The record-union., 1895-05-29
LABOR COMMISSIONER FITZGERALD.
He Presents His Report to the Gov
ernOr.
His Plans for the Relief of Unem-
ployed Labor-Destitution in
San Francisco.

Labor Commissioner Fitzgerald was in
the city yesterday and called upon the
Governor in the afternoon and presented
his report. Among other things it says:
LAS all commissions are required to fur
nish statistical reports-the work must
necessarily be conflicting, contradictory,
overlapping and duplicated, involving
an extra expense upon the State for
printing in tabulated and other forms the
result of years. work taken at haphazard
and not confined to the absolute territory
of the commission which should handle a
particular subject and furnish to other
commissions the data which might be
REQUIRED and more properly belong to
them"
1t suggests that call might be issued
by the Governor to all the commissions
that Board of Supervisors of Statistics
might be organized, to meet monthly.
aud to have general supervision of the
collection OF statistics. Ii any depart
ment wished an investigation on any par
ticular subject it should first report 1t to
the board, which should determine to
what department the work OF lnvestlga-
ton should be assigned, and when the
work was com mpleted it should be abridged
and simplitied and all matters gerinane
to the work of any other department
should be turned over to that department..
Mr.. Fitzgerald stated to the Governor
that there were at present not less Lnan
1000 unemployed men in San Francisco.
He has formulated plan to provide
work for them. He proposes to open a
set Of books for registration OF the uneln-
ployed and establish a Free Bureau OF
Employment and Registration. The
books will contain space for 30 900 names.
Many orchardistS and several Nom DerS
of commissions, he says. employ hum
dreds of Chinese and Japanese. TO these
he proposes to furnish white labOrers
registered on his books in any number
that may be required.
The statement is often made by such
employers, he says. that white help is un-
reliable, and that they are therefore
forced in self protection to employ Chinese
or Japs. He proposes to test the truth OF
this. Each man sent out from his
office will be provided with a postal
card, which, when for any cause
he is discharged. he is to mai i
immediately to the bureau, stating the
reason for his discharge. On the other
hand. those employing the men are also
to be requested TO report the discharge
and its cause. The record will then be
this way lie proposes to silt the character
and stability of each one. Those refusing
TO go 10 work when it is offered to thom,
or who show by their discharge for mis-
conduct that they are unworthy to be
helped, or who fail to report when dis
charged, will be stricken from the roll
and never registered again.
The Commissioner also informed the
Governor that there were $50 destitute
persons living at the foot of Seventh
street on what is known as "the Dumps"
where the garbage of the city is dumped,
and are sheltered by old gas mains, water
pipes and huts made of mating. They
have until recently supported life by
Gothering scrap iron, tin, rags, bones and
other junk and selling it. Lately, how
ever, the keeper of the dumps has let out
the privilege of gathering junk to some
Italian scavengers, and deprived these
poor wretches of even this miserable
means of subsistence.
Mr.. Fitzgerald will have another inter
| view with the Governor to-day, and will
then return to San Francisco to carry oui
| his plans,