The semi-weekly miner. [volume] (Butte, Mont.) 1882-1886, 1885-09-09
Communicated
MECHANICS AND LABORERS

AAAS 80 SAS~ ----E
in all the legislation in the American Stat
intended to protect mechanics and labo
ingmen, and it is reasonable to infer tbs
the frequent lockOuts among mechanics, al
strikes by laboring men, are in many cas-
attributable to the imperfection oflaws,a al
the h~ardships resulting therefrom, whic
were designed as safeguards to prevent thel
from being defrauded by their employer
Nearly all the States have upon their sta
ute books laws supposed to have been ex'
cuted for the purpose OF securing the wage
of mechanics and laborers for work an
labor done by them upon improvements t
real estate. These laws are entitled "Aot
for the protection OF mechanics and others
and one would naturally suppose the inten
to be none other than what the simpl
meaning of the words employed in the It'll
import. An examination of these actl
even by a layman, will disclose such glarin
imperfections and incongruities as to rende
the acts utterly abortive in the accomplish
ment of the objects desired bythose worth.
classes OF producers for whose benefit the.
were introduced into legislative assemble
and enacted into laws.
The avs OF the Territory of Montana
upon this subject. are no less open to crit
cism, and in need of intelligent revision an,
amendment, than are those of many OF tn
older States, but this is no excuse for tn
imperative statutes incur code, nor doe
it palliate against the apparent lack o
wisdom on the part OF the legislators wht
framed them. Upon reference to the inde1
| of the General Laws, revised statutes 1879
under the title liens, it will be observed thai
| the first line reads ''ofmechanics and others
| sections $50 to S4S." Turning to thos'
| sections the first reads as follows: "Every
mechanic, builder, lumberman, artisan
workman, laborer, or other person, who
shall do or perform any work or labor up
on, or farnish any material, machinery OF
fixtures for any building, erection, bridge
fume, canal, ditch, mining claim, quartz
lode, ranch, city or town lots, or other i'm
provements upon land, or for repairing the
same, upon complying with the provisions
of this chapter. shall have for his work OF
labor done, or material, machinery or fix.
lures furnished, a lien upon such building,
erection, 1ume, bridge, canal, ditch, mining
claim, quartz lode, ranch, city or town
lots, or other improvements, to secure the
payment of such work OF labor done, or
material, machinery or fixtures furnished"
This section would seem at first glance
to afford all the protection that any
reasonable person could desire, but the
short sentence OF upon complying with
the provisions of this chapter" contained
in il awakens an inquiry, which upon close
examination discloses the fact that it
affords no protection whatever for the
dependent mechanic or laborer. The
following section, No. S21, says that sub
contractors must, before being entitled to
the benefits of the law, notify the owner, or
Others for whom the work is to be lone or
material furnished, previous to doing such
work or furnishing such material that
they will be held responsible. etc. All
Others, under the chapter, seem to have the
benefits OF the same for ninety days after
rendering the services or furnishing materi-
ais in which to file liens against the property
to secure their claims.
Section 845 of this chapter is the one
that contains all the mischief and which
virtually nullifies the entire law SO far as
the mechanic or laborer is concerned, for it
provides as follows: "All persons furnish
ing things or doing work, as provided by
this chapter, shall be considered sub-c0n-
tractors, except such as have therefor con-
tracts directly with the wner or proprietor.
his agent or trustee"
That the mechanic and laboring man,
those who do the work under the section
above, are sub-contractors,% according
to the wisdom of the legislators who en-
acted the law, is a thing that laymen can
not comprehend. In fact, it is a puzzler to |
whose success s o often depends
upon their legal acumen, ingenuity, in
straining the meaning n comforting the |
OF words. A contract, legally de-
lined, is an agreement between two or more
to do or not to do a particular
thing. To make it binding there must be a
moving from the party to be
benefited by it's performance or fulfillment
20 the other, and there must also exist a
between the parties; that is, that
hey are alone directly interested in it, and
10 stranger can be bound or affected by it.
\ s~ub-contractor is n who agrees with
he principal in the previous contract to
AXE and perform a portion OF the original
'ontract. In other words, a sub-contrac-
or, in the common acceptation of the
is one to whom a portion of the orig
nal contract has been sub-let. As, for
Instance, ii a man enters into a contract
Nth another to erect a building and de-
lver possession of it at a certain time en-
irely finished, he may sub-contractf for por-
ions OF the work to those carrying on the
arpenter, bricklaying, masonry, plastering,
insmithing or other business, BUTT cannot
re contended that this rule, in the law of
rade or business, extends to mechanics
labOring men who work for the princi-
OF sub-contractors for days wages.
here is no privity between them and the
wner OF the building; hence, they cannot ,
e denOminated sub-cOntractOrs and there
ore ought not be compelled to give to the
wner the same notice required of sub-con- !
FACTORS in order to secur the payment of !
be small pittances due them.
Section 845 Classics all except the
contractors, as sub-contractors,
nd as such they are required under the
rovisions of section 821, in order to avail :
1emselves of the benefits of the law, to
We notice to the owner or proprietor of
1e building Or lands, his agent or trustee,
or at the time of furnishing any of
he things, (materials) of their intention to
lrnish the same or perform any labor,
with the probable value thereof.
fter this they must have a settlement with
le principal contractor in writing and
him certify to it's correctness and then
e within ninety days a copy of the same
18th the recorder of the county. together
it'll a correct description of the building
and property, for which the work was
one or things furnished in order to be en-
tied to a lien for the same.
The principal contractor, however, is not
ound by the red tape which the above
ction coils SO tightly around the man
he furnishes the things, or the poor me-
lapic and w~Orkingman whose genius and
Ill wrought the things into shape, thus
the valuable improvements on the
vners land. Section S25 of the same
lapter simply requires the principal con-
actor to prepare and file his lien within
nety days after the completion OF the
or other Improvement. Sab
'ntractors, seeming to include mechanics, .
borers and material men, must under
ction $50 of the chapter, commence suits
their liens within ninety days from filing
same, whilst principal contractors are
one whole year in which to bring
cir actions to enforce their rights against
e owners of the property. The law as it
ands seems to have been ingeniously
avn for no other purpose than that of
rowing safeguards around principal con-
and encouraging responsible men
seek and secure contracts for building
ID constructing improvements at from
'enty-ive to sometimes as high as fifty
r cent. below the actual estimated cost
the labor and things. Owners ~ofproperty,
e men engaged in any business, are on
e alert to get the greatest value for the
lallest outlay of money, hence they give
t their contracts to the lowest bidders,
ually taking the p%recaution to require
e principal contractor to execute a bond, 81
tn approved sureties, to secure the COM ~ NJ
of the work in accordance I'D
tn the plans and specifications, and if, ali
thout any regard to the workingmen. Ia
-" ~