The Austin weekly statesman. (Austin, Tex.) 1883-1898, 1883-07-19
The Threatening Telegraph Trouble

AHO threatening IeltSTdph ITOuht
NEW YORK, July 16.-The news.
papers are giving considerable space
to the threatened telegraph trouble
both in the nature of interviews and
editorial comments. From the Mail
and Express:
"The situation is one that deserves
to be very carefully scanned and
thoroughly understood by all directly
or indirectly interested. That is to
say, by every body. Electric wires
are the nervous system of the coun-
try. Their functions are so vital no
corporation or association of men
would long be allowed to CONT oil them
in disregard of public interest
The civilization and business of
the country having been devel-
oped on basis of universal
telegraphic basis, must be preserved
without interruption. The public
has rights that will somehow be en-
forced. There is limit to the natural
right of employees to strike" 1t is
our belief the directors of that great
employer of telegraph operators, the
Western Union, are disposed to deal
squarely and generously wiah its EN-
ployes whenever they deputize any
one, or more, to present causes of
complaint. The danger with this
newest of labor organizations is, first,
that it is secret and oath-bound and
liable to fall into the hands of a few
selfish, ambitious wire-pullers"
and second, that the capacity for
wholesale mischief possessed by tele-
graphers is liable to turn the
Of
Operators cannot afford to allow a
few men, with heads turned by sud-
den power and opportunity, to precip-
itate conflict in which the aggres-
sors will be outlawed from public fa-
vor and private consideration. 1t
will not be well for the operators if
they so lose their heads IS, TO provoke
the lasting disfaVor of intelligent
people by -ecklessly using peculiar
opportunities which are given them
to annoy the public. Let them be
prudent and keep intelligent and just
public opinion on their side, and they
will get all to which they are enti-
tied"
From the Evening Post: THAT
which interests the public the
most, and which she public
can form an opinion about, is the
means to Whlch operators propose TO
resort in order to enforce their de-
mands. A strike of telegraphers now,
when so large a proportion of the
business of the country in every de-
partment is carried on by telegraph,
that credit itself, in the commercial
and financial world, may be said to
rest on it, is very serious matter,
indeed. Telegraphing is mystery
small mystery, it is true, but. one
which nobody can master il day or
week, so that telegraph operators
have it in their power to inflict
enormous loss and inconYeni-
ence for the community by re-
fusing to do their work until their
employers comply with their demands.
Now, the question whether any body
of men ought to be allowed for any
purpose to infiict loss and inconven-
ience to the public is one of which
the growing completely of modern
society will soon compel peremptory
settlement, The country cannot
allow strikes of employees in this great
public service any more than ther can
allow corporations themselves TO re-
fuse to carry on their business as a
means of extracting what they think
fair rates OF transportation"
From the Commercial Advertiser:
'"The last development in the tele-
graph trouble is that spectators in
Wall street are Offering money
to the operat ors to strike. This is
the last phase of the war on
telegraph companies, but publication
of the names of unscrupuloUS per-
sons who are urging Oh a struggle
that would produce incalculable loss
to the country may not be SO pleasant
to them as beating Western Union
stock down would. These people tread
on dangerous ground when they make
this attempt"