The Brattleboro daily reformer. (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1913-1955, 1919-04-16
OPERATORS MAKE
STATEMENT OF CASE
Local Business Badly Hand
icapped by Lack of Wire
Service - Some Stores
Make Efforts to Take Or
ders by Auto - Company
Advertise for Help

Little has developed in Brattleboro
since yesterday to change the situation
with respect to the telephone opera
tors strike. and no information has
been received at the local exchange as
to what prospect there may be for
settlement
That there is no immediate prospect
for an adjustment of the dispute is in
/ dicated by the fact that today the tel
| ephone company is advertising for
help in an effort to break the strike.
The advertisement is carried in this
paper.
The Brattleboro exchange was kept
open until 10 clock last night, when
it was closed tight as the only two OPP
orators not out on strike had been on
duty since Z clock in the morning an
swering emergency calls and trying to
I make the public understand that there
was no service other than emergency
service.
AT 7 clock this morning the ex-
| change was opened again with one
other operator present, the other re-
naming off duty to be ready to take
her position at the switchboard at 10
tonight. 1t is planned to furnish emer-
gency service all night tonight BY
emergency service is meant the passing
of calls from physicians, police, fire
calls, etc.
e f..ly
verely by the groeers, as most of them
depend on the telephone for many
/ morning calls before sending out their
! delivery wagons. 1t would be possible
, to send out order teams early in the
morning, but unless grocer has extra
teams and men available for that work
| it is something of a problem for him
to meet the situation Immediately. @
: @. Abbott & Son do not send order
teams, depending entirely on the tele
phone, but this morning the firm sen
an automobile and secured a gooC
number of orders in that way. G
n. Bond, florist, has put floral dis
: play in Moran & Rhodes store, be
cause of the lack of telephone service
The Reformer publishes herewith
h statement furnished by the local oper
d1OfS VINO are not ON uutg.
i Editor of The Reformer:-
To correct an erroneous impression o
the part of the general public, as to tn
fabulous wages paid the telephone operi
tors in your locality, the following note
may be of interest to your readers. Spac
"a for their publication will be greatly al
preciated
Wages are, of course, somewhat bette
ed than they were some years ago. For e,
ed ample, we win take the schedule of Il
ed last student operator employed. She e
1T tered the employ on April IS, 1913, at
per week and at the end of six weeks +
- eeived SO per week She has had two i
creases of so cents per week and one
81 since that time, and at the presel
time is receiving 50 per week.
- The maximum wage at the present tin
ou' for an operator is sl3 per week, no ma
y ter how long the term of employmer
:, ns The junior supervisor gets Sl4 per wee
nc and the senior supervisor gets SIG. Thel
fore, it will be seen that unless an opeI
lai tor Is promoted to a position as sups
sc. visor, she gets maximum of Sl3 p
'er week at the end of six years with t
company
As to the loyalty of the operators,
might be well to note that all but two
them have subscribed to one, two,
10, three Liberty bonds, at sacrifice of tn
n personal pleasures and needs.
=; Although not required to dress lavi
ly, they are requested to be neat at
times
lay Thanking you for the space in your
per and hoping that these remarks v
clear an impression that is wrong in
minds of the general public, we are,
Respectfully
~. THE OPERATORS
'''' Brattleboro, April is.