. The history of the telephone . whittling the switchboards, swearingat subscribers, playing tricks with the wires, androaring on all occasions like young bulls ofBashan, the boys in the first exchanges did theirfull share in adding to the troubles of the busi-ness. Nothing could be done with them. Theywere immune to all schemes of discipline. Likethe mysterious noises they could not be con-trolled, and by general consent they were abol-ished. In place of the noisy and obstreperousboy came the docile, soft-voiced girl. If ever the rush of women into the businessworld was an unmixed blessing, i
. The history of the telephone . whittling the switchboards, swearingat subscribers, playing tricks with the wires, androaring on all occasions like young bulls ofBashan, the boys in the first exchanges did theirfull share in adding to the troubles of the busi-ness. Nothing could be done with them. Theywere immune to all schemes of discipline. Likethe mysterious noises they could not be con-trolled, and by general consent they were abol-ished. In place of the noisy and obstreperousboy came the docile, soft-voiced girl. If ever the rush of women into the businessworld was an unmixed blessing, it was when theboys of the telephone exchanges were super-seded by girls. Here at its best was shown theinfluence of the feminine touch. The quietvoice, pitched high, the deft fingers, the patientcourtesy and attentiveness — these qualities wereprecisely what the gentle telephone required inits attendants. Girls were easier to train; theydid not waste time in retaliatory conversation; [154] iiiiij;|jlgiiiiiiji\iMijf,ri ii>.. THE HISTORY OF THE TELEPH&NE they were more careful; and they were muchmore likely to give the soft answer that turnethaway wrath. A telephone call under the boy regime meantBedlam and five minutes; afterwards, under thegirl regime, it meant silence and twenty of the incessant tangle and tumult, therecame a new species of exchange — a quiet, tenseplace, in which several score of young ladies sitand answer the language of the switchboardlights. Now and then, not often, the signallamps flash too quickly for these expert the panic of 1907 there was one mad hourwhei} almost every telephone in Wall Street re-gion was being rung up by some desperate specu-lator. The switchboards were ablaze with few girls lost their heads. One fainted andwas carried to the rest-room. But the othersflung the flying shuttles of talk until, in a singleexchange fifteen thousand conversations hadbeen made possible in sixty minutes. There
Size: 1263px × 1979px
Photo credit: © Reading Room 2020 / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: ., bookcentury1900, bookdecade1910, booksubjecttelephone, bookyear19
