The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1905-07-07
DENIES ASKING
TEN PER CENT
Sidewalk Contractor Says Charge by
Councilman Is Not True.
LATTER HAS WITNESSES
MATTER WILL BE INVESTIGATED
NEXT MONDAY.

A meeting of the committee on streets
VIII be held Monday afternoon in the
council chamber for the purpose of in
Nestigating the charge made at the
meeting of the council Wednesday night
by Councilman w J. Tuddenham that
applicants for employment by the Utah
Fire PROBING company under its side
walk contract with the city are required
10 pay 81 and 20 turn over ten per cent
OF their monthly wage
councilman Tuddenham says when
the meeting is held he Will have two or
three witnesses present who viii testify
10 the truth of the allegation One of
these men is ready to go on the wit
ness stand and swear that the manag
or an employment agency. named
Iange. not only told him that he was
commissioned TO procure lvorkmen for
the Utah Fire PROBING company. re-
curing them to pay 81 down and agree
10 give up ten per cent of their first
months wages, but showed him the
blank contracts that the applicants for
work were required to sign
IL is proposed to introduce a copy of
this contract i'm evidence.
Asked 10 give the names of his wit
nesses. Councilman Tuddenham said.
OF course the names viii be made
known when the investigation takes
place. But until then | do not want
the names known. for reasons of my
Ihat the investigation will show "A very
bad state of affairs. OF course if the
people running the Utah Fire PrOofiug
company can disprove the charges,
would be pleased to have them do so.
They viii be given an opportunity to
make statement
Statement by Manager.
Thomas Owens. manager of the Utah
Fire PROBING company. denied any
Ut cd
grating i'm the employment of persons
engaged TO work under its contract with
the city, which is FOR the laying and re-
pairing of cement sidewalks.
Our company is doing work i'm St
Louis, Denver, San Francisco. Salt Lake
city and other cities" said he, and this
IS the first time that such a charge
has been made against us. I don't
know Councilman Tuddenham. but il
seems to me that he ought not to have
gotten up in the council and made such
q. statement unsupported by any evil
dence whatever He attacks the Utah
Flre PROBING company but does not
give the name of the man who makes
the charge. He has not given US fair
deal
Nov the fact is that the Utah Fire
PROBING company has just got started
under its contract with the city We
have done only a few small pieces Of
patch work that altogether would not
make one fair days work for a sidewalk
gang of men.
Mr.. owens is out of the city a great
deal, and during his absence \. Q.
Smoot is the active manager of the
company and has charge of hiring the
men employed by the company.
Denies Going to Agent.
Thus far Mr. Owens has employed
in this work two professional men.
whose speciality is finishing" said Mr..
Smoot. That is they are known as
aniSherS- Aside from these two / have
employed all the others. That I have
consulted or anybody associated with
the company has consulted directly or
indirectly any broker or employment
agent. or have employed a single man
through any such agency is absolutely
false.
Under Mr.. Owens instruction 1 have
employed all of our help directly. and
out of the hundreds of application that
i have received for employment I have
followed the rule of the company and
given local men the preference. and so
Tar as possible men having families de
pending on them.
That any commission. i'm any way
shape or form. has been eXaCted or re-
oeived from any man employed under
the contract between the Utah Fire
PrOOfinE company and salt Lake city
is mdliCiOuslN false. City Inspector
Parry has been present and heard the
conversations between me and men
whom I have employed. and will un-
queStiouahly confirm my statement, if
IL needs CoufiTma tfoO 90