Life, 1927-04-14 · page 7 of 38
Life — April 14, 1927 — page 7: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This humorous poem by Oliver Herford satirizes the daily frustrations experienced by telephone operators—primarily women employed by telephone companies. The illustrated prayer catalogs their job-related complaints: connecting wrong numbers, dealing with rude callers who "rant and rave," disconnecting conversations accidentally, and enduring verbal abuse ("cusses," "slaps and slams," "smashed receivers"). The whimsical border illustration depicts operators amid chaos—tangled cords, distressed callers, and mayhem—visually emphasizing the stressful, demanding nature of the work. The satire gently mocks both the operators' predicament and the telephone system's frustrations, while the prayer format transforms workplace grievances into dark comedy. This reflects early-20th-century awareness of difficult working conditions for female telephone operators.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
TELEPHONE GIRL’S PRAYER By Oliver Herford O LORD, for all I done to-day To cause annoyance and delay To make a person rant and rave, For all wrong numbers I have gave And gave and gave when I'd be cryin’ For five three seven, thrrree seven ni-yun, For all the necdless irritation When I cut off a conversation, The cusses — calls for information Because of me — the slaps and slams, The smashed receivers — darns and damns I've caused this day — O Lord, for these And all my sins, Excuse it, Please! comicbooks.com