The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1883-07-24
A QUESTION OF FACTS.


ehtb FdlT anu 1TutnIulE
To the Editor of the indianapolis journal:
In the Chicago Tribune (the same card ap-
pearng in other papers, lind the following
INDIANAPoLIs Ind, July 22.-Editor of the
IrlOuue: The statements of special correspond
ents in this city in special dispatches of Satur-
uay night concerning the telegraph operators
strike ard the condition of business at this point
are untrue in many respects. Your correspond
ent has not called upon either the superintendent
or the manager for any information whatever,
and sent his special on information obtained en-
trely outside of the telegraph office. Corre-
spondents can obtain admission to the operating
room at this point at any time upon application
10 tne superintendent or manager, who will af-
ford them every opportunity for investigation.
Inc operating room was closed for the protec-
lon OF business and to prevent operators on
duty being annoyed and unnecessarily hindered
in their work, but the offices of the superintend-
ent and manager have been open to correspond
| ents at all hours. Business has decreased to a
considerable extent, but has been handled at
this point as promptly as before the strike, not
wlthstandlng statements to the contrary. AT
| the Indianapolis office yesterday Saturday
| there were thirty-seven operators on duty and
no dummies, fifteen of whom were tirst-class, the
others about average operators. The regular
JOHN F. wAL1IcK,
superintendent Western Union Telegraph Com
pany.
This statement involves all the special cor
respondents in this city. 1t would be hard
to compress more absolute injustice and mis-
representation into fewer lines, In the first
| place, not day or night has passed since the
strike began that Superintendent Wallick
and Manager Butler have not been inter-
viewed, and their statements given more or
less elaborately in every special dispatch sent
from here, Their statements were embraced
IN the Saturday night special to the Chicago
Tribune. Second-The operating room was
| closed" to correspondents on Saturday
night, while on Friday night and on Sunday
night it was open, and correspondents were
pressingly invited to make a tour of it. No
statement was ever made that the superin-
tendent's room or the managers room was
| closed to correspondents, but the operators
room was, closed on Saturday night and Mr..
| Wallick confesses it. Third-The statement
that business has been handled at this point
as promptly as before the strike is too alb
| surd to need refutation. On Friday night
| special dispatches were filed in the Western
Union office here at 10 o'clock, and they were
| not put on the wires until o'clock. A. NJ.
| on Saturday. This information was obtained
| from the receiving clerk of the company on
application on Saturday to know the reason
why the specials" had not appeared. Cor
respondents know that this is not as prompt
as their specials were handled before the
| strike As to private business, the News OF
last night in its local report says:
"rhe delay in private business continues EN-.
| Datfhsslng. messages taken last week nave not
| yet been forwarded in some cases, and some
| business men complain because the company
had not even mailed promptly the dispatches
| received. One suggested that the Western I'm
| ion is waiting until the two cent postage law
| goes INTO effect in order to beat their customers
and Uncle Sam out of the third cent"
This, certainly, is not 'as promptly as
business was handled before the strike"
! Fourth-There have been dummies in the
! operating-room, and there were dummies
there yesterday, and there have never been
''thirty-seven operators on duty, eff
teen frst-class, and the Others
average" since the strike began, and Mr..
Walllck knows it. The special correspond
ents care only TO send the facts, giving the
statements of both the company's officers
and the strikers and any other facts which
they may know OF their own knowledge.
! But it may be interesting before the mat
| ter is done with to know how Mr. Wallick
came into possession OF the information that
! specials to certain papers contained certain
| statements which he seems to have disap-
| proved when his attention was called to
| them. How was his attention called? Did
he see them in the papers, or is it to be in
| ferred that the dispatches were subjected to
his inspection in the office here? If the lat
ter, it is new feature, smacking much OF a
press censorship, and is likely to awaken
some interest both in the general public,
which intrusts its correspondence to the
| Western Union, and in the newspapers as
well. Correspondents will scarcely ask Mr..
| Wallick's permission TO send what they be-
lieve to be the truth. CORREsPoNDENT.