NORTH SHORE BREEZE 
17 
TELEPHONE TALKS 
Believing that exact knowledge promotes co-operation, the New 
England Telephone and Telegraph Company is publishing a 
series of brief expositions of some phrases of tele- 
phony, for the benefit of itself, and, as it hopes, 
for the benefit of all telephone users. 
“THEY DON’T ANSWER” 
It is always annoying when you are 
trying to get somebody on the telephone 
to be told that “‘they don’t answer.’’ 
And if you are in an unusual hurry, or 
are particularly disappointed, or are a 
little excited—for the moment you have 
waited seems like an age sometimes— 
you may think that *“Central’’ is to 
blame. If you are specially irritated 
you may even accuse the operater of not 
having tried at all to get the person you 
want. , , 
Look into your exchange some day— 
the manager will be glad to see you any 
time—and watch how its work is done. 
Then you'll feel differently about it. 
You can rest assured that if ‘Central ’’ 
says ‘‘they don’t answer,’’ they don’t. 
She has tried her best to get them, but 
without success. 
The first thing the operator does when 
you give her a call is to *“ test’ to see if 
the number you ask for is busy. If the 
line is not in use, she connects with it 
and rings the subscriber’s bell. If no- 
body answers her first ring within 15 
seconds she rings again. If there is still 
silence after another quarter of a minute 
she rings athird time. If there is no re- 
sponse in the next 15 seconds she re- 
ports to you ‘“‘they don’t answer.”’ 
Then she will ring again, and again, and 
again, if you ask her to. It is a good 
deal like ringing someone’s doorbell. 
If nobody comes to let you in after you 
have rung two or three times you make 
up your mind that the family is out and 
go away. ‘The telephone company has 
to stop somewhere, and it gives up at 
the end of a minute and a half to two 
minutes, after ringing three times, un- 
less it is asked to keep on. 
Most often, you will notice, it is 
when you call up a residence that you 
are told ‘“‘they don’t answer.’’ ‘The 
reason is simple when you come to think 
of it, but probably it doesn’t occur to 
everybody. In a business place the tele- 
phone is pretty sure to be located where 
the bell can be heard easily and there is 
someone whose business it is to answer 
calls. At any rate, there is always 
somebody near the instrument to answer 
promptly in business hours. ‘There are 
lots of times, of course, when there ts 
nobody at home to answer a residence 
telephone. Besides, agood many people 
insist on having their house telephones 
put in out of the way corners. ‘The re- 
sult is that the ringing of the bell is not 
always heard, and, even when it is heard, 
answering it means a trip into another 
room or upstairs. Then, too, it is not 
always convenient to drop housework or 
leave company and go to the tele- 
phone instantly, and that makes a delay 
which gives the impression that there is 
nobody on hand to answer your sum- 
; mons. 
These things no doubt have a good 
deal to do with your being told ** they 
dont’t answer.’’ In many cases they 
account for your meeting a friend every 
now and then who says, when you tell 
him you tried to call him up and 
couldn’t get him, that he “‘ was there all 
the time.’’ They also go to explain 
why, when you answer your own tele- 
phone after a delay, you are sometimes 
told by the operator that “‘there is no- 
body on your line now.’’ ‘The person 
who was calling you has given you up 
and gone away. 
MAGNOLIA 
FOR SALE: One of the finest summer residences on 
the North Shore. 50,000 ft. of land and house of seve 
enteen rooms and four bath rooms and toilet, all mods 
ern conveniences. The grounds are beautifully laid 
out with plenty of shade, ornamental and fruit trees 
and shrubbery, flower garden and tennis court. 
Apply to J. MAY, MAGNOLIA, MASS. 
BOSTON & MAINE R. R. 
In effect Oct. 7, 1907. 
TRAINS LEAVE MANCHESTER FOR 
BEVERLY, SALEM, LYNN and BOSTON 
1624, £727, |731, 12759, ||8 34, £839, fz9 35, 
1/10 21, £10 34, fll 33a. m. f12 43, {2 31, £135, 
|2 28, £257, f419, ||451, £519, 1642, |\6 43, 
819, £906, ||9 49, £1009 p. m. 
W. MANCHESTER, BEVERLY FARMS, 
PRIDES and MONTSERRAT—f6 24, f7 27, 
7 31, 1759, 834, £839, £935, ||10 21, 110 34, 
f11 33, a. m. £1243, ||1 31, £135, 228, 1257, 
f419, ||451, £519, £642, ||6 43, ||819, £906, 
949, £1009, p. m. 
MAGNOLIA, WEST GLOUCESTER and 
ROCK PORT—f7 02, [f7.37. ||907, £9 18, 
f10.14, ||1053, f1142,a.m. 4132, £308, ||3 07, 
414, 1517, (1522, £554, £622, |\654, f7 20, 
807, ||812, £1021, 10.37, £1214, p.m. 
TRAINS LEAVE WEST MANCHESTER FOR 
BEVERLY, SALEM, LYNN, and BOSTON 
fs 27, (730, |I734, #2802, 837, £842, £2939, 
10 24, £1038, 1136, a.m. £12.46, ||1 34, f1 38, 
2 21, £300, £422, ||454, £522, £645, ||6 46, 
18 22, £909, ||952, 11012, p m. 
BEVERLY FARMS, PRIDES and MONT- 
SERRAT—(6 27, 730, ||734, 1802, ||8 37, 
£8 42. £939, ||10 24, £1038, f1136,a.m. f1246, 
134, £138, ||231, £300, £422, ||454, £522, 
£6 45, ||6 46, ||822, £909, 9 52, {10 12, p.m. 
MANCHESTER, MAGNOLIA, WEST 
GLOUCESTER, and ROCKPORT—{658, f7 34, 
1903, £904, £1010, ||1049 f1137, a. m. f1 28, 
£302, {303, £410, £512, ||518, £549, £619, 
650, f716, £804, 808, f1018,  ||10 33, 
1120155 p.m: t 
+ Daily. fDaily except Sunday. z Boston only 
|| Sunday only. 
Detailed information and time tables may 
be obtained at ticket oflices. 
D, J. FLANDERS, C.M. BURT, 
Pass. Traf. Mgr. Gen. Pass. Agt. 
Location of Fire Alarm Boxes 
Manchester, Mass. 
31. Electric Light Station. 
33. Telephone Exchange Office. 
34. Summer Street, P. H. Boyle’s Stable. 
41. Corner Bridge and Pine Sts. © 
43. Corner Harbor and Bridge Sts. 
52. Fire Engine House, School St. 
54. Corner School and Lincoln Sts. 
36. School St., opp. the grounds of the 
Essex County Club. 
61. Sea St., H. S. Chase’s House. 
62. Corner Beach and Masconomo Sts. 
64. “Lobster Cove.” 
Two Blasts, all out or under control. 
Three Blasts, extra call. 
Directions for giving an alarm: Break the 
glass, turn the key and open the door, pull 
the hook down once and let go 
JAMES HOARE, Chief, 
GEORGE S. SINNICKS, 
CLARENCE W. MORGAN, 
Engineers of Fire Department 
23 at 7.45 a.m., no school at John Price 
Primary School; 10. 45a.m., one session. 
22 at 8.00a.m., no school at any of the 
buildings; 11.00 a.m., one session. 
Let us figure on your next order of 
PRINTING 
North Shore Breeze 
