The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1897-01-11
wEsrERN UNIONS RIvAL A noY.
He Is "A Company and He Has Fright
ened the Monopoly.
From the Cincinnati Enquirer.


hurried past in the opposite direction.
"The what2"
THE Franken Messenger and Telegraph
Company--in direct competition with the
Western Union and Bennett Mackay ca
ble."
What company is that? l never heard
of it,"
well it's funny snap. I'll tell you
about it," The police reporter chuckled
as though the "reminiscences was a pleas
ant one.
you see" said he ''the Western Union
| got on to the fact that the messenger bus
! mess around Central police station and
, the city hall was a pretty good snap, so
, they sends John down there to stay all the
J time. He never had to report at the main
| office. He'd been working for the Western
| Union for four or five years and they
knew he was honest He just carried mes
sages all day, made out his own slips, col
| lected the coin an took it down to the
| office in a bunch every night Well, he
was working for SIS a month an makins
| about $40 a month for the Western I'm
| ion Wei, the gang around the police sta
| ton got onto tn situation. One day Billy
| Taylor asked John why he didn't buy
| drink once in a while with all tn coin he
| was handlin', an he said he couldn't. be-
| cause he never had any money OF his own.
| OF course, he didn't He has to support
| his folks, an they don't live very high at
| that An he's nice kind of a kid-noth-
| m like the most o. these fresh little devils
/ in the messenger office.
"Well, you see the gang gifts kind o
stuck on John, an we fixes up a scheme to
| help him out I goes to Caldwell an
| Deitsch an all the city officials an gives
| EN- a talk. / got Caldwell to agree to let
| John carry messages In the building an
| got Deitsch to let him carry all the mes
4
| senger, you know-very strong.
| when had everything fixed all right l
| told John and he goes down to Western
| Union and quits.
| "All right; nobody begged him to say.
| They chucked in a blow card for John and
| thought that was the end of it. The next
| day they sent another boy down to police
station. Nobody bothered him.
! HE set around there all day with moth
| IN to do but smoke cigarettes That night
| he went down to the office an told 'em
! that John was up there carryin' messages
| just the same as usual. Well! The trou-
| BILE begins. The next day one O. the West
ern Union clerks comes up to tn build
| in an tells John that he better get out
| and quit interferin' with regular mes
| sengers. happened to be there I asked
the Western Union guy what was the
matter with John.
He's got to quit interferln' with our
messengers says he.
Has anybody seen him interferin'
with any messengers? says !.
We'll, he's carryin' all tn messages up
here. He's gettin' tn companys bust
| ness
why, of course says l. why
shouldn't he. me boy? He's the official
messenger
We'll, he's got no right to wear that
uniform
" Who does the uniform belong to-?
didn't he buy it an pay for 1t? Why
don't you have him arrested for imper-
sonating a messenger boy?'
Then tn gang got on an begun call
in tn clerk Gordon Bennett an he
went away hotter than pine tar.
"Well, that was just the beginning of it..
! The next day the Western Union man
| ager was up to see Caldwell bright and
early. Well, you can imagine what Cald-
we'll give him. i don't see how l can in
terfere in the matter says he. Some OF
| the gentlemen who patronize the boy re-
quested me TO allow him to carry mes
sages' in the building. If they choose to
employ him 1 cannot prevent it,
"WelI, then things began to get des-
perate. Some fellow came up and warned
the officials in the city building that they
| were liable to have their diamonds stolen
If they hired messenger boys that
weren't backed up by a responsible com
| pany. Well, tn gang fixed that.
| I'VE organized the Franken Messenger
| an Telegraph Company-in Direct Com
petition with the Western Union and Ben
| nett-Mackay Gable. That's what 1t says
| on tn bill heads. We took up a collection
| an had a swell lot of printin' done-it
cost 81 65. Then the FranKen Messenger
| company had checks an bill heads
| blamed sight sweller than the Western
| Union. We organized all right, too. I'm
the president. vice president and general
manager and board of directors. Grill
| los tn secretary-he makes out tn bills
| Johns tn rolling stock.
! But tn Western Union didn't quit
| TIL first time John went downtown with
| a message a lot of Western Union clerks
an managers grabbed him an began tell
| in him what the Western Union would
/ do with him. They said that tn Western
Union was a powerful corporation, and
| wouldn't stand any monkey business from
a lousy little messenger boy. John got
| scared and begun to cry; but he was
| game. 4 don't know nuthin about It,
! says he. 4 amt dom nuthin to de West
ern Union. I'm jist carryin' messages
! fur de gang up at police station, an /
| amt COMA quit as long as dey hires me-.
"Well, the next thing they do Is TO go
| up to Johns father He's baker, an he's
! been out o. work fur six months. He
| amt common baker, you know; one o
| these kind o. confCctoners that makes
| brldeS with VeliS on eIlf all ciOSSu HdHuSi
70 go on the top o. wedding cakes. Well,
| he comes down to police station an hunts
me up. He was pullin' his whekers an
! looked worried. He said he thought John
| better quit an go back to the Western
| Union because the Western Union man
| ager had been. up to his house an said IL
| John didn't quit they'd get him into troub-
! le. an If he did quit they'd give him
| job as check boy In tn operatin' room, an
| hire him fur an operator as soon as he
| was man.
'Nupg says ]. Can't stand fur that.
| That's the old bull con-
Well, / don't know vat It iss We can do
about II, Gen.. says he.
Well, Johns doin' pretty well now,
amt he? says !.
'Himmil, yah! Gewiss, yah! says he.
| 'Chonnie made $i2 letzt month, an no one
else In tn house workin', and him mein
only sohn.' An then tn poor old slob be-
| gan cryin'.
wei, look here, old boy says I, you
so back an look fur Job maxim weddin'
cakes. You take my advice an quit mon
keyin' with tn affairs OF the Franken