The Wenatchee daily world. [volume] (Wenatchee, Wash.) 1905-1971, 1907-09-18

2
/ Not Disputed W., s:omaa Il OAK
/ Lard, Peace Ei-a: sa,y. R,isred
Strikers Toactir3 Devotion.
/ Probably in no o.,e:. the ri liiinan
ei,de;ivor is there 4 l..ncs. pie. Hes lie
! and varied assort.seiit 3f Ellen ti,au in
the ranks OF t;ie, Telegraph operators.
| 1t is not sniprisins... t.,ali. that Il :-c,,-
eral strike of iil. gull throughout tll..
United States should be prallic,ive OF
Incidents teeming with ia,a,an interest.
| says a Chicago special ,iisnatcl, 10 the
New York Herald.
Men who had grown oil in t..s. SER
ice Of the Wesiern Uuioa Or had g:ad-
ua.ed from the oftire boy or cheek boy
staff to the key in the Postal re.uc-
family obeyed the signal and walked
ont with the younger 'boys"-re!uc-
family. for when a man has worked
thirty-tiye years for one concern and is
in Il fair way TO be pciisioned Off i'm his
old age it takes something OF tug TO
break the tie.
So it WAS with David I,.ey, chief
operator OF the Chicago Office Of the
Associated Press and for twenty five
years an employee OF the oiice. When
the Good night. RS" signal had heen
given Monday evening, Aug. II, at
40 o'clock by the operators in reply to
General Manager Stones request that
he be allowed to put up their plea to
tho directors in September. Duey con-
tinued to sit Idly at his desk. Two
hours later. as business was rcsuming,
Ducy approached his chief.
They are my boys" Duey said, "and
they've quit. l don't belong to the
union am not an advocate OF most
Of their theories, but-ihe boys have
gone out. and | suppose I'd better
quit" And. despite the entreaties OF
his comrades and tue officials OF tue
office, lie aged wire chief announced
his resignation.
why couldn't the fellows tell Duey
he wasn't expected to quite" exclaimed
one employee. almost brOkenly. Why.
Diiey Taught them teIegraphy and made
them what they are
Mrs. Mary Hansen the first woman
operator in ti,. coua,rT AID now ser-
enty five years oh. according to thos"
we'll posted. rai.sed Ia desert her key
in the main eitic,. III the Western
Union. For two generations with her
ni.nbl. tagers She has transmitted
messages. and strike seems 10 her
The ut:uest folly. With Mrs. Hansen
remained Jere MercHiess. Tom Babb.
Sam Ingram and c. NJ Reynolds. all
OF whom turned deaf ears TO The wills
tie which Summoned their colleagues
10 rebellion All are over sixty.
Tom Babb. who has been in the
same Office for thirty seven years. was
me OF those who stuck by the com
pany in the famous strike Of 1885,.
and with him Ingram. sixty Ave years
Old, and Reynolds. Seyenty-tWo. stuck
also. Rabh long. long ago was re-
gar,led AZ thu speeIiest and most ac
curate te!egfap,ier in the country. and
at The hcigi,t of his career he occupied
the post Of chief operator He Ia, al
most lost the ,:St. of hiS arms through
Operators uraHa,,." form of Iaraly
sis common among the men of the
key
Frank Crit.en,ien. 4id and bent and
for forty years IN operitor "elt out
with The strikers. TWoscorc of his
years haze been speat il the service
OF the Nes.erA j'aion liz stuck by
the company when Others deserted
their keys in 1870 Again In 1sS:: he
stayed Ivy the company rs manager of
the Denver Office. and it WAS the only
office that did not 90 ont. This time,
although, he has Il large family to sup
port. although he is old and bent. his
eyes din and his hand mist grasp the !
key very firsiiy to transmit the dots
and siashes. he, went out with the
boys
Crittenden was once receiving SfcO |
Il month, iut whey lie went out he |
was receiving $50. although Il t!iyisioI* |
chief. He wanted more nioney and !!
though; he should have IT. 81 he went /.
with the other 'ta.ys." II they win he i,
lose he probably cannot work any |
where, and there is nothing save teles- j
raphy to which, he can turn his hand. /
But Cr;tienaen has company. for J. j. !
Newkirk. sixty-six years old and an i
operator forty-six yVars. also struck. |
Ramitications of the strike have |
been far reaching There Is scarcely |
a branch of commerce that has not |
been affected and apparently all be- /
cause OF 4 quarrel over the wife be- |
tween the union operator in the Los |
Angeles office with the woman OPP |
orator In the Oakland tCall Office. liz
that petty wire quarrel had not deyei- i
Dped. the chances are there would have !
been no refusal in Chicago to handle
business from Los Angeles. /
nor would there have been any coca
sion for the resolution passed by the
Chicago unions officers which per- !,
suaded the union men they were doing
wrong to operate their circuits. And
L this had not happened the Postal OPP
srators would not have gone out. aud
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