The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1916-1920, 1919-06-13
$4,000 TO JOIN
IN WIRE STRIKE
Electrical Workers Ordered to
Quit in Sympathy in 800
Cities Monday.
MESSENGERS MAY GO OUT
Brokerage Operators Asked to
Help Tagging Cause of
Telegraph Employees.
MESSENGERS MAY GO OUT

Fifty thousand linemen employed by
the great telegraph and telephone sys-
TENS Of the country have been ordered
out on strike. The call Is for Monday
morning.
The combination Of this walkout
with the strike Of commercial tele-
graph operators which saw It's second
day yesterday would seriously inter-
fere with the prompt delivery Of mes
sages In the United States and Canada
II It did not completely tie up some
sections Of the country where the
unions are particularly strong.
The American Federation Of Labor.
assembled in convention in Atlantic
City. passed yesterday a resolution
pledging It's moral support to the In
tepnational Brotherhoods OF Electrical
Workers and Telephone Operators,
which Is the name Of the oganization
that includes the linemen and repair
men in Its affiliation. A committee Of
the A. F. OF L. will go to Washington
to help procure an adjustment.
"In the calling out of. $4,000 electrical
workers see hope of silencinE the wires
Of the nation" said Percy Thomas. dep
uty international president of the Com
mercial Telegraphers Union He said
that the number would swell to 900
In week. There are locals in 500 cities.
That was the important feature Of the
telegraphere' strike yesterday. In New
York city fifty more operators employed
by the Western Union drew their pay
yesterday and walked in q body to
strike headquarters to declare they had
quit This brought the figure Of those
out In this city up to 1,150, according to
the union leaders A crowd of men and
girls picketed the Western Union offices
yesterday and 800 attended the strike
meeting. Newcomb Carlton. president
Of the Western Union. however. said
only eleven had quit.
Through Trafnc Unhampered.
1t was admitted by the strike leaders
that the walkout. as yet had not ham,
pered through service on the land OF
CADl0 wires. ana 80 Otner measures
were seized upon to make the strike
more effective.
In the drst place an attempt 10 being
made to call out the 5000 messenger
boys employed by the Western Union
and Postal systems A committee OF
boys conferred with the strike commit
tee, and offered to call out the messen-
gers. There is no organization OF boys
but when any OF them strilss the whole
army goes out. A resolution calling
upon the messengers to strike was
passed at the meeting of the strikers
yesterday afternoon in the Pulitzer AS
sembly Hall. and it was enthusiastically
cheered.
The second move made by Mr.. Thomas
had to do with the Order OF Railroad
Telegraphers. Finding that the Western
Union had no difficulty in having mes.
sages accepted at the railroad offices, he
wired e. J. Manion. president of the o
r. T.. who wac at Atlantic City, ask.
ing him to Issue an order calling upon the
railroad telegraphers to refuse CONNER
cial messages. A few hours later ar
order to this effect was sent all over the
country from Mr.. Manion's headquarters
In st. Louis. II will be effective Satur.
| day at 8 A. NJ.
The third action concerned the brok-