April 12, 1947 – Alka-Seltzer News Of The World – Gordon Skene Sound Collection –
April 12, 1947 – Strikes and strife. The Telephone Operators Union was going on strike, and union officials promised it would be a long one. Telephone Operators in 1947 were crucial to communication between people and countries or people and people in other states. You couldn’t direct dial anywhere in the world, an operator had to help you. An operator helped you when you had trouble making a regular phone call, looking for someone, as information was had by an Operator physically digging through a phone book. An Operator had to help you when you were making a regular long distance call. And an operator was essential even if you wanted to know the time of day. Long before automation and computers, communication was very much a team effort which required a number of live, on-duty people along the way. And this strike threatened that crucial link in the communication chain. Without Operators, the Telephone Industry was threatening to collapse. And the threat of a long strike by Operators was practically unthinkable. So talks were trying to continue, but some were calling for White House intervention. In the meantime, the word was “we are settling for a long strike”.
And then there was the strife – The situation in Greece was spiraling out of control. A civil war was enveloping the country, but the Greek Army was reporting successes. Still, eyes were on Washington for supplies and support.
The situation in Palestine wasn’t too much better and was heading for the United Nations Security Council, as the violence there was growing and spreading. At Bitain’s request, talks were slated to begin on April 28th with the hopes of some settlement to the partition question.
Today also marked the second anniversary of the death of President Franklin Roosevelt, who died on April 12, 1945.
And that’s only a small sample of what went on, this April 12, 1947 as reported by the Alka-Seltzer News Of The World.
