The Fargo forum and daily republican. [volume] (Fargo, N.D.) 1894-1957, 1911-07-26

meet them because immigrant trains
are sidetracled for other traffic. Upon
their arrival they have been turned
over to private expressmen and cab
men who overcharged and misdelivered
them. I remember one little Irish girl
who started on wagon with a group
OF other immigrants for the south side.
After going some distance the express
man discovered she had a north side
address After charging her 81 he put
her of the wagon and left her. We
have several cases OF men and women
who were abandoned by drivers and
the addresses OF their friends not re-
turned to them, so that they were abb
solutely stranded.
In order to prevent this, the Immi-
grants Protective league in co-opera-
ton with the Chicago & Western Indi-
ana r. r. maintains a building across
the street from the Dearborn street
station, where more than three times
as many immigrants arrive than at any
other station In Chicago, the number of
the expressman, cabman, or messenger
boy to whose care they are given. and
the charge which is to be made, are
carefully recorded. Immigrants are
given card in their own language
telling them to complain to the league
of any attempt to overcharge or mis-
treat them.
Although the league met with much
opposition from the cabmen and ex-
pressmen when this system was in
augurated, immigrants who arrive at
this station are now checked up and
sent to their friends in the safest and
cheapest way
The immigrant complains Of nothing
more bitterly than of the treatment he
receives at the hands Of employment
agents. The immigrant, forced to OBJ
tain work through the private employ
ment agent, usually suffers in one OF
three ways: d) he is overcharged for
! the services rendered: (2) the work
fobtained Is not as represented. (3) he
fails to get the work, or 1t lasts only
few days, leaving him at distance
from the city market. To remedy the
| first, the strengthening and consolidat-
Ing of the three competing state Free
Employment agencies was advocated IN
the hope that they will be able to
handle the gang work" which has been
solely I'm the hands Of the labor agents
The league was invited to meet with
the secretary of the State Bureau OF
Labor the inspector of private agencies
in Chicago, and the Legislative Com
mittee of the Employment Agents as
ISOLATION Of the city. At these con-
ferences a bill was agreed upon which
provided that contracts on which the
= immigrants are shipped out of Chicago
shall be in the language understood by
the immigrant and shall contain a full
| statement of the rate of wages, kind
and premanency of the work, and the
! full name and address of the person
authorizing his employment. This bill
was passed and its enforcement is
making the remedies for misrepresent-
| alton and fraud more available upor
the immigrants return to Chicago.
With the employment of the men put
I on a sounder basis the problem Of the
laborer would be by no means solved
4 Generally speaking the camps in which
they work ore most demoralizing Il
ltheSmena Te accomplish any real i'm,
| provenent In this situation some or.
| sanization must be constantly In thu
/ field investigating complaints and call
| ing the attention of railroad officials
and the public generally to the need o.
La thorough reform of these camps. Spe.
cial study Of private bankers, steam.
ship agents, and notaries public In oui
1 foreign colonies must also be made
from time to time.