Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922, 1907-08-12
ACTIoN IS DECLARED LEGAL
Meeting is Held at Which Prelim.
inaries Are Ratified.
DEMANDS TO BE SUBMITTED TODAY
Men Care Little for Formal Recogni.
ton of Union.
ASSOCIATED PRESS IS AFFECTED
Melville 70. stone IL Asked 10
Grant Same Pay and Hours
Ns Hearst Service
Gives.


The ranks of the striking Omaha teleg-
raphers were augmented Sunday. when
| forty additional telegraphers Joined in the
movement coming from the ranks OF the
Western Union and Postal Telegraph COM
panies. A large force had been ordered
| for Sunday work at both telegraph Offices
| in anticipation of trouble. and when the
operators began showing up for work Sun
day morning union and nonunion members
alike had been notified OF the wallSout. The
union men with a single exception walked
out and were Joined by dozen or more
men who have not thus far Joined the
union Five operators who worked satur-
day night, after the walkout occurred alec
Joined the movement Ten women were
among those who abandoned their keys.
A meeting had been called at Barisht
hall for 2:90 D.. M. but long before that
time hundred, or more operators congre-
gated on the downtown streets. Little
knots of them gathered on the corners and
discussed the situation and saw those
who were between two fires and undecided
whether or not to go out. Many of them
were persuaded to join the strikers and
marched to the hall with the union men.
Labor Leaders Mt Meeting.
President Graul presided at the meeting
and Secretary kirkland and Assistant Sec
retary DAILY were present to make a report
/ OF the proceedings. After the routine of
reading the minutes several labor leaders
who had been invited to speak we're pre-
sented.
Ed Leeder. the member of the state legis-
| lature who championed the double shift
hremen's bill, was the first speaker. He
/ declared the people of Omaha, as a general
! thing, were with the teiegraphers In tho
movement. but urged them to conduct
Themselves in peaceful and dlgnifed man
ner. He offered his assistance to the
/ strikers and asked them to call on him at
! any time.
: Louis V. Guy. editor of the Labor Advo-
cate and former president of Central Labor
union, pledged the support of Central Labor
union and urged the men to carry on the
strike in a manner that would command the
respect Of the people. and declared that
carried on under these conditions the ope-
rators were bound to win out.
! Joe Butler, a member OF the Dahlman
/ Democracy. said Mayor Dahlman was out
( of the city, but he was sure the strikers
had his full sympathy and that they might
depend on him for fair deal.
Discuss Saturday Meeting.
The meeting then got down to business.
The subject OF discussion was the ratiica-
tion of Saturday nights special meeting.
Some doubt had been cast on the regularity
Of the meeting and It's proceedings and
the Sunday meeting fully ratified the action.
Three or four members who worked Sat-
I urday night after the walkout were pres
ent at the meeting 1t was explained they
/ did not feel justified I'm going on strike
without some authority, and the position
they took was justified by vote Of the
union
The meeting provided various committees
among them being finance, grievance and a
special committee on the messenger situa-
ton. The last named committee is consid-
! cred an important one. II was the belief Of
many OF the leaders that In case Of neces-
sity the messengers might he induced to
| join the strike movement. The committee
was given full power to act and probably
will ask the messenger forces to join the
| telegraphers
An effort will be made to secure strike
Headquarters I'm a down town building. pos
sibly in the Board OF T'ade. A publ i'y
! committee, appointed month ago win
keep the members OF the union fully ad-
vised OF conditions. and bulletins will be
! posted daily giving the news OF happenings
throughout the country.
Manager Joins strikers.
| An interesting incident was the reading
OF a communication touching on the striha
at Maryville, Mo. At that point the West
! ern Union employs a manager by the name
OF Staples. When apprised of the wallout
Saturday he sent the following telegram TO
the superintendent,
"Am out on strike You will And the key
to the ofice at the grocery store"
Staples is one OF the oldest employees in
! this district. He has been with the West
ern Union company for nearly forty years
and has been in several other large strikes.
He was one OF the FIRST men in the country
to Join a labor union.
The grievance committee was instructed
20 prepare a statement OF grievances to
present to the local telegraph officials. and
this probably viii be done today. The de-
mands will be similar 10 those made at
Chicago and other points, for an eight
hour day an increase OF 20 or Is per cent
in salaries and partial recognition OF the
union. This latter demand - tentative.
however, and the operators do not take It
seriously They say that any concessions
by the telegraph companies mean recogni-
tion, and they do not care particularly TO
have what is known as an Iron-elad ''closed
shop agreement. They expect, however.
the agreement. shall specify clearly that no
| discrimination shall be practiced against
the union. This has been one Of their
principal contentious and It has been partly
through the alleged failure Of the telegraph
companies 10 keep faith on this point that
the strike has become so general.
Agreement Not Kept.
Some time ago the companies agreed not
to discharge any operator for the technical
cause of belonging to the union. Oficisis
OF the Commercial Telegraphers union al
lege. however. this agreement has not been
| kept.
When the Associated Press wires opened
at p. m. every telegrapher was eager TO
hear what had happened in telegraph
! circles throughout the country, as Il was
known there would be meeting OF teleg-
raphers In every city In the United States.
The statement OF National Secretary Wes-
ley Russell that the strike had gone be-
yond the local stage was accepted without