Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1883-07-25
A Great Strike.

A Great Strike.
A week ago the Telegraphers' Brother
hood ordered a strike and nearly all its ten
thousand members quit work, and the
strike still continues. The majority of the
striking telegraphers were at work for the
Western Union, SO that the two parties to
the contest are really the great telegraph
company Of the country and its operators.
The Western Union is great corpora
ton that has had the power, and exercised
it, Of swallowing up most of its competi-
tors. 1t has increased its stock as we'll as
its business rapidly, and by watering
processes that stock now amounts to eighty
millions on which Jay Gould and others
seek and get regular dividends. To keep
up dividends on this swollen stock the
Brotherhood claims that the Management t
of the company pays smaller wages than
it should and also requires too many hours
work of the operators.
The company has steadily refused to
acceed to the demands of its workmen and
has not exhibited any anxiety 10 "leave
out" the matters of difference, preferring
to run its business its own way. During
the week two sets of stories have been
steadily kept going. The one told by the
company is that everything is lovely or
fast becoming so, and that it is going to
have no great trouble in filling the vacant
chairs. The other, told by the Brotherhood,
is that this association is receiving acces.
sons rapidly and that the new help
employed by the company cannot do the
work well, and that the strike must
succeed or the necessary amount of tele-
graphing remain undone.
These stories do not agree any more
than those told about what the signal for
the strike was. The day the operators
struck a dispatch that General Grant
dropped dead" went over the wires aud it
was asserted that this was the signal for
the strike to begin, but the operators deny
this and say the order was issued hours
before the strike began.
1t is not of great moment to the general
public which set of stories is true. If
tho company is right in few days it can
handle business messages as we'll as press
dispatches. If it is lying it will soon have
to make some arrangement with the
Brotherhood and then its business will 90
on as before so far as outsiders are con-
cerned.
But the strike calls attention to the
matter Of communicating by telegraph and
will awaken interest in the plan of
government telegraph. Mr.. E1munds
last winter hit the nail on the head when
he said in substance that there was no
more reason why the government in its
postal department should not use electricity
as we'll as steam.
When our government began its post
offices its carrying was done by horse
power, later on mostly by steam power.
Now that "lightning" is the quickest
transmitter why should not the govern.
ment impress it into its service. This
must come sooner or later. The main |
objection has been that it would be an
unjust interference with business already |
undertaken and built up by private capital !
But the company that does the most OF
the telegraph business has either mis-.
treated its workmen, or is from its bust
ness unable to give them profitable employ
mept. On the first supposition it has for
feted any moral right to have its interests
treated tenderly and on the second suppo-
sition it will be no hurt TO it to interfere |
with business that does not enable it to |
make money.
The strike will substitute "Uncle Sam"
for Jay Gould as the 'bo As" of the tele
graph system and give cheaper rates for
kilograms. OF course the western union
and its friends will howl about depriving
the stockholders of the profits and capital
of business their money has built up and
we shall hear how much moro econo mic
ally private enterprise will manage a bus
mess than government management can
do. But the howl will not hinder govern
ment telegraphy many years.