The labor journal. [volume] (Everett, Wash.) 1909-1976, 1910-03-25
NO RELIEF
APPARENT
G. N. Ry. Common La
borers at Mercy of An
tiquated Pay System and
Department Red Tape.

Not day has passed since the first
crowd of men came down from the hills
after quitting the scene of the recent
come into the Labor Tmple with a tale
of hardships and vain attempt to get
their money. Not that the Great North
ern company intended to beat any man
who had been in their employ, but that
there was so much red tape and folderol
that had to be gone through with before
intolerable condition of things but it
seems next to impossible to fix the re-
sponsibility. Two old men, for instance.
waited five days for their money. They
came down with their identity slips and
received dollar apiece for them to live
on until their time came in. And they
would have had to live on that but for
, the sympathy of men around the tenn
pie who saw that they had a place to
eat until they got their pay. They were
victims of railroad red tape that ought
not to be toleraed in civilized state.
| Who was to blame? Not the gang
| foreman in the mountains. He had GER
tain forms to fill out when the men quit
and if he didn't fill them out his job
was in jeopardy. The paymaster at the
Everett offices couldn't pay out the
money until the time of the men was
o. KID and sent in and goodness knows
how many clerks and departments that
time had to 90 to. That exonerates the
cashier, evidently. He couldn't pay the
men out of his own pocket and he had
to observe the regular orders in the
matter. Yet somewhere, somebody was
to blame and should be criminally prose
cuted
The law of the state stipulates very
plainly that employees shall be paid
when they quit work, but what does
the law amount to, beside a railroads
antiquated System" A gentleman re-
marked to us that the Great Northern's
|
pay system was evidently inauguratej
when they had about twenty miles of
track and had never been changed Be
that as it may the system is absolutely
rotten. There seems to be small chance
of getting justice for these men in their
unorganized state The responsibility
appears to lie somewhere among the
higher-ups and it is about as easy to
reach them as it would be for a common
working man to get private audience
with ]. Pierpont Morgan.
Spokane county tried to reach the
head of the Great Northern, that certain
evidence might be submitted to the
grand jury, and got gold bricked to a
finish.
There is no question but that the law
makes the Great Northern company
liable to criminal prosecution for each
individual case in which an employee is
compelled to wait for his money, but in
the event prosecution were instituted
there would be little consolation for a
busted workingman who would have
lplenty of time to starve to death before
the courts got their machinery fairly
started.
Prosecuting Attorney Bell was ap-
pealed to in one instance and took the
matter up with local railroad officials,
going with them in fact to the railroad
office Mr.. Bell could do no more than
urge haste, however, in the matter of
paying the men as the identity slips
were issued in King county. outside of
his jurisdiction. Labor Commissioner
Hubbard might have invoked the law
lin the case, but contented himself with
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