River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1907-08-15
STRIKE OF WESTERN UNION
OPERATORS is SPREADING
THROUGHOUT THE WEST
STUBBORN FIGHT is
IN PROSPECT.


graph operators begun Thursday
midnight in the Chicago offices of the
Western Union company, spread rap
idly Friday, tying up the local bust
ness of that corporation and practical
ly putting out of service all it's trans
continental lines.
At 6:15 o'clock Friday evening
about 500 operators of the Postal Tel
egraph company left their wires and
Joined the strikers. Only ten en-
ployes remained in the main Office and
the company's 100 branch offices in
the city were closed.
All but about a score of the 7S5 en-
ployes of the Western Union in this
city quit their keys, and practically
the entire force walked out at Kansas
City, Denver, Dallas, Fort Worth, Colo
RADIO Springs, Helena, Ell Paso and
Salt Lake.
In New Orleans all the Postal Tele-
graph operators, numbering about 60,
left their wires Friday night because
an operator was suspended for refusal
to work the Chicago wire. !, In the
Western Union office there an operator
was discharged for the same reason,
but the union men did not make an
issue of it because he was an extra.
Exchanges Are Crippled.
The effect of the walkout of the
operators in Chicago was apparent
first on the board of trade and the
stock exchange. The Western Union
has the exclusive contract for hand
ling the stock quotations between the
exchanges of the country, and the
failure of the company to summon suf-
f1cient loyal employees to handle the
business put the brokers in guam
Diary. The firms which have leased
wires, employing their own operators,
handled all the information regarding
the security markets in eastern cities
that was available up to noon.
The Gold and Stock Ticker com
pany, which is affiliated with the West
ern Union and operated the wires
ceased to send the quotations. All in
formation relative to the market
which comes from other cities came
over the wires of the Postal Telegraph
company or the private wires of the
several brokerage houses.
Hundreds Indorse Strike.
Several hundred operators held
special meeting in the quarters of the
Chicago Federation of Labor in the
Open Board of Trade building during
the morning, and the strike was en-
Enthusiastically Endorsed. The meeting
primarily was for the purpose of
checking up on the addresses of mem
bers of the Commercial Telegraphers'
union, but it soon became a ratifica-
ton meeting. It was decided unani-
mously that the strike was to be kept
up until the last demand of the en-
ployes was granted.
A meeting of the grievance and ex-
ecutive committees of the union was
held at one o'clock in the afternoon,
when the formal demands on the
Western Union company were drawn
up by presentation. These include
the eight-hour day, a 25 per cent. in
crease in wages and recognition of the
union.
Small Rather Reticent.
Oakland, Cal. - Samuel J. Small,
the national president of the Com
mercial Photographers union was seen
in this city Friday afternoon and sub
mitted to a brief interview.
"The subject" he said, "is too deli
cate to say anything about. Mrs.
Nichols is, of course, the storm center
of the strike and she and the San
Francisco officers of the company are
responsible for what has happened.
The latter have not lived up to the
agreement adopted two weeks ago.
When an investigation is made some
things extremely sensational will
come out.
"The strike is spreading. We have
advices that the operators in the fol-
lowing cities, in addition to Los An
geles, are out: Chicago, Helena,
Mont. Cleveland, Cincinnati, Salt
Lake, Kansas City, Birmingham, Ala;
New Orleans, Denver and Butte. These
represent about 1000 operators. Oak
land operators want to go out, but we
are holding them back.
I'VE expect that the whole trouble
will be settled in two or three days.
President Clowry of the Western
Union Telegraph company will have
the facts before him in "a hours and
may settle it at once. / cannot say
anything about our demands, for
everything is in a chaotic condition at
present.
"Mr. Stewart of the department of
commerce and labor arrived here to-
day and will look into the San Fran
cisco and Oakland situation. He will
Immediately get into communication
Washington and the whole matter
will be adjusted quickly, provided Col.