The labor journal. [volume] (Everett, Wash.) 1909-1976, 1909-04-15

The fee employment office privately
operated for private gain is fact becom-
ing Il public nuisance, which is stating
the case very mildly. The employment
office should be, and. in some cases. is.
Il happy medium. between the working
man out of a Job and the employer
shy of help But human vulturcs
have seen in this business a chance to
skin the laborer neatly and artistically
with the chance of punishment reduced
/ to minimum and are fast crOWdng
decent, honest men out of the business.
There seems to be no way to reach
them. Test cases of city ordinances
regulating them have been taken to the
courts and the hackneycd word 'un-
constitutional" invoked successfully to
beat the workingmm
Stories have been told from time to time
about the methods used to rob the Job
seekers and they have been more than
mere rumors. But it is a different mat
ter TO get the men who have been fleec-
ed to take legal steps to defend them
selves. There is no doubt that charges
of "eNtortion' or obtaining money
under false pretcnses" could be brought
and proven if the average workingman
did not fear the courts worse than he
fears anything else. And that is the
secret of the employment mans graft.
He knows that only men who are in
tight circumstances as a rule turn to the
employment offices for a job He knows
further that they will lose their dollar
or two they have paid to him rather
than complain to the authorities And
he uses tbs knowledge to his own pc
cuniary profit
The writer has heard many stories
from the men themselves of the treat
ment they have received, Only last
week laborer came to the Journal
| office and told the following story. He
had paid $50 to a Seattle employment
office for job near Snohomish. A re-
ceipt for his money was given to him
and Il letter to the Lumberman's En-
ployment office of this city, the pro-
prietors of which wore to send him out
to the job. He was bluntly told that
there was no such job for him. He
then asked that the fee be returned to
him. This was refused. The proprietor
then asked the man for his receipt or
ticket from the Seattle office and upon
receiving it threw it in the stove.
The laborer wanted to know what he
could do. The writer sent him to chief
Marshall to whom he told the same
story. The chief was impressed with
the straight, forwardness OF sthe mans
story and sent him to prosecuting At
torney Bell. Mr. Bell refused to prose
cute the case. claiming lack of corrobor-
ative evidence
This is only one of the many, many
instances that have come under the OBJ
etryation OF the police department. Chief
Marshall has had continual trouble with
the owner of tho employment office and
Il short time ago was given the promise
of the members of the city council that
they would refuse to issue him IL
censc. When it came to a showdown
councilman Philips was the only man
who stood pat for the interest of the
working people. An opinion by the city
attorney that they could not refuse the
application for a license stampeded them
like flock of sheep.
And the tortuous twistings of law
that compels the city council to issue a
license to a man that will outrage all
sense of decency and justice is beyond
the understanding of anybody but a
lawyer.
1t has been said many times although
it might be difficult to prove the nsser-
tion, that a systematic game is worked
between a great many employment Of
fices and mill foremen or yard superin-
tendents According to stories told by
laboring man, this is how the game is
worked; \ foreman sends to an en-
ployment office for men, The men pay
their dollar and are sent to the Job
They work two or three days and are
laid off and the foremen sends to the
agency for another batch This process
continues indefinitely and the money
paid to the agencies for the Jobs is
whaeked up. Few of the owners of the
plants of this practice know about
it or would counterance it,
Many foremen are above such
despicable methods of fattening their