The Saint Paul globe., 1899-03-31
NOR HONEY NOR FOOD
SO A PARTY OF LABORERs
WALKED FROM ISLAND TO
ST. PAUL
NOW THEY ASK FOR DAMAGES
pertence of LOvin KOrbmacher
and Five Companions With an
employment Agent and the Fore
man of Crew That Wouldn't
Give the Kind of Work Wanted.

A~hearing was had yesterday afternoon
in Justice Mills court in the case of
Lovin Korbmacher against A. Guthrie
& Co., railroad contractors. The action
is to recover damages caused through an
alleged breach of contract on the part of
an agent of the Guthrie company. The
hearing is the ,rst in six cases on the
same grounds and occupied all the after
noon, continuance being necessary in
order to finish the testimony.
korbmachers suit brings to light a
very interesting chapter of the operations
Of an employment agency. In company
with five companions, Tom Mccormick,
John Foley, August Staples, Williaml
Goss and Frank Stelow, each of whom
is plaintiff in a suit pending against
Guthrie & Co., Korbmacher went to the
employment agency of A. II. Anderson
on Feb. 81. and applied for a job He
was told that the agency had just re-
ceived an order from Guthrie & Co. for
thirty men for railroad work by the day
at Island, Mimi, on the line Of the East
cry Minnesota.
The men were at once accepted for
the work. and were given slips in the
form of contract, by which each agreed
to go to Island, the agency furnishing
transportation, and work for $3.50 per day
ditching on the line Of the road also
agreeing to pay $3.50 week for board
These slips were accepted and the men
left at once for Island.
They arrived there on Feb. %. and
found that 1t would be necessary for
them to walk two miles through deep
snow in order to get to the railroad
camp. On arrival, they met A. Young
strom, In the employ of the Guthrie COM
pany. who acted as foreman of the camp.
They presented their slips to him and re-
quested work and received the answer
that the company had not ordered men
for day work. had no use for men. would
not employ them and didn't want them
around.
There was not a dollar in the whole
party and the men were In straits as to
what to do next. They asked for some
thing to eat, and received a meal The
next day they went to the foreman again
and Korbmacher. acting spokesman
preferred the request that they be given
day work according to the contract slips
They were told that there was no day
work for them, but that-t11ey could have
jobs at station work IL they wanted
them. Station work consists of excavat-
Ing certain marked sections of ditch at
compensation of 10 cents a cubic yard
They were shown to their work and sew
eral Of the men tried to work on the sta
tions, but found that there was two feet
of frost in the ground. that the ditching
was to be done in the middle of a tam
arac swamp and that at the best they
figured man could not make more than
20 cents day. owing to the difficulty Of
breaking ground. At the same time, the
weather was bitterly cold and there was
thick carpet Of snow on the ground.
Korbmacher and his men decided that
they could not pay their board. to say
nothing of supporting their families, and
being refused transportation, started back
to st. Paul on foot, distance of 219
miles For two weeks the six men plod-
dsd along, they say. suffering from hun