Arizona republican., 1919-06-09
k0NENKAMP ACCUSES WESTE UNION IF LOCKING UT lJNIO|l
TRepublican A. D. eased lhIire-

l i CHICAGO, June S.-In a statement to- night, s. J. Konenkarnp. international president of the Commercial Tele- sraphers' Union of America. who last night called for nationwide strike of telegraph and telephone operators next | Wednesday, declared in the last three | days the Western Union Telegraph 1 company had locked out 300 union men. These, with the 2.50O workers he said were on strike ill ten southeastern states. make a total of 2,SO0 workers already idle
 We now have 2.S00 workers who have been driven out by the Western Union, although it's head, Newcomb 1 Carlton, said we had only 710 mem l bers, said MT. Konenkamp. Reports Of discharged union opera tors by the Western Union had been received from all parts of the country. Mir Konenkamp said. He arrived from 1 the east today and addressed a meet ling of union men. He expected 1000 workers would be affected by the strike.
 T have received reports that the ! Western Union has ulscnarged 150 of Jour men in New York, a number in i Chicago, Galveston, Denver and other cities" he said.
 To the men at the meeting, I stated i that we had to strike in self defense, 1 because of the tactics of Postmaster i General Burleson in permitting our people to be discharged without giving any protection. and giving us no chance for a wage adjustment or ar ranging for collective bargaining l told them my efforts in the east had e,1, was nothing left to do but strike"
 Mir. konenkamp said everywhere the members are assuring him they will do i all they can to make the strike effec- i tive. Rumors that the time for the strike had been advanced to tomorrow were unfounded. he said and there was no thought of changing the call as is sued yesterday.
 i LOS ANGELES, Cal, June S.-rhee thousand employees of the Western
 Uuion, Postal and Federal Telegraph companies west of Denver, will obey l the call for a strike Wednesday mor1. 1 ing, according to announcement made here today by L. T. Marshall, first international vice president of the C. ] T. U.A.
 SAN FRANCISCO June 8.-"If any i of our men go out in response to a
 strike order. they will be in such small
 numbers their absence scarcely will
 be noticed "fdeclared NJ T. Cook, gen
 eral manager of the Pacific division ot
 the Western Union Telegraph com
 pany, tonight, in commenting on the
 telegraphers' strike situation
 WASHINGTON, June S.-Responsi-
 bility for the impending nationwide
 strike of union wire workers rests with
 congress and not with the owners oi
 the wire systems or the employees, s J
 Small a former international officer
 of the Commercial Photographers
 Union of America. told a meeting here
 tonight.
 Mir. Small charged that since the
 transfer of political power in congre ; l from the democrats to the republicans 1 the question of government ownership of the wire systems has been thrown
 into the political arena" activities oi i the various wage boards have ceased
 and the interests Of the employees have l been given no consideration
 The governments guarantee of the
 interest on stocks and bonds of the
 Western Union Telegraph company
 the speaker said, meant that the tax ! payer must bear the burden of any
 losses sustained by the company, as a result of the strike