATC H'US y Five hundred thousand people in Nebraska use the Bell telephone every day, because it is the only telephone that gives satisfactory and universal service. Omaha's Census in 1950 Should Show 300,000 People Oar Census ia 1950 Will Show 75,000 Dell Telephoaes in Use in Omaha Jmmk WE GROW FASTER THAN THE POPULATION Four years ago Omaha had about 110,000 people, and the present census is likely to show about 130,000; four years ago there were 10,000 Bell telephones in Omaha, and now there are 25,000. -srzLyw-f t; From Citv to Counxry OUR GROWTH IS CONFINED TO NO LOCALITY Like a mighty spider web our lines have extended over the state, reaching hundreds of new. subscribers every month. Our growth in Omaha for the last four years has averaged more than a dozen telephones Reaches All the People Everywhere All the Time. One Policy. One System. Universal Service. Nebraska Telephone Company Every Del) Telephone is a Long Distance Stati ion 4S 9m 6 f! j J