Shanghai Gets Phone Time in Two Languages

Manawatu Times, Volume 62, Issue 152, 29 June 1937, Page 5

Shanghai Gets Phone Time in Two Languages

SHANGHAl—Shanghai’s Americanowned telephone company provides a “time-of-day service" for its suuscribers. To receive it, one merely dials 95078 and listens. At once the voice becomes audible, first speaking three words and then three English words. These words are tho same in meaning and they give the exact hour and minEvery five seconds tho girls speaks, so long as a light before her glows to show that some subscriber or subscribers are waiting. Her line will accommodate up to 32 Tisteners-in" but even if they address her she can hear none of them. So monotonous is the work that the business of repeating such phrases as “ee-ehr-san, one two three" (meaning 1:23 o'clock) can be carried on but half an hour at a time by each girl. In other parts of the world, time signals are usually given by some sort of automatic device, but here the need for two languages keeps tho human equ- well to the fore. Every minute tho girl on duty interjects the word "time" and watches an electric needle to make sure her voifcq is registering in tho proper key .and volume. Counsel hr d taken great pains to show how the accused man might havt accomplished the burglary. He showed Bow a man could cut away a pano or wi* w-glass without making a sounu demonstrated in court how ho could muffle his tread to ensure that ho wain ed in silence. When he proven a safo could be blown open with dynamite, and yet noifc disturb sleep, tg householders, the prisoner shuffled uncomfortably. Counsel noticed this, and barked out. “And now you want to alter your plea to ‘Guilty,' 1 suppose?" “No, it ain’t that," returned the man, “but I just wanted to say that if ever you are out of a job, I'll always be twilling to give you a start."