Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1883-08-15
WESTERN UNION'SRECORD
AN INTERESTING TALE TOID
THE SENATE COMMITTEE.


and Profits.
NEW YORK, August l4-The United
states Senatorial Subcommittee on La
Dor and Education resumed its session
here to-day, and John F. McClelland. a
member Of the Brotherhood of telegraph
ers, resumed his testimony. He said that
the estimated cost of a telegraph line
loo miles long would be $725,9 ,965. The
estimate was made upon the cost of the
construction of the Mutual Union line
which was now amalgamated with the
Western Union. The telegraph operators
were generally young men and lived in
boarding houses. They usually came
from the better classes of society. The
morals of operators as a class had greatly
improved within the last ten wears. and
this was one result of the organization
which had been effected. Most of them
were single, but some were married men,
The witness thought that $50 was
a reasonable estimate for food and lOdg-
ing for month for single man. Only
one in hundred ever saved any money.
The highest paid operators did not receive
enough TO enable them to lay by anything
for their support in old age. In 1870 the
western Union Company required every
man coming into its employ to take an
oath that he would never con-
meet himself with trade or Ia
Dor organization. This was called the
lrOn-clad oath, and was administered to
every person who took part in the strike
of 1870. After the existence of the Tele-
graphers' Brotherhood was made known
recently, railroad Superintendent issued
circular which was sent to every en-
ploye of the company fOrbidding him to
connect himself with the organization
under penalty of dismissal. The dav
operators worked from O'Clock in the
morning to O'Clock at night, and had but
two or three hours to devote to amuse-
ments. A night operator had more time
at his disposal. No such thing as a vaca-
tion was known in telegraph circles.
Thomas O'Reilly. a telegraph operator
OF twelve years experience, was
the next witness. He had charge
| Of the WheatstOne instrument in
the Western Union office. He had been
an operator in that system for ten
years in Scotland. He came here
about year ago. The West
ern Union Company gave them $40
a month as retaining fee until the
| WheatstOne instruments should arrive
| The instruments did not arrive until Oc-
tober, and the company kept putting the
men off until they were on the point of
seeking other occupations. O'Rielly
ESIGHD
! Union Company as base trickery. Prom
ises were repeatedly made that the
| Nheatstone men should receive as much
as first class Morse operators. On the 2Sth
of last February it was announced
that the WheatstOne system would
| begin operation and WheatstOne opera
tors were told that their salaries would
be fifty dollars month. This wasEe
ceived with extreme dissatisfaction, but,
nevertheless, it was decided to give it a
months trial. At the end of the first
month $4,000 messages had been sent to
and from Chicago over one wire under the
| duplex system. Promises of increase of
salary were constantly made. but never
! fulfilled and the WheatstOne operators
were thus induced to remain until the
strike was ordered, when they all went
out with the Morse operators. They
| were all members OF the Brother
| hood. 1t required five years experience
| to become proficient in the WheatstOne
system. The WheatstOne patent is owned
| by the Western Union Company in this
country, but belonged to the British Gov
ernment originally. 1t is the system used
all over Great Britain and Ireland. 1t
| was more expensive system than the
Morse, but it was available for more pur-
poses than the Morse, particularly in the
department of press dispatches.
1t was not probable that the Wheat
stone would supersede the Morse system
in this country. from the different charac-
ter of the work here.
The principal reason for the strike of
the operators was the deceit and trickerv
of the company toward the English opera
tors. The operators on the other side were
better paid. They had three weeks vaca-
tion each year, with their salary, and
during sickness receive half pay. After
/ being Il certain number of years in the
service his record hpiuo pOO6 hn rnpaivaC
pension for lIfe-sOmetmes at full pay
when he becomes Superannuated. All the
wires in Great Britain and Ireland be-
lOnged TO the government, and the tariff
was uniform, being a shilling for twenty
words and three pence for each additional
five words.
John B. Taltavall, an operator employed
by the New York Associated Press, con-
tlrmed the testimony of the previ-
Gus witness in regard to the
strike. He explained more i'm detail
the effect of the Introduction of the null
tipleX systems of telegraphy in reducing
the expenses of the company employing
them. Despite the enormous increase of
facilities obtained by the use of the du-
pleX and quadrupleX Instruments, the
tariff of the Western Union Company had
not been changed. The Western Union
Company controlled over thr6e-fOurthS of
all the commercial lines in the country
and has, it is claimed, over 100, 600 miles
of wire. The salaries paid by the Asso-
ciated Press averaged $50 a week to opera
tors. Accidents on railroads from the neg
ligence OfOperators the witness attributed
to OyeTwOrk and poor pay. Legislation
should be invoked to remedy this evil
at least to the extent to requiring railroad
companies to make a reduction i'm the
working hours of the operators in their
employ. In the witness opinion, the
| Western Union Company was now ham
ding not more than One-thrd of the ordi-
nary amount of its business before the
strike. Every effort was being made to
satisfy the demands of the press and of
the large business interests, but the
business of the public was being entirely
neglected.
ii. w. Orr, of Philadelphia, a member
of the Brotherhood of telegraphers, said
that the salaries paid the operators in
Philadelphia ranged from $50 to $50 per
month. One of the objects of the Brother
hood was to establish a telegraph COM
pany on the cooperative system, by
which the operators should own their own
line and thus be enabled to protect them
selves against their employers. An evI-
dence of the hostility of the Western
Union Company towards its employees
was the systematic policy of reducing the
salaries Of its operators during the past
ten years. The witness also gave testi-
mOny in regard to the practice of the
Western Union Company in black-listing
men found to have been engaged in organ
iZing a union or association of operators.
Eugune j. O'COnnOr, of Boston, Chair
man of tine Executive Board of the
Brotherhood of Telegraphers, gave
the following statistics of the
growth of the Western Union Telegraph
Company since 1866: In that year the
company had $1,000 miles of poles and TO-
6S7 miles of wire, while now il has 131 900
miles of poles and 374,36S miles of WIRE
The number of offices in 1866 were 2.250,
and in 1888 12,06S. The number of mes
sages handled in 1866 were j, ,S79, ,2S2, and in
1882 and 1888 3S.S42, ,147. The receipts in
1866 were SO, ,56S, ,925, and in 1882 and 1888
$17. ia, 165. The expenses in 1866 were
1924. .005 and in 1882 and 1883 S9996, OBS.
The profits in 1866 were $2624,919,
and in 1882 and 1888 $7,11S,070. This
did not include the Mutual Union
plant. The Western Uuion Company
was now paying a ! per cent. dividend
on its watered stock and the surplus this
year was SO, ,000,00O notwithstanding. The
statistics were compiled from the pub
Ished statements of the company. Since
the beginning Of the strike the member
ship of the Brotherhood had nearly
doubled, and now numbered about 10000.
One-fifth of the operators in the country
were women. and about 500 of these had
Joined the strikers. There were very few
first-class operators among them, as their
strength was not equal to the amount of
work required to attain such efficiency.
The hearing will be continued tomorrow