The San Francisco call., 1896-06-21
He Says 1t Is Simply to Facili-
tate and Expedite
Business.
MANY MATTERS ARE INVOLVED
The Women Have the Entire Front
Side and the Men a Quiet Street
at the Rear.

Labor Commissioner Fitzgerald, in reply
to the charge of undemocratic manage
ment of the Labor Bureau, which was laid
at. his door by the Labor Council at their
meeting on Friday night, accusing him of
compelling the employers to enter at one
side Of the building and the employees at
the other, thus expressed himself yester-
pay to CALL reporter;
II really consider this accusation too
insignificant and too silly to answer.
There have been about 1000 laboring peo-
pie who have come to this office for relief
and over 5000 OF these have received posi-
tions. This office, l can say with perfect
confidence, has saved to the workingmen
500 per day in fees alone. The honest
workman who really is in need OF work
comes here and says nothing about the
way he is treated, but too frequently the
workman who works the workjngman
says much that often is not Just. How
ever, laying siI this aside, if l mad my way
1 wou Id give the people who come here for
relief the Palace Hotel TO meet IN.
Insufficient as the headquarters are l
gave them to the workingmen by begging
from door to door. The hampered quarters
bring work and trouble to me and not to
the working people. There never before
has been man or woman who has OBJ
jected or complained about the way that
business is carried on here. The men have
a nice, quiet street in the rear, where they
may come without interference.
'If the Labor Council wishes 10 condemn
any one let 1t condemn the State of Cali
fornia for not appropriatlng a large enough
sum OF money for our purpose, not me,
who am only too willing to give the work
ingmen better quarters to come to in
search of work.
LAS to the practicability OF the mode of
having the entrance the same for the en-
ploye and the employer | would say that
it is simply business arrangement, or in
other words an arrangement to facilitate
and expedite matters. a great many men
object TO pushing through crowd of men
when seeking help, and this would work
as factor to keep employers away should
both entrances be the same. This, In fact,
was the great trouble with our other office
on Sansome street. l am sure If a popular
vote was cast by the %, 600 workingmen
who have passed through the doors of
this bureau since it has been established
they would vote almost unanimously to
have things ju as they are There is no
distinction whatever made in persons, it
is simply matter of business.
$50 far as the support of the working
people is concerned perhaps they do not
know that not dollar of State appropTia-
tions has been received by this office since
last April. have paid the rents out of
my own pocket.
There has not been a union in the
State which has not unqualifedly in
dorsed, under its seal, my methods of
carrying on the business here.
How would 500 men look out on Sutter
street every morning awaiting their turn?
l had hard task in getting the bureau
on this side of Market street even. Then
think of ladies coming here to hire girls
for housework and having to pass through
all these men. They would not come, not
even if every one OF the men was dressed
IN the height of fashion.
"The State allows me $50 month for
rent-hardly enough to rent good-siZed
bedroom. l am paving 500 month and
make up the balance from my own pocket
and those of my friends. l do not think
that my work has gone for naught. l be-
lieve l hold the confidence of all the labor
ing people yet. 1t is all | ask of them and
it is all they can give me. If they have to
come to the back door my deputies have
to work in the back yard among them.
The front of my entire Office is devoted to
the women department. 1t would not be
Justice to them to have the men enter In
the same room