Evolution of Telephones 77 



for the night hours, though such an arrange- 

 ment does not apply to all exchanges, 

 especially where the night work is com- 

 paratively light. 



Not so long ago a newspaper announced 

 that the telephonist would be extinct in a 

 few years owing to the rapid extension of 

 the automatic telephone exchanges. The 

 journalist was quite wrong. It is more than 

 possible that, when the whole country is 

 linked by automatic working, the actual 

 number of telephonists will be much the 

 same as now. The automatic exchange 

 largely eliminates the local telephonist, but 

 the trunk operator will remain. As the 

 telephone habit is growing rapidly, and 

 with it the number of lines and calls, the 

 loss of staff due to the automatic working 

 will be offset by the greater number of 

 trunk calls required. Once the householder 

 has the telephone installed he is not content 

 to use his 'phone for purely local calls; 

 he will want to talk with distant friends, 

 so the telephonist is not likely to become a 

 back number, especially as the automatic 



