The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1885-07-13
The Experience of Terre Haute in Similar
Strike.


The Experience of Terre Haute in Similar
Strike.
TO the Editor of the Indianapolis Journal:
We feel here, as at every place in the State, a
great interest in the outcome OF the telephone
war" in your city. We have been through the
same mill here, and, our best efforts having
failed to accomplish anything, we naturally are
very hopeful that the citizens of your city may
have better leadership, or tact, or luck, what
ever may be necessary to success, so that, after
all, we may enjoy what we have so far been un-
able 20 secure for ourselves A year ago last
winter number Of our best citizens circulated a
paper ordering out the instruments of the sign
ers unless rates were reduced to So for business
and 50 for residence telephones. Over two
hundred of the $50 subscribers signed the paper,
and meetings were held, resolutions passed. and
committees appointed. About one hundred
of us stood by cur agreement and
insisted on the company's removing
our instruments. We had the pleasure for about
a week of tramping around in the cold with
snow over shoe-tops instead of comfortably
transactins our business in our offices by tele
phone. A large number of strikers had their
telephones left in but honorably refused to use
them while the rest of US had ours out This
state of affairs lasted little over week, when
we began to grow desperate. The snow-storm
seemed to be a set up job on the part of the
company. AS four years use Of the telephone
had@ got Us out lof the habit Of walking, we
was called to see what we were going to do
about it. We were the sickest lot of strikers
you ever saw. Everybody was kicking himself
and everybody else for having gone into
the thing. At this meeting some hot
headed ones favored determination of the
bloated monopoly but those of who wanted
the service and were willing to pay for it, were
in the majority; and as the rival company that
had been promised, turned out sham, and no
other satisfactory answer could be made to the
question what are we going to do about it,"
the meeting broke mp with the understanding
that those to whom the telephone was worth the
price could keep it, and others could leave it
alone. The companys employees were as busy
putting back telephones for a few weeks as they
were taking them out on the first of the month.
This result was fastened somewhat by an inter-
view In one of our papers with a man from
Evansville, who had taken part in the 'strike'
they had there about two years ago. They had
organized powerful combination against the
monopoly and had the aid of the city
government, but after exhausting the strength
of their combined efforts they found nothing had
been gained, and they were powerless to accom-
plish anything but inconvenience and annoy
ance to themselves. This report had disheart-
ening effect on US, and helped to convince us how
useless it was to butt our heads against stone
wall for the fun Of seeing the sparks fly.
Now the good people of Indianapolis may hold
better hand than we did in our little game
with this foreign corporation, or than was held
by the citizens of Evansville, or Richmond, or
Lafayette, or any of the other numerous places
where such combinations have been attempted,
and failed, or it may be they will play their
cards better than the rest of us did. |
see their movement is we'll organized and
differed and has at its head some Of the leading
citizens-so had ours-and it may be that they
will have better luck than we did; we hope so,
Having been through the mill once, the attempt
to get up an excitement over the pink contract"
business was a failure The public meeting
called, adjourned without carrying single mo-
ton except to adiourn). and the company met
with so little opposition that they got their con
tracts all signed and sent their Chicago men
home several days ago. learn from reliable
source that less than dozen instruments were
removed because of refusal to sign contracts.
Before enlsting in the war the Indianapolis
committee should have sent sub committees to
Terre Haute and Evansville and other places
where the thing has been tried. We could have
given them some valuable pointers It may be
they would not have been so eager for the fray;
but we might have saved them from the fate of
the boy who had the affair with the mule in which
he gained experience at the expense Of beauty.
But your people are in for it now. It is too
late to go back. They must 90 ahead until
victorious or the thing has collapsed from
natural causes. If they had asked US for advice
we might have saved them some trouble, but
as. they didn't. we forgive them, and say 'sic en-
Tige." We hope they may be more successful
others have been, but telephone wars are ex-
pensive luxuries and we don't want any more
in ours H. D. w.
TERRE HAUTE, Ind, July II, 1885,