The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1883-07-20
met number of the strikers and talked with
TIE FIRST ONE.

structed last night that the strike would
begin to-day (Thursday) at - o'clock Wash
ington time u1:24 here) Ii they had re-
ceived our committee we would have got a
message that would have prevented our
going out. AS no such message came every
member of the Brotherhood went out as
agreed upon. That General Grant business
was done to hurt us. We had no such
signal; we had no signal at all, none was
needed. That was sent over the wires by
some one antagonistic to our interests"
NUMBER TWO
The reporter asked why the men here had
not asked for an increase of wages
making their request directly to Mr. Wal
lick. We've made application to Mr.. But
Ter, the manager of the indianapolis Office,
time and again. He has said that it was no
use to make application to him, and turned
the matter over to Superintendent Wallick. If
Mr.. Wallick saw fit he forwarded it to Super
lntendent Clowry who, in turn, if 1t was not
too much trouble, forwarded it to the exeeu
tive committee in New York. We were told
that was the point to strike. We put it
there, and they've refused to hear u.s."
CHINESE OFFICE.
This Office said another operator, sis
the worst paid in the country. Our best
operators get only $40 MONTH I'm day
man and go to work at 8 A. NJ. and work
until p M, with thirty minutes for lunch.
There's been some talk about ours being un-
skilled labor. Set man down to a desk and
have him handle and write four hundred
messages day, as l do day after day, and
then call it unskilled la borl The Indianap-
oils office is the Chinese office of the United
States. We get $75 here for taking Associ-
atee Press report, two men to do the work
that at other places is divided among
three, and elsewhere they get $50, 800 and
$95. Poor operators here get $25 month.
One man at this office who has been here for
fifteen years, and is a first-class man, only
gets $50. One of the operators at this Office
was an ambitious little woman, Miss Moffatt
who supported widowed mother She is
good operator. For two years she got only
$25 month; she was then raised to $35
She worked the heaviest way wire in the
Office from 7;30 A. NJ. to 8 P. NJ, and thus by
over-work managed to make $50 to $53 a
MONTH"
WHAT BECOMES OF OLD OPERATORS.
Most of the strikers are very young men,
nearly all of them under thirty years OF age,
and the reporter was moved to ask what be-
came of the old operators "Old operators?'
answered striker, there are none, Come
up into the operators room some hot hight
when the gas is all going and its hotter than
a rolling-mill and you will not ask such a
question again. Not one man in hundred
is fit for this business after he is forty years
old. They wear out; and when they are
worn ont the company throws them away
and gets fresh material Did you ever hear
OF telegraphers paralysis? That comes on
some of US long before we're forty. We lose
the finger movement through a nervous
affection, and can only beat from our wrist.
After that small wires and reduced salaries" "
MEETING OF THE STRIKERS.
Immediately after the strike was called the
Brotherhood held meeting in Emerald
Hall, where it was resolved that no act OF
violence would be tolerated, but that they
would rely for success on the justice of
their cause. At 23O another meeting
was held with closed doors in the
rooms of the Typographical Union, over
the Citizens National Bank, the use of which
had been rendered to them. Mr.. Farrell
presided, and there were about forty-fye
strikers present. 1t was agreed to devise a
circular letter explaining the strike and the
CduScS iedQluR bIleI6lO anu place III before
the public and a committee was appointed
to draft a circular. The strikers informed
the reporter that while they had not asked
any contributions several moneyed Enclosures
had already been received, while others had
made tender of financial assistance
TEN PER CENT. CUT.
I'm night operator" said young man.
'The last order from headquarters gave out
that eavan hourS ehould constitute n ,,,ob.,s
work and seven days weeks work Now,
the Western Union can use only from one
third to one-half the night force on Sunday
night Say you want to make full month.
When you are not needed you are laid off,
and you lose your time. No man can make
a full month unless he works extra time The
day men work fifty-four hours each week and
work one Sunday IN four; the night
men work forty-nine hours week. The $25
a month operator gets 1212 cents an hour for
extra work. and the $40 operators get 33 cents
an hour for extra work. This order that |
spoke of was issued on the 18TH Well, that
was dated back to the 1st by one of Mr..
Gould's assistants, and beat me out of four
teen hours time. 1t cut my friend here out
of 81 35 that he had earned, and has beat all
of US more or less. The new hours means
a cut OF nearly 10 per cent"
GRATITUDE.
'I understand" said another striker, "that
Clowry has sent dispatch here giving the
boys taffy, saying to provide carriages for
the operators who stuck by the Western
Union, and drive them to and from their
meals, and that the company will
never forget 'em, and all that
sort of thing. Now, there's nothing
more unsubstantial and liable to sudden
evaporation than the gratitude OF the West
ern Union monopoly. Alf. Winder, the
first chief operator the office here ever had,
came here after the war. He was in the
army as telegrapher under General Eckert,
and was captured and kept in Libby prison
several months. Well, he was in charge,
and worked here until IT, when, on account
of ill-health of his wife, he went with his