The times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1897-1901, 1898-08-29
SOLDIERS AT THE KEYS
Signal Service Men Replace
War Telegraphers.
CLIMAX TO THE TROUBLE
Operators Who Enlisted In the Army
Are Forced to Take the Places of
Per Month-DenOunced as an In
jastice-lnterestfng Complications

The trouble between the War Depart
ment telegraph operators and Second
| Lieutenant Pierson. of the signal corps.
| reached acute stage yesterday.
| Several days ago. as already told in The
| Times five of the operators resigned their
! positions alleging as a cause that they
! could not stand Persons i'll treatment.
/ Originally he was what is known as the
War Department or official Jelegrapher.
and was only required to handle a few
department kilograms each day
Several weeks after the war with Spain
had been declared, Pierson was appointed
second lieutenant in the volunteer signal
corps and placed in charge of The War
Department telegraph office. X was then
the civilian operators declare. their trou-
bles with him commenced.
The resignation of FIVE of their number
the other day was one OF the sequeIs.
Another may follow today and the re-
manning five viii step down and out un-
less they are given relief.
Signal Men in Service.
Yesterday fuel was added to the already
rather Iurid flame when Liei1t piarsop
marched fve blue-clad signal men into
the telegraph room. They were all tele-
graph operators who had enlisted as vol.
unteers in the signal corps. for duty on
purely military telegraph lines at the
'front.', ard not 70 be bottled up in a gov
eminent department building and brought
into cut-rate competition with their civil
ian brethren of the key and sounder.
The War Department operators were
astonfshed when the five soldiers march
ed into the telegraph room and for awhile
did not know whether the troops had
stepped in as visitors or had been ordered
! there by Second Lieut.. Pierson to place
them under military arrest for fnsubordi-
nation
They were not kept long in doubt, for
the lieutenant appeared and ordered three
of the volunteers to DON their army
blouseS and go to work on the telegraph
keys
This they did. and worked until the hour
arrived for the night shift. when the
other two soldiers relieved their COM
rades at the keys. and worked them until
late into the night. when they. too. were
relieved from duty.
The signal men are private soldiers, at
tached TO a volunteer signal company
now quartered at Washington Barracks.
They receive the regula ton pay of 500 30
per month, while the operators they are
brought into active competition with
receive a monthly salary of 800
The s.gnal men. were not alt AL pleased
with their assignment. but being soldiers,
were compelled to obey orders or suffer
severe penalties under the stringent mill
tary laws.
They declared that they did not enlist
for any such purpose and werelndtgVlsrt
when they learned they would have TO
tramp back and forth from the barracks
on the river front at meal times and sleep
there at night.
To say that the civilian operators were
indignant at this Insult added to in
jury as they termed st, would tbe but to
feelDly express their feelings. Gen. Gree
". chief signal officer. is out of the city,
and It was learned that Col. Dunwoody,
acting chief signal officer, who is a friend
of Persons, made the detail at the lat
ter's request.
The operators say there was no neces-
sity for the employment of soldiers for
this work as the commercial telegraph
companies stood ready TO supply all the
operators needed TO transact the Govern
ment business, should it become neces-
Sary.
There are many first-class operators. in
the signal corps, but they claim they did
not enlist 10 work commercial wires, ana
declare that the Government is taking
mean advantage of them when they are
compelled under military law and dis
cfpline to engage in work at meager sol
diers' pay, for which in civil life they
would receive remuneratiye salaries.
The latest act of Lieut.. Pierson will, 1t
is believed, complicate the already inter-
esting case in favor of the old operators,
and perhaps result in the reinstatement
of those who resigned. It also presents
the problem of whether enlisted men can
be brought into competition with citizens
following their legitimate calling.
The argument is used that If the Gov
ernment can utilize volunteer soldiers as
telegraph operators in civil life it can
also utilize it's military forces in any 9TH
er branch of the Government service.
This, it is claimed. is a great injustice to
the volunteers, as they enlisted solely
for field duty in defense of their country
and flag.
Among the volunteers there are some
of the ablest clerks, stenographers, law
yers, printers, mechanics and tradesmen,
who would feel degraded if they were
compelled, under the strict discipline of
military life, to follow their private vo-
cations at the pittance paid as salaries
to soldiers.