Los Angeles herald., 1908-06-01
ASKS WHY LABOR CONDITIONS
ARE GROSSLY MisREPREsENTED

LOS ANGELES, May 23.-[Editor
Herald: cit has occurred to me a great
deal of good might result If The Her
aid, or, in fact, the Los Angeles and
Southern California papers in general,
would be brave enough to publish from
time to time articles touching on the
labor conditions of this section of the
country. By labor conditions / mean
the actual supply and demand and
the prevailing wage in the various
lines" whether coming under the head
of those earning their daily bread by
sweat of brow" or the exercise OF
their brains.
In Los Angeles, as elsewhere expe-
rience. appearance reliability, etc.,
have a great deal to do with the wage
of the "brain WORKER but it is safe
scenery and the living conditions in
general more of this class are attract
ed to Southern California than any
other section of the United States.
That all are quite welcome goes with
out saying.
That all can readily obtain employ
ment at good salaries is impossible.
What, then, is the remedy?
Without attempting to answer this
question offhand it might be well to
state that natural conditions are large
ly responsible for the presence of so
many brain workers" and laborers.
The illness of any member of family
is certainly sufficient excuse for that
particular member to pitch his tent in
the Golden State, if he believes his
health will be benefited, and, as often
occurs, 1t is necessary for the whole
family to locate here.
Once here, it is only natural that
they remain, and in this way the south
ern part of the state Is growing IN
population by leaps and bounds.
The patient" we will say. RECEIVERS,
and seeks a position. Other members
of the family also apply for positions,
And so it goes. Presently the positions
are all filled.
So far we have described only natural
conditions and the magnet which draws
thousands to the coast each year. But
just word concerning those who at
tempt to attract eastern employees to
give up good positions to come to Los
Angeles or other Southern California
cities. with the expectation of increas-
ing their earnings
Here lies the danger. This is the bait
which tempts men and women and
whole families to save enough dimes
and nickels to purchase one-way tick
cts, expecting that positions are plen-
tiful and the salaries double what they
were earning in Chicago New York,
Milwaukee or other eastern cities
I believe that with very few excep-
tions sufficient help Is to be had to fill
the exceptions being found in the val
leys when 1t is necessary to harvest
fruit, grain and vegetable crops.
/ have been told by hundreds OF late
arrivals that railroad agents, anxious
to sell tickets, have represented that
employees of all kinds were in great
demand in Los Angeles and the south
west in general, whereas, except In the
mining districts and valleys, as noted
above, two or three employees are wait
ing their turn to step into some other
employees shoes.
Would IL not be a credit to the cham
ber of commerce to assist in making
these facts known? Keep the latch
string out at all times, but prevent,
as far as possible, the false impression
that has been sent broadcast regard
ing actual conditions.
No artist can portray the beauties
of California scenery-its mountains.
its valleys, it's flowers and its orange
groves-but on the other hand no pen
can describe the suffering that has
been a direct result of false impress
sions regarding salaries and the supply
and demand for all kinds OF employees
I am making this statement because
have had an opportunity of talking
personally with thousands of EASTERN
ers men and women who were induced
to come here with the expectation OF
stepping into good positions, when they
We're not even financially able to pur-
chase round-trip tickets.
AS a result there has been a great
deal of suffering.
AS result people who never have
had to ask charity are applying daily
to the various institutions OF this char
acter for assistance in reaching their
native states.
AS a result those who have become
home builders here have had to COM
pete with the newcomers. agreeing to
a cut in wages or giving up their po-
sitions, as the case might be.
And this has caused more sumering.
To use the language of q recent ar
rival from Illinois, california can al
ways attract employers and employees
from every corner of the earth by tell
ing nothing but the truth--so why mis-
represent existing conditions? 2"
H. e. WESTGATE.