The Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1877-1885, 1883-07-17
DEMAND PRESENTED.
The T'elegraphers Take the First
Step in Their Proposed Ssrike.

NEW YORK, July 16-A committee from
the telegraphers' organization, composed of
seven members from different cities, called
on Gen. Eckert, and presented letter re-
questing general increase of Is per cent. in
the salaries of the operators, and slight re-
duction in their hours of work The inter
view was brief, very few words being passed.
They requested Mr.. Eckert to give them aa
answer at noon next Wednesday, and the
committee then proceeded to the offices of
the American, Rapid, and Baltimore & Ohio
Telegraph companies and made the same de-
lnands which have already been made public.
No further developments may be expected
until next Wednesday.
CHICAGO, July 16-"The position of the
telegraph operators remains unchanged" 4"
said A. j. Morris, the presiding Chicago officer
of the brotherhood. Il am not at liberty to
say when the bill of grievances will be pre-
sented to the company. know when it will
be, but my position as an officer of the
brotherhood forbids my revealing the in
formation. Everything is done as secretly as
possible; the men are all awaiting orders,
and any action that is taken will be taken
suddenly, without any previous announce
mittee." There is great deal of specula-
tion indulged in by the Western Union as
to how our brotherhood will manage to
subsist during a prolonged strike"
said a member of the brotherhood.
AS the company knows but too well how de-
pendent we are upon the small salaries which
they pay US, and have reason to suppose that
we are very poor prominent Western Union
official has estimated that it would cost the
brotherhood 100000 per week to stand out.
But he failed to mention how much it would
cost the company, though he must know
that where it would cost us S200, 900 that the
loss to the company would be as many thou
sands They seem to think that we are so
poor and friendless that we cannot afford
strike, and upon this hypothesis they base
their assertion that we cannot win, and that
they will fight us and starve us back to work
in less than week
"A general strike will be disastrous thing
for the Western Union-inst tho rumor of IA
strike has caused Western Union stock to
drop az points. What would it be worth
after the operators had been out ten davsl
We should be sorry to strike on one account
in particular. During the past week we have
received sympathy and encouragement from
private firms and individuals that would
cause Us to regret the loss and Inconvenience
that they must suffer by our going out
TELEPHONE MEN MOVING.
Right upon the heels of the threatened ur-
aeaval amongst the telegraph operators comes
move on the part of the telephone climbers,
repairers, and instrument men to quit work
unless certain demands for reform made by
them are acceded to by the officers of the Chi
cago telephone company. The repairels are
branch Of the Brotherhood of Telegraphers.
and committee of three of their number pre-
sented bill of grievances to the employers,
which they gave them forty-eight hours to
decide on. The men demand that ten hours
shall constitute a days work, that double
rates shall be paid for night and Sunday
work, and that overtime shall be reckoned
at twenty-six working days to the month
Twenty-Five per cent. increase in pay is also
demanded, payday to occur twice each
month, the men heretofore having been paid
at So per day, and then only once a month
1t is also demanded that the workmen shall
not be compelled to purchase their own uni
forms. They claim that the suits for which
$21. so is annually deducted from each mans
pay are worthless, and could be purchased
by them at their own tailors' for 50 or $40
singly. Should the company decide not to
grant the demands Of the men, the latter
will, every one of them, stop work