Shanghai Gets Phone Time in Two Languages

Hawke's Bay Herald-Tribune, Issue 137, 26 June 1937, Page 18

Shanghai Gets Phone Time in Two Languages

t SHANGHAI — Shanghai 's American-, owned telephone company provides a "time-of-day service" for its subseribers. To receive it, one merely dials 95678 and listens. At once the voice becomes audible, hrst speaking three words and then three English words. These words are the same in meaning and they give the exact hour and minute. Every five seconds the girls speaks, so long as a light before her glows to show that some • subscriber or subscribers are waiting. Her line will aecommodate up to 32 "listeners-in" but even if they address her she can hear nono 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 somo sort of automatic device, but hcre the nced for two languagcs keeps tho liuman oquation well to thc fore. Every minute the girl on duty interjects the word "time" and watchos an electric needle to make sure hcr voice is Tegistering in the proper key and volume. Counsel had taken great pains to show how thc accuscd man might have nccomplished the burglarv. Ho showe-1 how a man could cut ajyay a pano oi" wirrlow-glass without making a sound dcmonstratcd in courfc how he could mufflc his tread to ensure that he wained in silence. When he provcd that a safe could be blown open with dynamite, and yet hot disturb sleeping householdcrs, thc prisoncr shufflcd un comfortably. Counsel noticed this, and barkcd ou 1 "And now you want to altcr your plea to 'Guiltv,' I suppose?" "Xo, it ain't that." rctuvncd thc man, "but I just wauted to say lliat if over you aro out of a ,iob, I'll alwnys b" iWilling to give you « ■tart.'" -