The Butte daily bulletin., 1919-06-16
Western Union Strike
From NEW YORK CALL,

The Western Union, the most in
Veterate foe of organized labor in
the United States, as we'll as the most
inscriptions of corporations, ran
true to form when it summoned it's
operators one by one into the office
of an administrative official and ask
ed them whether or not they intend
ed to go out if strike was called,
discharging those who answered in
the affirmative or who refused to an
sWer.
Such terrorism was to be expected
from corporation whose financial
operations under that notorious le-
galized looter, Jay Gould and his sue
cessors have been of such a charac-
ter as to even shock what little NOR
al sense is left in the financial world.
For years the employees of this
company were treated worse than
any black slave in the south. Worked
to the limit of physical endurance,
paid wages that were a disgrace even
in world Of underpaid labor, it is
only Of late years that the operators
have succeeded in getting a small in
conditions of toll.
The Increase was a mere pittance
and the Improvement but slight
Every attempt to organize to i'm
prove conditions was met by the
most cruel persecution on the part
of the officials of the company. Men
were blacllisted, deprived of earn
ing bare bread by officials who lived
|-on the fat Of the land and whose
daily squanderings would have been
a liberal wage to those who shaved
early and late for them.
Some of the men blacklisted by
these scoundrels are now in their
graves. Others, broken in spirit are
still alive, wandering the earth, a
damning Indictment of the cruelty
and grewsome greed of these finan-
cial and industrial pirates. Not only
did the management mistreat it's op-
orators, but the manner in which it
treated the boys who delivered it's
| messages is one of the most shameful
of stories in world rayaged by cap
italism. Only outraged public opin-
| ion finally compelled this crew to
throw some protection around the
young boys whom they exploited, and
| made them desist from sending them
to places that could not but help COR
! rupt the young,
For many years, through their
methods OF terrorism, they were able
to prevent any effective organization
of their employees. But a new gen.
Grafton has come upon the scene, a
generation that has shown that it is
not going to be as easily terrorized
as the old employees were. And the
officials know this, and we may ex-
pect terrorism that they let loose
to be even more drastic than in the
past.
But they were met with a larger
percentage of their force organized
than before. If the operators stand
| together, all of this terrorism will
fail of it's purpose, and they will win
victory for themselves. Other or
ganized workers will back them up
in their struggle. 1t is not only the
cause of the Western Union operators
that is at stake. 1t is the cause of
the workers generally. A victory
over the worst 1abor-nating corpora
ton in the country will hearten every
member of organized labor and spur
them on to renewed effort against
| the forces of industrial tyranny. Let
every worker back up the efforts of
the operators to secure better Wag-
es better conditions and the recog-
| milton of their union.