The Alaska sourdough. [volume] (Douglas, Alaska) 1911-1911, 1911-11-07

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veys the notion Of polished rascal
not above sticking knife in your
back.
Poor wops! How far they Rave fall
len from their name! Until very recent
years employment agente used to col
lect fees from them and send them to
places where there was no work. And,
in spite of stringent laws, there are
still parts Of this country where it is
ing, one going, and one at work. All
three are robbed at every turn But
mostly, labor is hard to get in isolated
camps, and the contractors are anious
to keep the workers. They have even
gone so far as to force them to work.
A gang of italian laborers was sent
out Of New York in April 1900, to
what was described to them as farm
labor; but when they arrived at their
destination, in North Carolina, they
found themselves in construction
camp of the South & Western Railway.
Once there, they saw nothing for it
but to work; tunneling, however, final
ly palled on them, and large party
started to leave. The camp sup3rln
tendent, having no other means Of
stopping them, called upon the sheriff
Of Mcdowell county to help him bring
them back. Ambuscaded on the road,
as they were leaving, the Italians open
FIRE on the sheriff and his posse, and
two men were killed. For that, nine
of the Italians remained months in
Jail; but the justice of the peace held
that there was not sufficient cause fer
arresting any of the party that had
made up the ambuscade. In the trial
of the Italians it was brought out that
this was not the first time the camp
superintendent had gone out and driven
back laborers at the point of the pis-
toll
A state of peonage also eisted. at one
back of Valdez, in Alaska Men sent
in from Seattle were worked just
enough to keep their board bills paid,
and, as this amount was deducted from
their pay checks, they had no money
until the end of the season, when they
were permitted to do enough to buy
their passage out again. For their
summer s work they had absolutely
nothing.
In recent years the cleperest schemes
evolved for keeping wops in bondage
has been done away with in most
stats. Instead Of paying their men
when the money was due, contractors
used to issue drafts on themselves dat
ed several months ahead These were
not negotiable, and, if the men left,
they had to travel back to the contrac-
tor IS office or sell the drafts at dis
count Of from twenty per cent up, In
California, where this abuse proved the
most obnoxious, one large firm issued
drafts payable year ahead, and cash.
ed them on the spot at discount of
fifty per cent.
It took tragedy to put an end to
this practice:
A laborer employed by the Bray
Brothers Crushing Rock company Of
San Francisco received one Of these
drafts May 1S, 1909 and could not see
why he had to wait until July 10 for
his money. On the first Of July, when
he thought he had waited long enough
he went to the pretty young woman who
stood between the members Of the firm
and their enraged employees, and de-
manded what was due him; when she
refused, he shot her. The death Of the
girl brought about the enacting Of
law in California regulating pay days.
Without this, the evil might nave -four
ished indefinitely; bill covering the
point had, in fact, been shelved at the
preceding session Of the Legislature.