Alexandria gazette. [volume] (Alexandria, D.C.) 1834-1974, 1916-03-31
=Doherty Says His Depart
1nent Will Ask Removal
Of Officers
ATTACKS DECISIONS
Commissioner Tells Of Prosecutions
Where Offenders Have Been Dis.
laissed in Courts.

Richmond, March 31-When the
custer law becomes effective next
June, said Commissioner Doherty, Of
the State Bureau of Labor, yester-
day, his department will be furnished
with an instrument for securing the
enforcement Of labor laws which
have in the past been fiagrantly ignor-
ed.
This department has time and
again been the victim of decisions
which were an outrage on the law"
said Mr. Doherty. eve have come
into court with cases in which the evil
dence was clearly against the defend
ants, and yet the parties charged with
violating the law were discharged
with reprimand.
I'm one city we prosecuted fifteen
firms and individuals in the Mayors
court. The Mayor said from the
bench that he knew every single one
of the defendants was guilty. Never
theless, he discharged them all with
q warning not to break the law again.
One of the defendants, as he left the
courtroom, said that he would not
promise even that.
Hereafter we propose to follow a
different policy. When we bring a
case into court and produce conclu.
siSe evidence Of ia@ Violation and the
court refuses to sustain us by i'm.
posing the penalty provided by law.
it will become the duty fthis bu.
reau to proceed under the custer law
to have this officer removed. There
need be no mistake about it. We pro-
pose to take steps to secure the re.
moval Of every officer who clearly
shows his disposition to evade the re-
sponsibility imposed on him by the
labor laws"
Mr.. Doherty classed the custer law
with the most important measures
passed by the recent General Assem-
bly, in the aid of the Department OF
Labor. While the distinctly depart
mental bills enlarged the supervl-
sorry powers Of the department, the
custer bill, he said, did what was even
more essential--it placed at the dis.
posal of this department law which
will make it much easier to enforce
all of the labor regulations now on
the statute books.
Among the important measures in
troduced and enacted at the instance
of the State Labor Bureau was the
Willis employment agency bill, which
undertakes to throw safeguards
around the unemployed by holding to
a stricter accountability the. agencies
to which they apply for help. 1t has
,been.:a common complaint in the past
that agencies have sent men to dis
tant cities to fill positions which fail
to materialize. In such cases it was
hard to secure redress, and the NC
tim had his trouble and expense for
his pains.
The new law requires that each
agency shall keep register in sub.
stantial book, in the form prescrib.
ed by the Commissioner of Labor, in
which shall be entered the age, sex,
nativity, trade or occupation, name
and address of every applicant. 1t is
required also to enter in register
the name and address of every per-
son who shll make application for
help or servants and the nature Of
the employment for which such help
IS wanted. Such registers, it is pro.
vided, shall be open at all reasonable
hours to the inspection and examina'
tion of the Commissioner Of Labor OF
his deputies, and shall be kept in ink.
S'G'' = ,-H .
1t is expected by this system oi
registration to reduce to minimum
the complaints arising from the ship
ping of an applicant to distant poin
where no employment is secured
Agencies, will be required to have OF
file written orders for the help the,
'
undertake to supply
Another section Of the bin prohi
bits annagency from charging . re
gistration fee larger than So, and re