Daily globe. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1878-1884, 1883-08-14
CAUSES NO TROUBLE.


CAUSES NO TROUBLE.
Special Telegram to the Globe
CHICAGO, H., Aug. 13.-The Baltimore
d Ohio trains are running as usual, the
loss of the operators who went out Satur-
day not being felt as every place has been
filled by competent man. The only Office
west of the Ohio of any importance is at
Newark, which is a repeating point. The
six operators there struck, but Assistant
superintendent Flynn was able to get
equally good men without delay, so that
there has been no interruption of business.
No news was received at the offices
here regarding the rumored conference
with view to compromising with the
operators. The brotherhood held meet
ing in the afternoon, but the attendance
was not as large as usual. Speeches of an
encouraging character were made, but
there was an absence of the customary
| letters and kilograms from other points.
| Every remark about holding out until sue
| cess came was cheered. The brotherhood
| last night took in seven new men, five be-
| ing fresh from Texas and two belonging at
the union stockyards. The loss of the
two men, the brotherhood claims, leaves
the stockyards Office with only the
manager and a pupil in a helpless con-
| dition.
INVESTIGATING THE STRIKE.
New YORK, Aug. 13.-The sub-commit-
| tee of the United States senate committee
| on labor and education commenced its ses-
sions to-day in the postofice building.
The members present were Senators Blair
of New Hampshire, George of Mississippi,
Pugh of Alabama, Call of Florida, and
Aldrich, of Kansas. The special subject
of investigation was strikes and labor
movements in general, the object being TO
| obtain information which may be wise in
securing future legislation to prevent
them. The first witness to-day was Mas
| ter Workman John Campbell, of Pittsburg.
He testified that he had been a telegraph
operator over twenty years, and had been
connected with the Knights of Labor and
the Brotherhood of Photographers two
years. There were between $4,000
and $4,000 telegraphers in the United
States and Canada members of the broth
| erhood and the whole membership was
| about 1000. The cause of the strike was
the refusal to grant demand on the part
of the operators for increased compensa .
tion, decrease in hours and extra compen-
sation for Sunday. Since 1870 the salaries
| of telegraph operators have been system
atically cut down and the object of the
| strike was to bring the rate of compensa-
| ton back to its former standard. Opera
tors were now paid no fixed salary per
month, the average rate throughout the
| country being about $54 for commercial
| operators and 500 for railroad operators.
The average rate for railroad operators in
| Pennsylvania by actual census is $685.
per month. The rate of wages for
| first class commercial operators now
ranged from $40 to $85 per month. Sal
aries in New York city were higher than
| those in smaller cities, with the exception
| of New Orleans, Memphis and Nashville,
where the scale of wages was about equal
to that in this city, the lowest rates for
commercial operators were from $50 to
$40 per month. For operators at small
way stations before the reduction in wages
rates were from 80 to 40 per cent. high
er than at present. In 1870 a frst-class
operator could make from $40 to 500 a
month. These rates extended back to the
time of the beginning of the war, when the
scale was about the same as at present for
railroad operators, and that for CONNER
cial men little higher. The Western
Union Telegraph company's en-
ployes were one-quarter of all the opera
tors in the country, and about two-thirds
are railroad operators. The American
Rapid company only employs about one
fifth as many operators as the Western
| Union. The protest of the brotherhood
was against all the companies all employ
ers of telegraph operators. The rate of
wages was not considered sufficient to liIe
| upon, and was much below that of COM
mon day laborers in many instances. The
companies we're able to pay higher wages
to their men without increasing the rates
for services to the public. This was evil
dent from the large dividends paid by the
| Western Union, besides their facilities for
transmitting had been increased by the
invention of the duplex and quadruplex
instruments. There has been no re-
duction in the tariff in consequence
of these Improvements, but on the
other hand the wages of the operators had
been reduced. The number of operators
had doubled since 1870, while the facilities
of the company had more than doubled.
| The Western Union in that year handled
more than 100000 messages, and last
year the number was 100000. Campbell
recited the history of the strike since it
begun. There was a convention of the
brotherhood, he said, held in Chicago last
March, at which bill of grievances was
drawn up. This was presented to the diff
ferent local assemblies of the brotherhood
throughout the United States and Canada,
who unanimously ratified the action of the
convention. Returns to the executive board
were made about two months ago, and a
committee was instructed to present the
demands of the operators to the different
companies, and they we're also empowered
to arbitrate on all propositions that might
be made by the companies.
On the 10Th of July demands were pre-
scented the Western Union, American
Rapid, Baltimore & Ohio, Commercial and
numerous Telephone companies. The only
| answer yet received is from the American
RAND cOmDanv which has DsrtiaIIv