Wheeling majority. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1907-192?, 1914-02-26
Free Employment Bureau. :"

j W 11ALpIOydu0HI bureau.
/ mo Men Wanted
1 AT Lansing, Michigan, the other day
gnese two signs, prominently display.
cd on the front of a rather preteatious
building, arrested my attention.
IL struck me as rather curious that
an institution should advertise that it
was an employment bureau without
employment for anybody. But being
accustomed to all sorts Of freak fea-
lures in capitalism, let it pass.
| A little later, however, made some
interesting discoveries concerning this
particular free employment bureau.
got hold of a copy of the First An
nual Report of the Lansing Manufac-
turers and Jobbers' Club-Free En-
ployment Bureau" and, judging from
this report, this particular employment
bureau has quite a different function
from what one would be led to sup
pose from is name.
For example, the report. frankly
states that "the sending of men to the
factories for employment is not our
main object" What the main object
really is, one is left to Judge from
| otter parts of the report
For example, at one place it states:
We have on file to date, Jan. 1, 1914,
the records of $3.50 men, approximate
ly $500 OF whom were working in our
factories Feb. 1 1913. We also have
list of persons who are said to have
been unfair in their claims for com
pensation, as well as large amount
of other valuable information of a
private nature, all of which is availa-
Bile to our. subscribers Information
of this kind is desired on such sub
jects as our compensation cases, labor
agitators, thievery, dishonesty, garn-
ishees and trickery of any kind. Mem
bers are. requested to report cases of
the character above indicated to the
Bureau at the time of the occurrence
Proper records will be made and the
information kept for future USE
Perhaps this is the main" purpose
of this particular employment bureau
That this bureau anticipates trouble
fro mthe direction of organized labor,
and is preparing to organize it's fore
es to Withstand their demands, is evil
denced b ythe following statements
from the report: while there is a
plentiful supply of unemployed labor
at the present time and the value
of a membership in our Association
may not now be apparent, it is neces-
sary that we continue to conduct the
work of this bureau actively and ag-
gressively, that we may be prepared
to furnish efficient service in the fu-
ture. In the light of past experience,
we little know where Tightening will
strike first, and we must all be banded
together to fight, if necessity compels"
Preparing to Fight Labor
Furthermore, this remarkable insti-
tuition is evidently preparing to take
a hand in future struggles of organic
ed labor. 1t serves notice that it has
already effectively blocked at least one
of the plans of the unions
The report says: During the pro-
gress of the Detroit strike among the
automobile workers, it was thought
that an effort was being made to stir
UP labor troubles in Lansing, and
after careful investigation we dis
covered nothing which indicated any
prospects of disturbance
On Nov f8, the city newspapers, an
nounced that a meeting would be held
in Central Labor Hall for the purpose
of organizing Federal Labor Union,
to be composed of skilled and unslill-
ed laboring men. This meeting was
addressed by Richard l.. Drake of the
Industrial Accident Board.
Three subsequent meetings were
held, but no organization was effected.
A certain bookkeeper, said to be one
of the agitators of the recent corset