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Show ;;ov OI'KKATOKS JJKOVE IVOSSKS NEAKLY C'KAZY In the early days oi the telephone, bos were employed as operators and they proved to be most complete and consistent failure,. There was a continual con-tinual wrangling between the boys and public, wiih both operators and subscribers yelling at the top of their voices. Telephone exchanges in those days were a perfect bedlam. It required from two to six boys to handle each call. They stood before the switch-hoard, switch-hoard, which k;ii like a blackboard full of small boles, on which, by means of a small plug, they made the connections for the parties. Notwithstanding, Not-withstanding, they seemed to find time to whittle the switchboards, play tricks with the wires, and add generally gener-ally to the troubles of the business. I'lider such circumstances it is no small wonder that the telephone people peo-ple soon replaced the boys with the girls, and if ever the rush of women into the business world was a blessing bles-sing it was when the boys of the telephone tel-ephone exchange were superceded by girls. Their quiet voices, deft fingers and patient courtesy revolutionized the telephone industry. Today, the telephone companies of the United States employ more' than l'Jll.Ouu girl operators, and this figure does not include the army of telephone operators working for private pri-vate companies and concerns. |