The Birmingham age-herald., 1907-08-12
ALL IS QUIET IN TELEGRAPH|C STRIKE Managers Say Messages Are Handled With Little Delay MEN MEET THIS MORNING Will Formulate Demands and Define Their Posltion-companles are
 Expecting New Men to
 Work Today.
MEN MEET THIS MORNING

No new developments or additional com plications presented themselves yesterday in the situation of the strike of the tel egraph operators in the local offices of tho Western Union and Postal Telegraph companies. Both offices were busy all day receiving and sending messages and statements from the managers were to the effect that business was being handled with little delay.
 Every member of the Birmingham local of the Commercial Telegraphers' Union of America Is out. and the men seem to be confident of the ultimate success of their strike.
 Manager T. D. Jackson of the Postal stated yesterday afternoon that there was practically no change in the situation in his office. He stated that business was very light in the office all day long on ac- count of its being Sunday, and for this reason he and the wire chiefs are pract- cally up with the business, and messages are being sent now with very little de- lay.
 Expect New Men Today.
 MT. Jackson stated that he had em- ployed no new men so far, and had not expected to do so. He says, however, that he expects several new men this morning and by tomorrow he believes he will have men enough to pull through with. He seems confident that the tee- graph companies will defeat the strike of the men.
 At the office of the Western Union It was stated that two new operators were secured yesterday morning, and that with the wire chiefs the company had five men at work. These men handled the busi- ness received at the office yesterday with but little trouble. Two new men are ex- pected to report for work at the office this morning, and with the seven men 1t is believed by the management that the company can easily handle the business of the office The office usually operates under a force of ten operators.
 Williams Makes Statement.
 Manager Ed E. Williams of the Vest ern Union said yesterday afternoon that the company's position in connection with the present difficulty can be stated as fol lows:
 OH Juiy 1o dn OpcIabOl dl i1OS <hhbNito was charged with maliciously delaying traffic. As careful investigation, which occupied several days, showed conclusive ly that he was guilty of deliberately oo- structing traffic on important circuits, he was discharged.
 "A petition signed by other employees of the office, requesting his reinstatement, was thereupon presented to the local su- perintendent and when the signers were advised that the company would not tol- crate the malicious delaying of important messages, and that the discharged oper- ator could not be re-empoyed, the ma jority of the operating force quit work without notice
 Operators were sent from nearby places and at II o'clock Thursday night the op- orators in the Chicago office employed on the western circuits, acting in con formity with resolutions understood to have been adopted by the local union or ganization, refused to work with non union men at Los Angeles, and when this was insisted upon they quit work in body.
 "The Chicago operators have presented no grievance, and the present movement Is an attempt to enforce the closed shop rule, which if successful would take con trol of the company's affairs out of its hands"
 There was little evidence of the strike as far as the operators were concerned yesterday There was little to be seen of the striking men, and they seem to la, ..,,it derly manner
 Sullivan Enumerates Grievances.
 President A. G. Sullivan of local 2s. the Birmingham local, when asked for a statement yesterday said:
 Tt would take too much time and space to enumerate the general griev- ances of the operators. but the chief complaints which we make are insuffi- cient pay for eight hours work the matter of men having to furnish their own typewriters, where 1t Is necessary to use them, and the matter of dscrim- ination against union men.
 "I do not wish to state the cause of the men declaring a strike in Birming- ham.
 "The statement of Manager Jackson of the Postal company to the effect that as far as he knew the men had no griev- ance Is extremely misleading. While 1t Is true the men in both companies In Birmingham have received in the past somewhat better treatment than accorded in some other places, 1t Is not true that the men left the office of the Postal without informing MT. Jackson of their grievance. I verbally told MT Jackson while the men were leaving the operat- ing room that the men struck because several of the men were discharged for refusing to work with Memphis office where the men were on strike.
 "The exact number of men discharged is not known. as they were discharged so rapidly and the men left the wires SO quickly afterwards that the exact num- Der could not be ascertained; there were at least five, while the names of fifteen others who refused to work the wire were handed to the chief operator. The men left before the other fifteen could be discharged.
 ITO be sure that the management un- derstood the grievance. l wrote note to Manager Jackson, reciting the cause of the trouble and left it on his desk. As before stated, however, up to that mo- .s.on4 tho mon had no Rripyaupe loca1y.