Daily Kennebec journal., 1911-03-08


now move .hat this bill be indefinitely
postponed. and upon that I would like
to say :; word or two. BEFORE tl:is laW
was passed. in 1907. people that re,
auirad men for the woods, up in TIE
northern part of the state, or on t::s
drive. would send to Bangor. Rostor
or salem. OF any of those cities. and
hire anywhere from twenty-five tt
seve nty-Gve men. They would ia.
the employment agent q dollar they
| would pay their expenses up into
northern Maine ON the railroad al ar
expense Of from five to ten dollars;
they would pay their hotel expenses
and they would hire teams to take
them into the woods at an expense OF
two or three dollars. And those men
would begin to drop off from the
teams; they would skip out to the
railroad, and what few they got uI
into the woods would be nearly bare
| foote1 and scantily clothed: they
| would furnish them with footwear and
| clothing, and by the time they got
ready to go to work the next morning
there would be an expense Of from
ten to twenty dollars on each man.
| They would start them out in tho
| morning from the camp, some would
get into the woods, but some would
go to town and that was the last of
! them. They had no way of getting
any Of these expenses back. In 1907
this law WAS passed. And the law is
that one of those men that skipped
out after he received his advance
could be arrested, and unless he
| ,.n,,l1 ri1. 70 b..
fine and expenses lie could be put in
jail
had one instance of this in my ,ASn
experience. Before this law was
passed T sent to Bangor and had Mr.
BraeG Fire eight men for me. He
brought them to me. Tho next morn
ing they were put an the team and
started thirty-three miles to my camp.
I never saw one Of them after they
started. They got in about twenty
miles-I won't call any names. nut an
other man had a camp up there ard
he met the team and hired those men.
was out about $500 and had to
stand ii.
This law has worked we'll and has
hurt no one except men who do not
want to do right Anyone who is will
ing 10 do right it has no effect upon.
1t does work a hardship on the men
who are driving the rivers. hauling
logs. or in the mills in the northern
part Of this state who advance eX
pens IS t. these men, when they jump
their jobs.
In 149. the gentleman who intro
duccd this bin, tried to get this Law
repealed and it was turned dowi. in
the conmittet. This year he brought
it up again and succeeded in working
it through the committee and House.
and y comes up here today.
! hope that the Senate will agree
with me in the indefinite postpone
nlent o. this bill.
Mr.. BLANCHARD of Franklin-Mr.
President: Up in our county we have
little different experience. We hire
thesn neen and they will take their
winter supply of clothing. anywhere
froIa ten tn twenty or twenty-five dol
lars. ard the next day they skip over
tC another camp and commence to
work there. They are sharp enough
about collecting their pay and YOU
cant collect anything off Of them.
As | understand this law, there is
no Punishment connected with it un-
less il is shown there was plain in
tent 20 6efraud. If man is taken
sick l do not think the law can be
enforced against him. as l understand
it. II is simply protection to hon
est employers of labor against the
small percent of what We call buns
and thieves.
certainly hope that the bill will
be indefinitely postponed.
Mr.. HARRINGTON OF Kennebec-
Mr.. President: I think it is best to
briefly explain to the Senators what
took place before the committee on
this bill. and upon what they based
their report therefore think it is
only fair that this body should know
what the law is that we are talking
about. That law reads as follows:
Section I. Whoever enters into an
agreement to labor for another in any
numbering operation or in driving logs
and in consideration thereof receives
any advance of goods. money or trans
portation, and unreasonably and with
intent to defraud fails TO enter into
said employment as agreed. and Ia
Dor for sufficient length of time to
reimburse HIS eIhplosFt iot Sdiu Htu-
vanccs and expenses of transportation,
shall be punished by fine of not cx-
cce1ing ten dollars or by imprison-
mcnt not exceeding thirty days.
Section >. Judges Of municipal
courts and trial justices shall haze
jurisdiction of the offence described in
this Act
Now. so far as ! have been able TO
hear what has been said. this mo-
ton seems to be supported by newly
discovered evidence. certainly n"th-
ing of that kind appeared before the
committee This bill was introduced
early in the session. a long notice was
given and hearing was had But the
parties who appear now in opposition
to the bill did not appear before that
committee. The question of the con-
stitutionality of. the law was raised:
sub committee consisting of Judge
Peters, Mr.. Wheeler and another
member of the committee, examined
the thing and they decided that the
law was unconstitutional because it
created peonage and condition OF in-
voluntary servitudc. The report of that