Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1892-09-03

instead of $50 she will be given S35 month.
One Of tine strange things in connection with
the fair sex and telegraphy is the fact that really
first-class lady operators can be counted on the
fingers Of ones hand. taking the country over.
But two can be recalled who are working on q
press circuit. one little lady ia serving of
the New England circuits and the other ut Co
lumbus, Ohio, on the western circuit. Whether
1t is loss of ambition or loss Of the nerve
power that accounts for this state Of affairs it
would be hard to say, but 1t is nevertheless true
that to find lady telegrapher earning q salary
over $50 a month is indeed a rarity.
Many Of the champions Of the fair sex claim
that it is solely the righteousness and unfair
ness OF the telegraph companies that has
brought about this situation of affairs. they
claiming that an undue advantage is taken Of
them owing to their general ignorance of the
market value Of their labor and an absence of
that pugnacious spirit so characteristic in their
brother, who when once he has set seal upon
his daily labor as to its worth, will generally
get it or refuse to work.
he this as 1t may, when once a member Of
the fair sex has pointed out TO her the Unfair
ness OF her remuneration and asked to take
decisive course she has generally come to
the front nobly This was demonstrated in
the great telegraph strike OF 1888. In that
struggle the male members of the telegraph
fraternity made the fair remuneration Of their
sisters one OF the salient points of their griev-
ances, and the latter were not slow to appre-
ciate the endeavors made in their behalf and
struck in the New York Office to woman.
WOMEN NOT EQUAL TO MEN.
In an interview with one of the Western
Union telegraph officials recently q STAR re-
porter Cleaned many things that were Of inter-
est. This official in stating his side of the case
claimed that he has never vet come across a
woman that was equal to man in her same
c!ass-that is same class of wages He said
"a m m EI ~Sn NIL nd
making the same, seated at the same table and
doing identically the same work. the man at the
end of the days work will average 20 per cent
more work. The women, this official claimed,
lacked stamina and cannot be depended upon
to stick TO their work like man. Another
thing that should be taken into consideration is
the lack of responsibility shown by the fair sex.
vi course. this is speaking generally.
He mentioned several that he knew that
We're making good salaries and were
entirely reliable and proficient, but be admitted
that he would sooner have man to do the
work at the same salary. There is a certain
respect that goes with everything that comes in
contact with woman that no doubt is created
by paternal reverence which debars one from
rushing up TO them and with an ejaculation
that lis more forcible than elegant order them
to rush message This can be done with men
without harm or remark, but with woman it
is generally resented and greeted with a stare
and the work done with q queenly precision
that is exasperating to high degree.
A woman teIegrapher recently wrote to
daily paper saying that the horrid men teleg-
raphers are Jealous of the lovely women teleg-
raphers. The representative telegraph paper
took up the challenge and replied as follows:
What condition of affairs. Can DR.. Mary
Walker continue to wear her trousers showed
down into her boot tops in an effort to look
masculineiy tough after this divine declaration
OF the peskiness of the "critter' called man
and a telegrapher. Won't this, combined with
the scorchirg hot weather, drive the entire tel
egraph profession into bathing suits, divorce
suits or suicide. whichever suits the location
and notions of local propriety?'
The men telegrsphers have always declared
themselves for the women telegraphers-
equal rights and equal salaries. and, failing to
secure it, some one of them has sometimes
turned up ut an attractive period Of the young
woman telesrapher's career and declared, not
his jealousy, but his love, and married the dear
thing. The question is, what are the men
telegraphers jealous Of? Not of the low saIa-
ries, for men telegraphers do not want them
not of their high salaries, for, to the disap-
pointment of every telegrapher interested in
the welfare OF the profession, women telegra-
pliers do not receive high enough salaries II
the man telegrapher is jealous of anything it is
of his profession. He Is Jealous that the woman
telegrapher be paid every cent that she 10
worth. His voluntary and free recognition Of
her right to work at telegraPhing exceeds that
which women compete with men for hveli-
hood. In 1883 men and women telegraphers
together Joined in a struggle which established
this point most emphatically. There was moth
ing mentioned about jealousies then. When the
strike ended the men telegraphers everywhere
sent the women telegraphers back to the Office
ahead OF themselves and calamity adopted reso-
lutions that the women should first be provided
with positions.
YOUNG woMAN's RusE.
They tell good story on Q young lady who
had Just finished course OF study at one Of the
many colleges that claim to be able to turn out
expert teiegraphers in three months She came
into the big Office. asked for the chief operator,
and when this gentleman Was pointed out, applied
to him for position in the manner that i'm
Piled that he was in the greatest Of good luck
TO be able to employ such Oh expert telegrapher
Being q woman, she was Of course EMPLOYED
and soon was seated at . table, the instrument
on which was connected with one Of the local
hotel Offices. The chief operator had cut in at
the switchboard. on her wire. to ascertain what
sort Of work she was capable Of The little
lady never opened her key and the messages
we're coming in bu1zing, something so unusual
to the boy at the hotel that he was putting his
best band forward and trying to break the
record. The chief operator walked over to the
lady's desk and inquired how she was getting
along and was daz.led by sweet smile and the
rejoinder. "Oh, very we'll, thank you"
He passed on a. in q dream. The idea
OF woman taking messages like that
and not breaking was beyond comprehen-
sion. He asked to see some of the messages
the lady had received. but only one could be
found. He was puzzled, and taking circuitous
route Of the room came up behind the lady and
watched her movements. Two minutes watch
ing explained everything. The lady telegrapher,
as soon as the sending operator would finish q
message, would take the blank which was al out
half filed out with the original message and
place it in a little sstchel at her nde Then
when breathing spell came out would come
message the missing words filed in, and the
message sent on its way after . delay perhaps
from i've 10 ten minutes. The little satchel was
well hlled With messages, and there il no telling
how satisfactory the messages would have been
to the receivers, the words being Allied In en-
tirely ont Of her mind; but the chief operator
stepped in, spoke few words to the little lady,
who stepped out, and the bright young man II
the hotel Office had his half hours work to do
over again.
A combination that worked very wen for n
time was Effected by an enterprising young man
operator cot n thousapd miles from Washing
ton. He married bright young lady and soon
taught her the mysteries Of the dots and dashes.
He secured m ONCE paying eco monthly. While
there a hnesman position became vacant and
he applied for il. This position paid ESQ, he
placed bis wife In charge Of the Office and when
necessity called went out on the road and
straightened out the wires. The coordination
worked Eli right until the superintendent Of
the road became aware of how matters stood
when be ordered n dincoutinunnca n 4ha ~.