Page:The museum, (Jackson, Marget Talbot, 1917).djvu/81

Rh and can be arranged flush with the floor and with a water-tight top, which is very inconspicuous. If these plugs are not put in until after the floor is laid the expense is enormous. If, however, it is all planned beforehand the expense is inconsiderable.

A more or less complete telephone system is necessary. It must be possible for the different parts of the building to communicate with each other. The Director must be in touch with all that is going on and must be able at any moment to reach the guards. Then, too, the telephone is a necessity in case of theft or any danger, as the guard can quickly notify the gatekeeper and prevent the escape of the suspect. Some arrangement should be made by which telephone communication can be maintained through the night as well as in the daytime; that is, a museum should never be put on a private branch exchange which depends upon a switchboard in some other building operated only in the daytime, unless it is plugged with one of the trunk lines at night. It will be necessary to arrange for a conduit through which telephone and electric wires can be brought into the building and another for gas and water. This conduit should always be placed at the time the foundations are being built, as otherwise it will be necessary to pierce through the wall at