The Key West Citizen Newspaper, December 6, 1952, Page 11

Private Versus Party Line Is Long-Standing Question GOOD PARTY-LINE MANNERS MAKE BETTER NEIGHBORS “Why can’t I have a private- Hine telephone?” = That question pops up in the Key West telephone office every day from subscribers who would - like to have a private line. The * answer lies in many factors of equipment and economics. * if you have an application for 2 different type service, you can be sure that Southern are people whe want party lines, some two, some four, because that is the type service that meets their needs. In order to serve these people, the com- pany has established party lines at lower rates. You might live in an area where the existing cable facilities are not enough to give you a private line immediately. For that reason, you may have two-party or four-party service because of the existing con- ditions. While the Company is working to improve your service, to re- grade it to the type of telephene service you want, it offers you party line telephone service to take care of your telephone needs until you get a private line. The Company- has found that party line neighbors are good Congratulations To The SOUTHERN BELL TELEPHONE and TELEGRAPH COMPANY VENETIAN BLINDS IN YOUR. BEAUTIFUL NEW BUILDING Furnished by te Maxwell Co., » 909 FLEMING ST. Furniture & Furnishings Dial 2-6031 THE KEY WEST CITIZEN neighbors in most cases. They realize the situation, some pre- fering party sine telephone service because of the rate differential, and because of that exercise good party line manners. This coopera- tion means that you can use your telephone with a great deal more happiness and enjoy it until the time you get what you want. The Company has developed a number of suggestions to make party line telephoning more ples- sant to all who have this type of service. Some of these suggestions are: 1. Don’t use your telephone for long periods at a time. Hang up now and then to give the other party a chance. 2. Answer your telephone prompt- ly. It may be ringing on another line and disturbing your party line neighbor. 3. Relinquish your telephone in emergencies. If you are talking, and your neighbor asks to u-:e the telephone because of dire necessity, hang up ana renew your cal! later. 4, Remember that you purty line neighbor has the same pro- blems that you do. Put yourself in his place when you are using the telephon, or when you'd like the telephone, or when you’d like 5. Don’t “hog” the line. Use your telephone as often as you like but keep in mind that your neighbor might want to use it, so give him plenty of chances be- tween your calls to make his. 6. Always replace your receiver on the hook when you finish a call. Those are just a few ways to be a better party line neighbor. You can think up ways for your- self, work out agr2ements with the other parties on your line, and through party line manners, en- joy more telephone happiness, Ship-To-Shore Phones Prove Invaluable Aid You can telephone Mr. and Mrs. North America and all the ships at sea. Well, most of the ships at sea. Those that have telephones, anyway. Ship-to-shore telephone service is now a proven and dependable means of communications for Florida’s waters. It’s a 24-hour- a-day service providing quick two-way voice contact between a ship telephone and any telephone on land. Connections are established through Southern Bell Telephone Compan, land radiotelephone sta- tions at Jacksonville and Miami. Aside from its great value for regular weather reports, storm warnings and distress calls, opera- tors of commercial and pleasure craft alike find many convenient and profitable used for ship tele- phone service. Pilot, towing and docking service is more quickly available to freighters and tank- ers; fishing boats can be sent to better fishing areas and can get ready market information. Plea- sure boat operators on the water- ways of Florida or on the ocean can handle business and home af- fairs while on the cruise. z In case of fire, breakdown or accident, a telephone aboard is a priceless asset. Help can be sum- moned quickly. Weather reports help to avoid accidents. Boats can call each other as well as telephones on land. Little problems would sometimes turn into real emergencies without |your telephone. In business and at jhome, it puts you quickly in touch with the people you need. Saturday, December 6, 1952 Phone Taxes Take Gigantic Bite You may not realize how large a@ part of the money paid by telephone users goes to taxes. Including the federal excise tax, a total of 29 cents out ef every dollar received frem Southern Bell customers last year was paid out in taxes to federal, state and local governments. To put it another way, the average amount of taxes was $2.67 a month per telephone. Telephone taxes are necessary to the support of government, but they do mount up. Higher taxes, of course, have an effect on the price you pay for tele- phone service. The next time you pey your telephone bill, remember thet e good part of i is texes for government and national defense. | Dial Phoning Is Different From Old Way How does a dial telephone work? Junior may ask you this some day, Maybe this will help you answer him. There are a lot of parts in the switching equipment of a dial tele- phone central office. The most im- portant part is the electromagnet. This electromagnet gives a pull when a current passes through. That pull can be used for many purposes. It can close a switch 80 as to send current into another electro- magnets and make them work. Or, the pull can be used to close con- tacts between circuits, or to move some other pieces of equipment, sliding it along a little way, or giving it part of a turn if it is something which rotates. When your receiver is raised, the switch in your telephone set is closed and electric current flows along your line from a large bat- tery at the central office. At that office a switching mechanism is put into operation by this sudden flow of current. The apparatus starts hi over the terminals Of a relatively small group of lines, among which is yours. It stops when it feels a line with current in it, and is then ready to do what you want. The girl operator would ask you “Number please?”. But instead, this equipment sends a tone to say it is ready for your instruc- tions. And since it cannot hear, you dial the number. It is extremely important that you listen for this *‘Hum-m-m” be- fore you start to dial. If you dial before you hear the “dial tone,” you'll get.a worong number or no number at all. As the dial rotates back to its original position, there is a click for each unit of the digit you dialed -- three clicks for 3, four for 4, and so on. With each click g pulse of cur- Trent passes through some electro- magnet in the mechanism at the central office. That mechanism then proceeds t® put the cal! through for you. Each of its actions is simple, but taker all together they are very complicated, and a vast amount of equipment is needed. Florida’s first telephone exchange was established in Jacksonville on May 24, 1880. WE WERE PROUD TO FURNISH THE READY -MIXED CONCRETE FOR THE NEW TELEPHONE BUILDING Charles Toppino AND SONS INC. “WeTakePrid2 In Having Been Selected As Tha General Contractor To Build The Southern Bell Telephone & Telegraph ompany s Dial And Toll Office Building AT KEY WEST, FLORIDA J.Y. Gooch Co., In. GENERAL CONTRACTORS C. C. BLAKE, President 1205 Congress Building, Miami, Florida.”