The Waco daily examiner. [volume] (Waco, Tex.) 187?-1888, 1883-08-15
NUMBER 205

The witness thought $50 month was
Tor food and lodging for
month tor single man; only one ins
hundred ever had any money. The
highest .pnid operators did not receive
enough to enable them to lay by any
thing Tor their support IN old age. In
1870 the Western Union company re-
uurcd every man coming INTO NJ EN-
uloy to take an oath that he
would never connect himself with any
tru,lr or labor orsnnie"h""-
Tns wa. called the ironclad oath
mi was administered to every perso''
uI,n took mart in the strike III l7iV'
\n.r the existence 1t the Telegraph
Rr,therhond was made known recently
r,Itnnl 4uueriutcudy uts issued n clt'u
T. lur. which was sent to every empluye vi
. -, rrmuuuy. furhddiug h IN to connect
y, !" slr with the organization under
lily NJ Dismissal pay operators
I from : "a. IN. to ut night anu
,''' "',' 80 or threr hour to devote /"
/ ,i,,',,t i,,, Slight operators hh,' moro
. ns "A vacation "Nl"'T"" ' ,h, tslr.
graph buslucss
a Thomas ORrilly, ..cl,,roph npcrntor
! ~ twelve years UNpcrl-,r. L,a charge
J. of the whcutstuuc iusti mont IN the
Western Union office. He md been nu
operator lu that system for {, yrnrs IN
10 Scotland. lie came here aboB, 3, yrnr
\ ago The Western Union company ave
u HIM $50 month AZ a retaining feG an.
l. al the whcntstour instrument should NJ.
rive. Promises were repeatedly made
- tuHt whuatstouc operators should re-
T., cciyr az much as first class MurEc upcr-
. utura On the 4Slh cf last February It
q was announced TINT the whcntstouo
,- systcm would begin operation, aud
/ whcuiriuur operators were told their
- SALARY would Tee SjD per month. Cper-
q nturs on the other allc ~ the ocean
a were better paid. lhcy had three weeks
Il vacation each yeuC with a SALARY, aud
"a during sickness hey received half pay.
r After huuE contain number ol years
Is ~ the service, and their record being
I, good, uptrnt'rs received pension for
Il lit.. SOM" times full pny when they he
Y came MIprrnuuuNtcd.
10 john b. Iultuylllc, operator, employed
"a 10y the ussnri ted rcss, confirmed the
testimony ~ the previous witnesses IN r..
l. gard to the strike.
n IT, ", Orr. Of philndclphin. a member
r ~ the Brotherhood Of tclegraphers, said
h. thc salaries paid oprrnturs Ia Phlladci
A. pln ranged from $40 to SSl per mouth
n, one " the objects Of the Brotherhood
~. was 10 establish telegraph company on
tore .hould own their own lines, and
thus hc enabled to protect themselves
against cmpl ycrs; an evidence of tue
w. hu4tlIt, ot the Ntsteru Union company
~ toward it4 employ, cs WAS lts gyEtrmhtic
u policy NJ irduciu. the salaries ~ its OPP
~, r.u,ora.d during the pnst ton years. Wit
" uoss ulao testified tn the practice " tie
d., W stern Union company IN blUckllst
lug men found organizing IL union asso-
citation NJ operators.
Eup,ncJ O'tonnor, OF Boston, chair
VI man OF the ~, CutivC board OF the Broth
's cinooi Ol Photographers, gave statistics al
If the growth oi the Western Union com
f. puuy since 'GG. lie said Since the be-
2. thinning OF the strike the membership OF
n. The Brotherhood had nearly doubled ana
now numbers about 2uuup; on. fifth al
the operators ut the country were women
and about 500 at thee had Joined thl
'' Urikrts, there were very iuW irSl-Clt-'
% operators among them ns thcir strength
," was not requisite to The work required tt
IT, attain alch proficiency.