My Sisters Telegraphic: Women in the Telegraph Office ... - Monoskop

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THE CTUA AND THE STRIKE OF 1907 177 Gould was the daughter of Jay Gould, the Gilded Age baron who had once counted Western Union as one of his fiefdoms. Helen Miller Gould Shepard (1868–1938) had a reputation as a philanthropist who was sensitive to women’s issues; she was also a major shareholder in Western Union. The letter began by stating that the upper management and board of directors of Western Union had been deceived about the true state of affairs in the company. The women strikers termed their action a “revolt” rather than a strike and then proceeded to list the discriminatory actions that had precipitated the revolt. The first item mentioned by the women was the condition of their bathrooms and private facilities: “Our withdrawing rooms and conveniences are a disgrace to humanity.” The strikers alleged that the health department had ordered the company to make improvements, but the recommendations had been ignored. They also noted that they were required Figure 25. Chicago Tribune coverage of the 1907 strike. From Chicago Tribune, August 11, 1907.
178 WOMEN TELEGRAPHERS AND THE LABOR MOVEMENT to enter the Western Union building by a rear entrance, which made it necessary to pass “through an alley lined with saloons and rubbish.” The signers of the letter said that the “employment of extremely young girls” by the company, whose duties brought them “in personal contact with men of all classes, and absolute lack of discipline among them,” created the possibility of sexual abuse; they went on to point out that the company had placed men of questionable morals in positions of responsibility over women and children. The letter closed with a personal appeal to Helen Gould: “We beseech you as an American woman to take up this cause and get us the justice which we can never get through characters concerning whom, upon investigation, you will find we have spoken the absolute truth.” 54 The issue of unequal pay was not mentioned; rather, the women operators concentrated on issues specific to the employment of women that they felt might gain a sympathetic hearing from Gould. The issue of women employees being forced to use a rear entrance had been brought up a year earlier, in 1906, when telephone operators had struck in Chicago; the WTUL had supported the telephone operators in that strike as well. 55 Margaret Dreier Robins enlisted the help of family members in support of the telegraphers. She wrote to her sister Mary Dreier in New York on September 6, 1907, about the possibility of having a third sister, Katherine, a Western Union stockholder, write a letter to Western Union management. She felt that Katherine would be seen as a more impartial voice than either Margaret or Mary, both of whom were closely connected with the WTUL. She suggested that Katherine could point out that the company was losing the confidence of the public by its refusal to accept arbitration; in addition, “if she will say that women doing the same work as men are entitled to the same wage and that typewriters ought to be furnished by the company, and then call attention to the evils of the commission office which are not even touched upon by the strikers, I think she will make a strong letter.” 56 Robins was concerned about the practice of placing women operators in commission offices, where their low pay allegedly left them susceptible to the wiles of the “sporting element” that frequented such places. Robins also wrote directly to Helen Gould regarding the telegraphers’ cause; in her letter, she raised the issue of pay. She discussed the letter to Gould in a letter to her sister Mary, dated September 12, 1907:
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My Sisters Telegraphic Thomas C. Je
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My Sisters Telegraphic Women in the
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Contents List of Illustrations vii
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Illustrations 1. Emma Hunter, teleg
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Acknowledgments I would like to tha
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MY SISTERS TELEGRAPHIC
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2 WOMEN IN THE TELEGRAPH INDUSTRY t
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4 WOMEN IN THE TELEGRAPH INDUSTRY i
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6 Figure 1. Emma Hunter, telegraphe
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10 WOMEN IN THE TELEGRAPH INDUSTRY
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c h a p t e r t w o Daily Life in t
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14 DAILY LIFE IN THE TELEGRAPH OFFI
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c h a p t e r t h r e e Society and
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40 SOCIETY AND THE TELEGRAPH OPERAT
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Figure 18. Emily Warburton and Barb
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80 WOMEN’S ISSUES IN THE TELEGRAP
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100 WOMEN’S ISSUES IN THE TELEGRA
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c h a p t e r f i v e Women Telegra
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Figure 20. “Romance on the Wires,
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122 WOMEN TELEGRAPHERS IN LITERATUR
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124 WOMEN TELEGRAPHERS IN LITERATUR
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Page 161 and 162: 148 WOMEN TELEGRAPHERS AND THE LABO
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Page 203 and 204: 190 CONCLUSIONS Women telegraphers
Page 205 and 206: 192 CONCLUSIONS radio instead. Whil
Page 207 and 208: 194 CONCLUSIONS Although Wired Love
Page 209 and 210: 196 CONCLUSIONS the same gender iss
Page 211 and 212: 198 CONCLUSIONS of Railroad Telegra
Page 213 and 214: 200 CONCLUSIONS female railroad tel
Page 216 and 217: Notes Chapter 1—Women in the Tele
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Page 220 and 221: NOTES TO PAGES 42-52 207 10. Gabler
Page 222 and 223: NOTES TO PAGES 63-72 209 lection, N
Page 224 and 225: NOTES TO PAGES 86-108 211 tlemen of
Page 226 and 227: NOTES TO PAGES 129-159 213 is ident
Page 228: NOTES TO PAGES 181-200 215 64. Fone
Page 231 and 232: 218 BIBLIOGRAPHY Burman, Shirley, c
Page 233 and 234: 220 BIBLIOGRAPHY Long Beach (Calif.
Page 235 and 236: 222 BIBLIOGRAPHY Withuhn, William L
Page 237 and 238: 224 Boston and Providence Railroad,
Page 239 and 240: 226 “glass arm” (telegraphers
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228 Northbridge, Mass., telegraph o
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230 telegraphers, demographics: age
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My Sisters Telegraphic: Women in the Telegraph Office ... - Monoskop

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