The sun., 1918-08-26
KONENKAMP URGES
U.S.BUY WIRELINES
Unions Head Tells Operators
1t Is Mission Of Their
Organization.

at Is our mission to see that Govern
ment control IL turned into Government
ownership" was the declaration Of Syl-
vester J. konenkamp. president OF the
International Commercial TelegrapheTs
Union OF America, at meeting OF the
New York telegraphers and telephone
operators in Arlington Hall 20 St
Marks place. yesterday afternoon. The
meeting was held in the interest of or
ganiz1tion and the establishment of a
wage scale satisfactory to the operators
There are $50. 900 telephone and tele-
graph operators in this country. most OF
them already members Of the union, and
many others under It's control, Mr..
Konenkamp said, and they all intend to
work to convert not only the telephone
and telegraph systems, of which there
are 5000 Of the first and twenty Of the
latter, to Government ownership but
the railroads as we'll.
Industrial freedom, equal wages for
both men and women for equal work. a
minimum wage scale OF living proportion.
not yet determined. and the suppression
Of profteering and exploitation Of labor
were some OF the more important angles
Of the telegraph and telephone operators
problems discussed at the meeting
To Hold Another Meeting.
After much airing OF grievances
against employers II was decided to meat
again Friday night In the World Build
ing Hall. nth floor, and appoint a wage
scale commitee. The question Of wages
will be the dominating topic, II is said,
at the annual convention of the union to
be held in Toronto. Canada, October 10,
when II Is believed the question will be
definitely settled for the present
The minimum wage to be demanded
will probably be between $3.50 and $140
a month and the maximum sl75. In ex-
planning the probable demands Mr..
Konenkamp said It was only a matter Of
time before the wage scale demanded
would be granted to them.
We've got to have something to meet
this eternal rising cost Of living, and
we don't know just where to set the
amount. for anything to-day is intangi-
Bile tomorrow" he continued. I'VE are
going to have n wage scale, and you can
mark that down. The telegraph and the
telephone must 60 hand In hand. and
then after the Government control has
lasted few years. and the Western
Union and the Postal try to play their
game to get II back, then we can fulfill
our mission to turn Government control
into Government ownership"
Mr.. konenkamp said that II was be-
cause of the fear of Government owner
ship that the employers tried to keep
the operators from organising. but were
defeated by the United States Govern
ment.
Tells Them to Re Militant.
I'VE do not ask employers for the
privilege OF exercising our free rights
he added. I'VE will make every sacri-
fice to get them-the same as the boys
in France are making. II need ~. In
dustrial freedom Is as important as that
of democracy, for which our soldiers are
fighting. And we are reaching that
freedom now. You must be militant
aggressive and stand as a unit until we
get justice. The corporations can't keeT
US down"
Assuming that the Government will
continue control of the telephone and
telegraph lines, Mr.. Konenkamp objected
to the operators being classed as post
office employees He said that operators
should be class by themselves.
"And we should stand behind the
President for industrial freedom as wei
as democracy" he concluded. He said
the International brotherhood OF E!ec
| tricai Workers expected to get together
with the operators and that the Govern
ment had assured them that there woult
be no interference.