St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1885-07-12
Trouble With st. Paul Employment
Agencies Incipient Job Room
Strike-St. Paul Notes.
A Minneapolis Contractor Sued for Dam
ages to One of His Workmen-
The Stonecutters.
The Cooper Shops and Flour Mills
Preparations for a Ptcnic--
Minneapolis Items.
The Strikes in Chicago. Cleveland and
Bay City, Miscellaneous In
dustrial Information.
THE EMPLOYMENT AGENCIES.
Imposition Practiced by Those Who
EEirc DEen for the Far West.

EEirc Men for the Far West.
On Wednesday night one Ole Hanson,
clerk employed by WaIlOw 81 Co. of the
Northwestern Labor bureau, corner of Min
nesota and Third streets, st. Paul, was ar
rested on charge of obtaining money I'M
der false pretenSes. 1t seems that on the
evening in question Hanson came across
party of laborers who were engaged in read
ing the numerous bulletins Of the firms call
ing for men to go to British Columbia, ana
he finally engaged seven of the party 10 go
northward, promising them good JOBS Oh
railroad construction. He induced the men
to put I'D SIS apiece for their fare to the far
away territory, and left them. SO they SAID;
under promise to return at tram tllne anu
accompany them to the union station pre-
paratory to departure.
One of the men became suspicious, and
followed Hanson down to the levee. Inc
laborer accosted him and demanded a re-
turn of his money. Hanson returned MN
his $S and made a rush for one OF the Trains,
but was nabbed before he could get away.
When the case came up in the court the
next morning Hanson. who is a Swede, was
ordered by the Judge to return the money,
and the case was dismissed. The clrcum-
stances led to an investigation OF the meth
DDS EMPLOYED in hiring laborerS for the
railroad work in the far Northwest, and
it developed that there is great deal OF
skullduggery on the part OF labor bureaus.
In this instance, however, WalloW q 20.
saw that the transaction was square one,
while Hanson claims that the men misun-
derStood him, and he denied that he IN
tended to swindle them. In hlrlng out
through the agencies the laborer is made TO
sign contract which the company does not
sign. As most of the men who
20 north do not comprehend what is
required of them, the one-Sded
document is signed and the man isn't aware
that he has been victimized until the stern
reality forces itself upon him when he is
miles away from civilization and cannot
get back. The laborer is required to pay
his own fare from this city to the working
place, and there is nothing said i'll the con-
tract about provisions during the progress OF
the journey.
The agreement he has signed reads that
81 a day is paid. but he can be discharged
Dr. tut upon another job which pays less
than the agreed rate. The paper further
provides that if food is furnished
Oh the way to the objective point
the cost of the same can DE
deducted from his wages. Board at the
point of destination costs the laborer 30
week. ana the unfortunate lllltSU NoIh tli00
months before he has earned enough money
to pay back what it costs to get him to
British Columbia If. for any reason what
over. he is thrown ont Of work, he must pay
his own fare back from the working place
to Winnipeg. There is something radically
wrong in all this, and the county attorney,
Judge Egan, in conjunction with the city
attorney, AIr. Murray, has taken the affair
in hand with a view to preventing such inn
positions if it is possible to do so. The
Manitoba railway officials will be called
npon to learn whether they are aware OF
the condition Of affairs.