The Providence news. (Providence [R.I.]) 1891-1906, 1900-12-31
TIED up THE
SANTA FE ROAD.
Telegraph Operator al Wachita
Did il for a Joke.

This strike OF the operat tors on the
Santa Fe." said an old telegrapher. ''re-
minds me of the strike which took place
I'm 1891 I had been down I'm Texas and by
easy stages was working back toward
Chicago, and was In st. Louis when
met Ramsey. ! forget Ramsey's first
name. lie was a good fellow.
II knew him when he used 10 work ON
the l.. and N, and then heard he had quit
10 study law At that time he was prac-
ticing law I'm East ST. Louis, a city on
the map and across the river from st.
Louis. Ramsey was the head of the o. *.
T.
'.He was a little fellow full OF grit and
a good talker. The boys put him IN az the
head because he was lawyer and IL was
thought best 10 do things according 10
noyle in the organiZa ton
Like everybody else tina Nromes out OF
Texas, after a siege OF il, | was anxious
to get back TO Gods country and spend
the balance or my ili-gotten gains among
the people of my birth
wILLiAMsoN's LITTLE JOKE.
when met Ramsey he asked me II ]
was an, q. X T. man and tod MIN l
was. He told me there was liable TO be "A
strike on the Santa Re and asked me 10
stay about for "A few days.
You can always use strange race III
strike, and was a soda card in new
deck. so far as St Louis or Chicago was
concerned.
I'VE were about St. Louis for few
days shaping things, and Ramsey was
having conferences with persons in the
offices Of the, company A ciRhg had
been arranged so that when the time
came and IL went out over the line ev-
erybody could quit.
Every man In the order knew the sig
announcement that the matter had been
AFTER harmony conference one day a I
mn tfa nn 2o
working The signal went out and there
was not an operator from Chicago TO
Gainesville, Texas. that cared TO work.
IL was complete tie-up. The railroad
people blamed Ramsey and said he had
acted in bad faith.
He denied having given any order 20
but the damage had been done. The story
was a couple of days getting out.
I'm WICHITA there was a fat operator
named Wilkinson, who refused to con-
slider life anything more than a joke. II
made no difference To him whether his
name was Williamson, or Smith, or
Jones
Tie could change name with every job
and jobs after every pay day. lie con-
ceived the happy idea. that the thing 10
do was 10 tie UP the Santa Fe.
HE TIED UP THE SYSTEM
"The moro ne thought OF IL the funnier
he thought IL was. and finally he opened
up and sent out the cipher order 10 strike
The result was that, believing the strike
was on. many of the boys decided the
thing TO do was TO become grievance
committee OF one in. the barrooms
"In two hours there was "A string of
operators from Illinois 10 Texas declaring
their Intentions of never sending another
word for the Santa Fe till the strike was
won.
Ramsey sent out circular over the
wire. and some OF them returned TO work.
il took couple OF days To get them all
10 understand that some one had played
"a Joke on the order and the road.
"The man In Wichita was blacklisted by
the roads and the order. and from that
time on until today he has been kept busy
changing his name.
The last I heard OF him he was on a
branch Of the Santa Fe. satisfied that he
would be discharged as soon as the paw
car came along and he was recognized as
the man who ordered the fake strike