United with each other: The guild of telegraphers in Costa Rica (1880-1930)

The telegraphic communications had a very important development in Costa Rica between 1880 and 1930. The goal of this paper is to identify the main elements that fortified the telegraphers' solidarity links. They were agents of progress and social control in Costa Rica. Many file documents and articles of telegraphic reviews were analyzed to find information about the daily life of telegraphers and rules of social control applied by their bosses. The sources point that telegraphers not always adjust to the rules of social control in their daily life though they should to apply them in their work places. However, the telegraphers made strong solidarity links because of the low salaries and other social and economic problems that affected their jobs.