Albuquerque citizen., 1907-08-17
PEACE MAKERS ARE
At A STANOST|LL
President Small Explains Unions
Reasons For Calling Men Out.
Says Western Union Has ES-
tabliShed System of ES-
piondge on Strikers.

Chicago, ILL.,, August 1.-THE tele-
graphers' general strike order appar-
emily had no effect in this city either
yesterday or today The Western I'm
ion claimed that its only effect was
to call out seven men in twenty
states from which they had complete
returns. Both companies declare that
the order had not the slightest eff
feet in interfering with their work.
Union officials continue to assert that
the telegraph operators are hopeless
ly crippled. The peacemakers are
making no progress.
Reasons for Strike.
President Small, of the Telegra-
piers union, today said:
The direct causes which led up to
the telegraphers' strike are the long
and persistent efforts of the Western
Union Telegraph company, notably,
and the Postal Telegraph company
incidentally, to reduce the operators
of the country to a condition of SER
vitude obviously impossible of human
endurance.
'Second-To repeated violation of
the agreements entered into by the
Postal company with its employees and
the persistent refusal of the Western
Union to receive committees of its
employees for the purpose of discuss
ing grievances.
'Third-Utter disregard of the
promises made by Colonel Clowry in
a letter TO Commissioner Neill on
June 20, following the ending of the
San Francisco strike, which ended
July 10, which agreement bears the
official signature of Mr.. Clowry and
Is on file in the office of the COM
missioner of labor at Washington.
''To the San Francisco telegraph
officials may be laid directly the
cause of this trouble. Instead of em-
pIoying men on strike, according to
agreement, the Western Union gave
preference to outsiders and employ
ed many such. They even went so
far as to guarantee employment to
operators in other cities, before they
left their old positions.
System of Espionage.
"a system of espionage on strikers
was established after they returned
to work and many were discharged
on complaints of strike breakers. One
of the contentious of the union is
that the public shall know the filing
time of kilograms. This would give
the person receiving a telegram an
opportunity to know the elapsed time
of handling.
'"The public has not before been ap-
priced of the shortcomings of the
telegraph companies because of the
secrecy taught to telegraph operators
from INFANCY. NO set or men ana
women were ever more faithful and
yet endured more inhuman treatment
to protect the telegraph companies,
despite the perpetual sliding scale.
"It is not a question of abuse of
power of the officers of our organi-
cation. 1t is a question of whether or
not the commercial telegraphers of
this country have a real grievance.
II they have, then, in the name of
justice, let us get together and adjust
these grievances, but not in a manner
in which the San Francisco strike
was settled.
"Coloney Clowry has violated both
i'm spirit and letter and agreement
accepted by him, which is on file in
the office of the commissioner of
labor, and the company voluntarily
broke the agreement which ended the
first san Francisco strike,
II am confident that the telegra-
pliers will win the strike. There is
plenty of money behind the move
ment."