The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1908-06-19
Private Agencies Imposing
Upon Men He Says.
APPLIES TO JACKSON.
Would Like to Have Something
Done.
Many Inquiries Received From
Men Who Want Work.

T. B. Gerow, director of the state
free employment bureau. called on the
attorney general for help today to stop
the private employment agencies from
stealing" the harvest hands the state
bureau was sending out. The attorney
general could not help Mr.. Gerow any
as there is no law against stealing
harvest hands and about the only
thing which could be done was to no.
tify the harvest hands that the state
bureau knew exactly where men were
wanted and that it charged no fee and
could almost guarantee employment
and that it's information should be ia
ken as reliable and the men who asked
the state for employment should re-
spect the directions of the bureau.
After the conference with the attor-
ney general Mr.. Gerow issued the fol-
lowing formal statement of conditions
II have for the last few weeks been
sending out inquiries to all the wheat
Counties in the wheat belt to ascertain
the number of hands necessary to har-
vest the CROP, and when the number
was ascertained it was published.
Meanwhile, from all the large cities in
the country, and from nearly every
state and territory, innumerable in
Quiries have been received, inquiring
when the wheat harvest would be ripe,
what the wages would be, and how they
Kansas. All this information is now
compiled, and many men are on their
fway to the wheat fields. They go from
everywhere-from New York city to
California, from Louisiana to Maine,
from Indiana, Ohio, West Virginia,
Tennessee and Texas, ready to work
and to earn the wages offered, which
are the same as in previous years,
from 81 to SO per day, with board and
lodging. and from "a to IS per day
for teams.
Unfortunately, the teams have had
hard work in making their way
through on account of the rains and
floods that have prevailed east of us,
and in the eastern part of our own
state but many of them are here and
have passed beyond Topeka, on their
way to the southwest, where the har-
vest is being cut. We expected large
number of men to come here this year
on account of the many unemployed
in the eastern states, and we were not
disappointed, but the refusal of the
railroads to give us the rate of one
cent a mile, led us to send those who
applied to us by letter, direct to the
place where they could secure en-
ployment at wages mentioned above"
said Director Gerow this morning,
and these l9borers are distributed by
him as fairly as possible according to
the demands received at his office,
but he can only recommend to the
laborers where to go. In general they
follow his advice, but often they do
not.
"One standing source of trouble,
about the supply of harvest hands, is
that these fake employment bureaus,
managed bv irresponsible private in
dividuals are continually interfering
with our work. We will get a bunch
of harvest hands to send to some
county and advise parties interested
that they will get there on some spec
ial date, only to find afterwards that
some irresponsible person has circu-
lated a pack of lies that they are pay
ing higher wages elsewhere, and for
a fee of one dollar ($1.00), or as much
more as he can fleece out of the la
borers. he will send them anywhere,
whether there is work for them there,
or not There is nothing that some of
these Hellions will not stoop to. They
rob the laborers in need of employ
ment then turn them loose anywhere
throughout the state, then leave them
to chance and luck to find a job. An
other difficulty, and one which can
not well be corrected is, that while