side of the line, and through the "way-down" contact _1_ of the button
at the calling station, thence over the other side of the battery line
back to the ringing battery, operating the bell at the called station.

[Illustration: Fig. 445. Push-Button Action, Western Electric System]

The circuits of the Western Electric system are similar to those of Fig.
442, but adapted, of course, to the push-button arrangement of switches.
Two batteries are employed, one for ringing and the other for talking,
talking current being fed to the lines through retardation coils to
prevent interference or cross-talk from other stations which might be
connected together at the same time.

_Monarch System._ As the making of connections in an intercommunicating
system is entirely in the hands of the user, it is desirable that the
operation be simple and that carelessness on the part of the user result
in as few evil effects as possible. For instance, the leaving of the
receiver off its hook will, in many systems, result in such a drain on
the battery as to greatly shorten its life.

The system of the Monarch Company has certain distinctive features in
this respect. It is of the push-button type and as in the system just
discussed, one pressure of the finger on one button clears the station
of previous connections, rings the station called, and establishes a
talking connection between the caller's telephone and the line desired.
In addition to this, the system is designed to eliminate battery waste
by so arranging the circuits that the battery current does not flow
through either called or calling instrument until a complete connection
is made--the calling button down at one station, the home button down at
the called station, and both receivers off the hook. It does not hurt
the batteries, therefore, if one neglects to hang up his receiver.

[Illustration: Fig. 446. Push-Button Wall Set]

[Illustration: Fig. 447. Push-Button Action, Monarch System]

Three views of the wall set of this system are shown in Fig. 446, which
illustrates how both the door and the containing box are separately
hinged for easy access to the apparatus and connecting rack. As in the
Western Electric and Kellogg push-button systems, each push-button key
has three positions, as shown in Fig. 447. The first button shows all
the springs open, the normal position of the key. The second button is
in the half-way or talking position with all the springs, except the
rin