Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1892-10-18
1T WAS ALL A HOAX.
A Telegraph OPERATOR Thinking to Play Joke
Ties Up the Entire Santa Fe Railroad System
His Joke Was Complete, and Not Key
licked For Several Hours-Hs Was Dis
charged.

TOPEKA, KAs., October 1.-THE great
strike of the telegraphers Of the Santa Fe
railroad system was all the result Of a hoax.
The operators were informed by Chief
Ramsey at tonight that the order direct
i9g them 70 strike was a forgery and In
structing them 70 return at once to their po-
sitions.
The operators upon receiving this re-
turned to their keys and the work Of
trajghteuing out the tangle caused. by the
strike. Operator Baker, after reading the
accounts in this mornings papers Of the
strike in the Gulf, Colorado and Santa Fe
division, thought he would play joke
upou the manager Of his Office. He wrote
the following messages and after setting
Chief Hayes name to it, laid it on Mana
ger Sweets desk.
"ST. LOUIS, October II.
$40 Al Operators and Managers;
in view of the fact that the Gulf, Colo
radO and Santa Fe is controlled by the San
"a Re road, 1 therefore declare strike on
the entire system Of the Santa Fe, to take
effect at 10 o'clock, October L. See that
no telegraping is done, no tickets sold, and
that nothing is done to inlure our cause;
See that the cOmpany's property is cared
for until you are regularly relieved"
Manager Sweet after reading 1t, re-
peated the message TO the next station, and
within fifteen minutes il had been received
bv every station on the entire system.
Fifteen minutes later every operator on
duty had struck work. The operation Of
the road was completely blocked and Dis
patcher Barker's JOKE was complete. The
loss TO the company is great, while the only
benefit 70 the operators is in showing the
perfect manner in which they IRE organ
lied AMI in demOnstrating they were IN
good condition 20 enforce their demand.
Barker has beer. discharged,
TOPEKA, KAs., October 17.-All the tele-
graph operators on the Santa Fe system,
about 900 in all, struck this morning at 10
o'clock in response TO an order from Chief
Ramsey, OF the Order of Railway Tele-
graphers. The trouble is on the Gulf,
Colorado and Santa F'e railway in Texas,
which is operated by the Santa Fe.
The operators Of the Texas line, several
hundred. have had a schedule for increased
wages before the officials, but the new
schedule has not been allowed. The Santa
Fe operators have struck in sympathy
with the Texas operators. No trains are
moving in Texas. The train dispatchers
on the Santa Fe proper are taking stock
trains in transit to division points, when
they will leave their keys also.
KANSAS CITY, Mo, October 17.-As re-
suit of the Santa Fe telegrapher's strike
twelve operators here are out and many
trains are tied up. The operators struck
work promptly on the receipt OF Chler
Ramsey's orders to do no cOmpany's ousl-
ness except that necessary 70 get moving
trains TO switching places. That done they
declined to touch key for the purpose Of
dispatching trains.
The men accepted the situation Dhiloso-
phically and no objections were heard
among them. There were none OF them IN
cliued 70 talk about the strike, but they
seemed 10 think 10 would be only matter
of a few hours before the road would yield
and they would be ordered back again.
The operators and train dispatchers at
Argentine quit as promptly on recelpt OF
their bulletin as did those IN Kansas CITY,
and things at the Santa Fe there are in a
nice tangle Fifty train crews are lying
there idle. not being able TO take out tram
because they can get no orders. Ihe
Western Union Telegraph Company suffers
from the strike as we'll as the Santa re, as
IL cannot send a message to any place on
the Santa Fe system except TO the larger
towns, where the company has uptown
offices.
The men could not have chosen better
time 10 intugurate their tie up. The Santa
Re system from one end to the otner Is
lust now doing q heavy freight business.
All through the great grain regions OF the
west it has more business than 1t can Well
look after, and is having hard time 10
prevent blOckades.
The eastern part Of the system has con-
tracted for heavy passenger business 10
Chicago, moreover, on account OF the
Worlds Fair dedication, which is expect
ed 10 move tonight and tomorrow.
TOPEKA. KAN, October 17.-In an inter
view this afternoon General Manager ROD
insou said: ''The strike on the main sys-
TEN seems TO result simply from the hoax
telegram sent out by the operator named
Barker, at Dodge City.
The agreement made few months ago
between the officers of the Santa Fe system
and MIR. Ramsey, chief Of the Order OF Rail
way Telegraphers, and signed by ootn par
ties to the compact, provides that thirty
DAYS notice shall be given by either party
to the other requesting a change IN the
same"
Tramps Rob = Milkman.
PoRr JERv1s. N. Y. October 17,-Three