The San Francisco call., 1896-12-24
WILL co BEFORE
4 THE GRAND JURY
Laborers Who Worked on
the City Hall Have
a Grievance.
.: -.
Contractors for the Building OF
the Dome Failed to Pay
Their Men
Liabilities That Were Not Mentioned
= in the Petition in In.
solvency

Fourteen men who put in severa
months labor on the work of building the
dome OF the City Hall without having re =
ceived their pay have decided TO take their
grievances before the Grand Jury and get
satisfaction in that way if they can IN no
other.
OConnell & Lewis were the contractors
for the dome, and when their work for the
City municipal building was finished they
were in debr to their men for over $4,000.
some of the individual claims running up
as high as $500.
as the hrm drew payments on their
contract from time to time, the men
thought they should receive at least a
: I3rtlon of their money, and as the lob
ntared completion became clamorous in
their demands. At last the work was fin
ished and turned over to the City Hall
p commissioners and still the men were out
and injured.
Then threats of suit were made and the
men were called to the Office of Stafford &
stafford, the attorneys for the firm, for d
talk over the matter. Before leaving they
signed an agreement to wait for their
money, the contractors on their part
agreeing to pay within fifteen days at
b least 500 on each claim.
Over $4,000 of these claims were placed in
q the eehands OF Lange's Collection Agency,
and II is in reference to transactions that
have taken place since the agency took
the claims that the Grand Jury will be
ASKED to Investigate. The attorney who
is handling the matter for the men said
yesterday that the subject was one for in
vesugation, and that the men were deter
mined to push the matter to a conclusion.
s. Nv nen the men signed the agreement
p, TO wait for their money" he said, "they
did so in ignorance OF q provision of the
law that has since stepped in and barred
them from getting what belongs to them.
The law says that claims for labor, in
order to be preferred Liabilities, must be
incurred within sixty days previous to the
firm or person owing them going into in
solYency. At the time the agreement was
made the firm had not gone into insol-
vency and the mems claims took prece-
dence over those for materials.
with the a. reement in their hands the
firm stood the men off until the statutory
time mad elapsed, and then voluntary
petition IN insolvency was filed.
When we learned how the matter had
been manipulated we went into court and
filed an involuntary petition, and the
question as to which shall stand is still
pending.
The assignee question is another mat
ter on which the men have grievance
and which will probably be laid before the
Grand Jury.
when O'ConneII & Lewis voluntary
petition was filed there was no mention
made in the papers of the liza bilities for
.abor, and of course the men have no voice
ia the selection OF the man who Will
Aandie The properly of the firm and pre-
sumably try to see tuat all are treated
Justly. The law says that when petition
IN insolvency is flied it must enumeTate
all of the creditors and that each shall
receive notice when and where the cleo
ton of an assignee shall take place. OF
course under the circumstances the men
could not be notified by the County Clerk.
at is doubtful whether under the pres
ent circumstances the laborers, many of
whom are in straitened circ umst anc es,
will receive what is due them, but a
determined effort will be made to save
something from the wreck to compensate
them for the work performed.