The Tiffin tribune. (Tiffin, Ohio) 1868-1887, 1870-01-14
THE TELEGRAPH STRIKE.
A Card from officers of the Company.
EXECUTIVE OFFICE w. u. 7. Co., !
AS BROADWAY, New YORK, \
January 6,


To the Public:
Since the publication this morning,
of the card signed by the officers OF
| this company, explaining the circum-
| stances out of which the strike of OPP
erativeS arose, a full and detailed
statement of what occurred in Cali
fOrnia, has been received from the
Company's agent, Mr.. MumfOrd.
They are as follows:
About the middle of December, Su-
perintendent Gamble, desiring to re-
adjust the compensation of the en-
plOyes at San Francisco, according to
the value of their services, gave no.
tice to two operators that after Janu-
ary l their salaries would be reduced
from $120 to $l15 per month; and to
q third that his salary would be in
creased from 500 to $120 q month
making an increase in the aggregate
compensation of the three of $40 a
month. Acting on these notices, as
is supposed, the operators at San Fran
cisco united in presenting a schedule
of salaries, which they asked to have
adopted. In this schedule, the two
salaries which Mr.. Gamble proposed
to have reduced, remained as before,
and an increase of four Others was
asked for.
Mr.. MumfOrd so far assented to the
schedule as to make no reduction In
salaries, and allowed a portion of the
increase. He at the same time in
formed the operators that the force in
the office was larger than was justified
by the decreased business, the num-
Der of messages being less than usual,
and the receipts lighter. The opera
tors themselves admitted that more
men were employed than was strict
ly necessary. To bring the force thus
into harmony with the wants of the
business, two men were dismissed;
but they were not the men whose sal
aries Mr.. Gamble had, in the first in
stance proposed to reduce. The sala-
ries of those men remained unchang-
ed, although one of these was dis
missed after the reduction of the
price above mentioned. A fourth
man refused to work at the schedule
price, although it was ten dollars a
month higher than he had ever before
received. -..
Out of this state of things the strike
arose. The facts thus explained fully
support Mr.. Mumford's original state
ment, that he had reduced no salaries,
and had no intention of doing so. He
had, in fact, increased them upon the
petition of the operators themselves,
and the only man who appears to
have left because he was dissatisfied
with the compensation, refused to
work at an advance in his salary Of
ten dollars q month.
The strike, then, is not as the opera
tors here have alleged and supposed
a strike in resistance to reduction of
wages, general or special, but in sup
port of the claim of an individual
whose salary has been raised, but not
to so high a figure as he desired. 1t
can not be denied, in view of all the
circumstances, that the whole body Of
strikers throughout the Union have
left their work with view and pur-
pose of subjecting the business of the
entire country to delay and derange-
ment, because some John Smith in
California, demanding an increase of
twenty dollars in his salary can get
only ten dollars. This is the real issue,
unless it is further claimed that this
company shall not be permitted to de-
termine how large force is necessary
to do its business, and to increase or
diminish from time to time accord
ingly. o. H. PALMER, Treas.