The semi-weekly miner., 1883-07-21

act when the hour comes for action.
Reports received from all the leading
cities show that the operators are en-
thusiastic, but they who have hither-
to held back are coming in manfully.
CHICAGO, July l8.-One of the
officials of the w. U. said yesterday
rules they would not be dissatisfied.
According to the new rules a man
receiving q salary of $50 per
month may make an income of
$134 per month by working four
hours over time each day. BY short
ening the hours, he declared, salaries
are virtually increased ten per cent.
per month. The manager of the
operating department said that ten
men on the May pay roll drew $l25
each during that month. The same
work under the new rule would
bring something over $136. Tele-
graphers will find themselves in a
very different state from what they
are now, said an official of one of the
companies yesterday, when they
are standing out on the curb-stones
and chewing the cud of bitter medi-
tation. The man who is part Of Il big
machine is apt to appropriate some
of the importance of the machine to
himself. There are men like that in
the newspapers; as long as they have
the privilege Of saying what they will
in the press regarding their friends
and furnishing their enemies, they
feel pretty big, but put these same
fellows ont on the sidewalk and de-
prive them of all their rights and
privileges in the press and what
would they amount to. 1t is the same
way in this telegraph business. So
long as strikers can have use of our
wires and communicate with each
other and intercept messages ad-
dressed to other people, they are
strong and powerful, but the mo-
ment they leave their desks they will
begin to 60 to pieces. It always has
been so in telegraphic strikes and it
always will be. This sort of poetic
Justice is in it too; the strikers seek
to inconvenience the general public
by tying up the wires, but they can't
do this without disorganizing their
own forces. The Telegraphers' Broth
erhood is spread out over an inn
mease territory, and weak every
where except in a few large cities,
W here they have only been able to
keep an efficient organization by the
use of our wires. The moment they
are deprived of these and have no
chance for consultation or for stiffen-
ing up weak members, they will be-
gin to lose ground and break UP.
The experience we had at the time
of the last strike, and if the operators
90 out again 1 assure you
the first thing the company
will do will be to bounce out
every man whose fidelity is suspect
ed. We don't propose to have our
enemies fight us with our own weap-
ons and ammunition. Do you think
it likely there will be much suffering
among the operators? I can't say
how that will be. The men say they
are better provided with funds than
they ever were before, but 1 know
that as as rule the more turbulent
and violent among them are very i'm
provident, hardly one Of them hav-
ing cent laid by for a rainy day. At
the time of the last strike good
many ofthem were glad before it was
over to nave the privilege of travel
ling free lunch routes. Some OF them
came back half starved sand begged
with tears in their eyes to be permit
ted to 90 to work at half their old
paw but the hardest thing of all was
wien women and children began to
come to the office and beg to have
the men reinstated. It is women and
children who suffer most from these
strikes.