Ottumwa semi-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1899-1903, 1902-08-14
TELEPHONE STRIKE
Girls Who Struck in
Sympathy are Dissatisfied.
VAN CAMP ISSUES CIRCULAR LETTER
Organizer of Electrical Workers Elk
pressed Dissatisfaction at Manner in
Which Affair Has Been Handled
Puts Blame on Trades Ass embies.

The strike of the telephone girls in
Davenport out of sympathy with their
striking sisters in Des Moines, is not
panning out quite as well as was eX-
pected, and reports from that city
state there is much dissatisfaction
among the girls and that they will be
heartily glad when the strike is called
off 1t is said that the girls in Daven-
port have been out of work about as
long as their sympathy with the Des
Moines telephone girls will stand, and
they are about ready to conclude that
sympathy begins at home. Prominent
trade unionists in this city assert that
these fears are groundless and are
strong in the belief that the outcome
of the strike will be entirely satisfac
tory to the strikers. The fact that Or
ganizer Van Camp has left the state
and some of the circulars he issued to
the electrical workers in Davenport,
in which he expressed dissatisfaction
with the manner in which the affair
had been handled is partly responsible
for the dark view of the situation tax
en- in that city.
Van Camp Leaves.
The Iowa Unionist, official paper of
the labor unions of the state, an
nounces the latest development as fol-
lows. in its issue of Aug. q
"Chas. Van Camp, business agent of
the Minneapolis Electrical Workers
union and one of the national execu-
tive board of that organization has
been ordered to turn over the work in
Des Moines to the advisory board of
the local assembly and go at once to
another state where matters of import
ance to his organization demand his
presence. Mr.. Van Camp has done
good work in Des Moines as his work
in making good contracts for his or
ganization will show. In the making
of contracts Van is certainly past
master whose equals are few and far
| between.
But the Unionist does not give all
the details. 1t is an open secret that
Mr. Van Camp leaves Hawkeyedom
very much dissatisfied with the out
come of his efforts, and as sore in
fact at certain elements as the strik
ers who quit their jobs are at him.
Puts Blame Elsewhere.
In support of this statement it is
only necessary to quote the circular
letter which is being distributed TIC
| the unions of electrical workers
throughout the state. In one of these
! epistles Mr. Van Camp throws the re
sponsibility for the practical failure Of
the strike on local trades assemblies
and unions, whose boycotts, ETC., have
inferentiallv defeated his own plans
Here is the letter:
Davenport, Ia, Aug. l, 1902.
To the Local Unions of the Independ-
ent Brotherhood of Electrical Work
ers of Iowa:
| | wish to state for the benefit of the
members who have been Influenced to
take action against the Iowa Tele
1 phone company in sympathy with the
1 strike of the Des Moines operators fol
lowed by the sympathetic strike of the
local union 100 and IS (of Des Moines)
that such support as has been request
ed by local affiliated trades Unions in
carrying out the purposes of the local
leaders of trades unions, is not by
any means to the best interests OF the
i Independent Brotherhood of Electric
: al Workers and is SO regarded by the
higher officials of our order.
Had the matter been in the hands Of
the regularly authorized officials Of
the Independent Brotherhood of Elec
trical Workers from the start a very
different course would have been pull
sued, but as the matter now stands