The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1907-08-15
WIRES WORKING
DESPITE STRIKE.
Continued from First Page.)

| of the state court in collecting pena.-
| ties of one hundred dollars for each
I message thus delayed. He said fur
( Their that he would produce direct
4 proof in support of his charge. and
1 that persons had already been found
! who were willing to enter suit,
superintendent Maxwell, of the
| Western Union. said last night mat
/ the main difficulty experienced by the
company yesterday was caused by
! operators mt way stations, who de-
4 libcrately opened the keys so that the
! wire was rendered useless. There
7 was no possibility Of such trouble on
I the trunk lines. This action on the
| mart or operators is regarded as IN
! tcrfercnce with public property, and
every effort is being made to place
4 the guilt where it belongs for pos
! sibe consideration by the courts
\ hereafter.
/ In the main Office Of the Western
Union yesterday, according to. the SUI
Iperintendent, ,twenty-four operators
4 were on duty, one of the strikers hay
ling returned. Last night eighteen
A were on duty in the operating room,
including the SUPERINTENDENT. who sent
i and received messages in order TO
I keep the wires clear. y
day said Superintendent Ribble. Of
1.-The Postal, convince me that our force
) has been too large, for we have han
4 died the business with very little
sldclay. Conditions, of course, arc not
normal, but they are thoroughly salts
factory to the management. We can
take caro- of the public and rock along
Ias at present for six tmontltsjs After
the strike in San Francisco we found
ithat we could get along without the
lful force, and that is true. in Rich
imond."
= What Strike Leader says.
The local status, from the opera
I tors viewpoint. is Unchanged, said
4 Strike Leader Hervey last night. II
-isaw Judge Prenlis, of the Corporation
Commission, to-day, though we may
or may not leave this matter Of mall
ling messages in allegiance until the
commission feels warranted in taking
lit up of its own Initiative. the public
should be wafned, and each person
Sending a message should fortify
himself with a direct statement from
the company. about iiandling5 ii.
J, THE fact that the district tsuperin
tendents have abandoned, their regula
duties to go 10 the operating room
shows how seriously the compane
are affected AT this point. and I wan
t to say, that the entire operating fore
! in the two Offices isJnot equal to three
! first-class men.
The Associated Press has alnos
completely suspended business. Chic
Operator Walden. Of the washington
Office, who went ON strike. is il
Richmond tonight, and he will visi
every press man in the South an
!. urge him TO quit So far as the stor.
! Of pickctng Is concerned ] want t
! make ths statement: A man is Of
duty at all hours, not to intcrfer
with anybody, but TO give me re
port. showing the number Of men 81
work and their names. The operator
!. are not congregating on the bloc
where the Offices arc located. an
they have conducted themselves i
an orderly manner
r win this strike within the next fc,
. days"
The Postal situntion.
The situation has not material
changed during the past twenty-fot
G hours, except that business is movin
:, more smoothly, as we are becornin
Il more accustomed To the conditions
said superintendent Ribble, OF II
Postal, amplifyinB his former stat,
: imcnt last night, "Trafilc from Ricf
rnond Is being forwarded as cXped
tousiy as usual and reports from II
principal Eastern cities are all favo
able These reports are supported !
the promptness OF those aflices
manning all tho wires we ask for,
While we are accepting nearly a
business subject to delay. because
the general uncertainty. a large pc
centagc of IT IL handled through
destination as cXpcditionsiy as eve
Az matter OF fact, VIC are oursclv'
surprised at the volume Of busine
we are taking care OF and he smootl
ness with which IT Is handled.
THE statement printed in III, attic
noon PAPER that this company In
hight deposited IN the mails of til
city nearly all Of the kilograms whi'
had been charged tnr.i etc. Is n
founded on fact either III whole or
part.
u have given close attention to eye
fdetail Of the Richmond office wor
and personally youch for tbe stat
ment that not a telegram was mail.
here, and that there was no reason
do so,
"A large factor IN building up hi
the only permanent competitive tel
graph sysfem the country has over In
has been its unvarying policy OF dca
lnG fairly and openly with the pub
lbQl Its employees alyC). Our Itir