themselves as occupationally distinct from the commercial telegraph operators, who worked in telegraph offices and primarily handled commodities reports, news reports, and personal messages. A meeting of telegraphers representing the major U.S. railroads met in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, on June 9, 1886. Organized by Ambrose D. Thurston (1852–1913), publisher of the trade journal Railroad Telegrapher, in Vinton, Iowa, the group formed the Order of Railway Telegraphers of North America, with membership limited to telegraphers who were or who had been employed in railroad service. The Order of Railway Telegraphers was initially intended to be more of a fraternal organization than a trade union; it was ideologically closer to the conservative railroad unions than the more militant commercial telegraphers. Initially, its constitution forbade members to strike except in extreme conditions. By March 1887, the union had attracted 2250 members, the number of members grew to 9000 by March 1889. Increased militancy in the 1890s In the early 1890s, members began to demand that the union take a more assertive role in negotiating wages and working conditions with the railroads. In 1891, the constitution was changed to explicitly make the ORT a "protective" organization, with the right to call strikes if negotiations with the railroads were unsuccessful; at the same time, the name was changed from "Order of Railway Telegraphers" to "Order of Railroad Telegraphers." One unintended consequence of this was a relatively disorganized period in which operators would stage "wildcat" strikes without consulting ORT leadership, who would then be forced into the position of sanctioning strikes that were already in progress. During the relatively prosperous years of 1890–92, the railroads were inclined to recognize the union and negotiate agreements with the ORT to guarantee wages and working hours. As a result, agreements were signed during this period with the Atlantic & Pacific Railroad, the Denver & Rio Grande, the Union Pacific, the Missouri Pacific Railroad, the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, and the Chesapeake and Ohio Railroad. A.D. Thurston, who had served as Grand Chief of the ORT since its founding, was replaced by D.G. Ramsay in 1892, who promised to take a more aggressive stance in dealing with the railroads. The Panic of 1893 The Panic of 1893 had a severe impact on the railroad industry; major lines that had overexpanded during the prosperous years, including the Reading Railroad, the Union Pacific, the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe, and the Northern