The switchboard at which they placed him had been good enough for the other boys who had been called upon to operate it, and indeed it represented the best thought and effort of the leaders in the telephone world.  But it did not satisfy Carty, who, not content with simply-operating the board, studied its construction and began planning improvements.  As Mr. Carty himself puts it: 

The little switchboards of that day were a good deal like the automobiles of some years ago—­one was likely to spend more time under the switchboard than, sitting at it!  In that way I learned a great deal about the arrangement and construction of switchboards.  Encountering the trouble first, I had an advantage over others in being able to suggest a remedy.  So I have always thought it was a good thing to have troubles, as long as they are not too serious or too numerous.  Troubles are certainly a great advantage, if we manage them correctly.

Certainly Carty made these switchboard troubles the first stepping-stone in his climb to the top in the field of telephone engineering.  The improvements which the youngster suggested were so valuable that they were soon being made under his direction, and ere long he installed in the Boston exchange the first multiple switchboard, the fundamental features of which are in the switchboards of to-day.  In his work with the switchboards young Carty early got in touch with Charles E. Scribner, another youngster who was doing notable work in this field.  The young men became fast friends and worked much together.  Scribner devoted himself almost exclusively to switchboards and came to be known as the father of the modern switchboard.

Boston had her peculiar problems and an “express” service was needed.  How to handle this in the exchange was another problem, and this, too, Carty solved.  For this purpose he designed and installed the first metallic circuit, multiple switchboard to go into service.  The problems of the exchange were among the most serious of the many which troubled the early telephone companies.  Of course every telephone-user desired to be able to converse with any other who had a telephone in his office or residence.  The development of the switchboards had been comparatively slow in the past, and the service rendered by the boys proved far from satisfactory.  The average boy proved himself too little amenable to discipline, too inclined to “sass” the telephone-users, and too careless.  But the early use of “hello boys” was at least a success for the telephone in that it brought to its service John J. Carty.  This boy pointed the way to the great improvements that made it possible to handle the constantly growing volume of calls expeditiously and effectively.