German Empire 203 



through to the town in which his client is located, and asks the 

 connection from the operator there. In the trunk service he gives 

 all the particulars to his own operator, and is rung up by her as 

 soon as the connection is ready. 



During thunderstorms traffic is suspended. The subscribers 

 are recommended not to touch their instruments, and the 

 operators are forbidden to answer any calls while a storm 

 continues. 



HOURS OF SERVICE 



In this matter Germany is very far behind Great Britain and the 

 age generally, Berlin being open only from 7 A.M. till 10 P.M. The 

 principal suburban switch -rooms have the same service ; others 

 are open from 7 A.M. till 9 P.M., and others again from 7 or 8 A.M. 

 (according to the season) till 9 P.M. In the provinces, the hours 

 in the larger towns are from 7 A.M. (summer) or 8 A.M. (winter) till 

 9 P.M. These arrangements mean that for nine or ten hours out of 

 every twenty-four the vast capital sunk in the German exchanges and 

 trunk lines is lying idle and unproductive, while the subscribers are 

 deprived of some of the most important of all the applications of 

 the telephone. Other countries can find traffic for their lines 

 during the night, and so, no doubt, could Germany, if the effort 

 were made, or even if the opportunity were afforded and the effort 

 left to the public. 



SUBSCRIBERS' INSTRUMENTS 



These generally consist of a battery-push and trembling bell 

 microphonic transmitter, two spoon-shaped double-pole receivers 

 (weighing from 23 ozs. to 2 Ibs. each), and a separate battery-box 

 OT- cupboard ; but in Berlin and Hamburg magneto ringers have re- 

 placed the battery-pushes to a large extent, although the trembling 

 bells are for the most part still retained. The general appearance 

 and internal arrangements may be gathered from figs. 69, 69A, 

 and 70, which represent wall- and table-instruments respectively. 

 The battery instruments are similar in appearance, a push-button 

 occupying the place of the magneto spindle. The instruments 

 represented are by Messrs. R. Stock & Co., but the design is that 



