The San Francisco call., 1897-02-23
SANFORD AND
THE MILLMEN
Reiterates His Charges as
TO Abuse of Northern
Lumbermen.
Will Rise to a Question of
Privilege in the Assembly
and Answer Criticism.
At Some of the Mendocino Logging
Camps, He Says, Workmen Are
Urjustly Treated.

SACRAMENTO, CAL, Feb. 22-To.
morrow, after the reading of the journal
in the Assembly, Sanford of Mendocino
will rise to question of personal priv-
lege in reply to dispatch from Ukiah in
last Sundays CALL, in which his state
ments with reference 10 the treatment of
employees by the lumber companies are
denounced as false. Mr.. Sanford will say i:
81 see in THE CALL of last Sunday pro-
test from Mendocino County in relation
10 what said in my speech on Monday,
February 15 1897, regarding the treat
ment of laboring men employed by the
milling companies in Mendocino County.
In my opening statement said that some
com panies wanted to do what was right
and treated their men fairly well, while
others were tyrannical in the extreme and
refused to do the fair thing by the men.
AZ have no apology to make for any
thing 1 said. On the contrary, set forth
the condition OF affairs very mildly. There
is not a single mill company in Mendo-
cino County that l know of, and 1 know
them all, that does not withhold the
wages of their men all the way from two
TO six months, charging them from Is to
20 per cent discount, and virtually COM
pelling the men to trade in the truck
stores, there by again charging them eXorbi-
tant prices for the goods.
the companies from Gualala to Caspar
treat the men better than others, but the
companies north of Caspar are the ones
from which the greatest complaints come.
These companies on the Northern Mendo-
cino coast are the ones that treat the EN-.
ployes SO shamefully, namely, Fort Bragg,
Cottoneva, Hardy Creek, Usal.
'In order to meet the charge as to
whether / have misstated facts will read
some letters from workingmen in those
sections. This will show YOU what thew
think OF the treatment they receive at the
hands of these companies. All those let
ters are on flo in Labor Commissioner
Fitzgerald's Office"
The following arc extracts from the let
ters to be read tomorrow by Mr.. Sanford
c. l. Smith, an Eastern man, writes as fol-
lows concerning visit made By him to
Fort Bragg:
If you value your time, your life or your
rights as an American citizen, stay clear of the
Union Lumber Company at Fort Bragg. In
the first place, they want a man to work twelve
hours for days work, on wages ranging all
the way from 76 cents up to 81 "a but in or
der to ges the best wages (or 81 34) q. man has
10 be able TO run steam skidder, keep it in
repair and do his own firing. and then, for an
appetizer for brea kfast, IL is quite necess ar =
for him 10 get up in the morning at 4:3O and
start his fire so he will have steam by 6
oclock-their regular starting sine.
When dinner time comes one of our native
sons John Chinaman) comes out with horn
Chat some poor old OK has been robbed of
after he got so feeble that he could not stand
the hardship of the company any longer and
blows blast that causes the blood in the fel-
low-oxen's veins 10 run cold; for, should he
happen to make misstep and injure himself
so ne could not work these $50 men that are
being called TO dinner would be picking the
meat off his bones inside of twelve hours
When 1t comes to the sleeping part, If you
have not your own bed complets you are not
in IL. All that is provided is a board shanty,
and they take particular pains TO have the
boards far enough apart SO there is no need of
windows; for bedsteads they have provided
little wooden boxes with straw in them, The
same as used for my dog. A pile of sand in
the middle OF the floor, with a hole'cut in the
roof directly above, constitutes the fireplace
and you have what they call the Union Lum-
Der Company building"
They also have a fine system of paying every
three months AS regular as the time comes
you get q sixty-day sight-draft, whether you
need II or not; or, in other words. You get a
written guarantee that there is so mnch COM
ing to you that you cannot get until sixty
days from ate. unless you will sell 1t at a lis
count from 10 10 per cent. But, to cap the
climax, they took So out of what wal coming
10 me, and don't know what it was for-they
said 1t was for taxes, but | would as soon be-
lfeve 1t was to buy fireworks for the Fourth. as
never saw tax collector, and was never
asked TO pay any taxes. or even told how much
they wonld be If was assessed.
If that is California's law, allow me to con-
gratuiate the lawmakers on their success OF
dealing out justice and freedom; but l am
glad got away alive for there were two men
killed while l was there, and i've crippled
and some of them crippled for life.
II. Lund of UsaI writes to the Labor
Commissioner as follows:
Dear Sir: Ny object in writing to you is to
gain little advice and information regarding
lawsuit OF which Will tell you in this letter.
/ went TO work for a corporation, which is
known as the firm of Cottoneva Lumbe Com
pany, at Rockport of this county. started to
stayed there until the 9th day OF August. on
which day 1 was discharged. / went to the
Office 10 get my money, and in payment for nv
work the superintendent offered me time
draft, payable sixty days after sight. would
NEW ,