The daily Nome industrial worker., 1916-05-26
THE WRONG ADDRESS?

The Industrial Worker received a very interesting and highly appreci- ated ccm mmunication f. lom the self styled Slavic Mining Co. w;.ercin q very fine dump and the pumping station at tho Bessia is depicted ana also an enlarged photographic re- production of the following news note that appeared in the IndustriaI Worker:
 "Ho for the tewnty rour day! Beckstad, Springstein, Cordovado and eleven Slavic partrCrs of the Billy Moore ccltract variety, are taking out pay dirt at tue rate of twenty hours per day, of twenty four hours. TEe other four hours are passed in admiri1g the partner ship agreements. This thing is gett- ing interesting.
 When this was received, tic h. 6uotciel Worker thought that it was real kind and thoughtful of the Slayic Mining Co.,, end it's sincCre5t compliments were truly appreciated, but there has occurred al after thought to the effect that the com munication reached another than that fer whom it waa intcnd2d.
 It appagr3 ts Che Industrial Worker that the Slavic Mining Go. to use their owa Identification meant thst tl.s should reach not this office but the District Attorney in order that taat official might ro- alize how successfully undcr . partnership agreement tho eight hour law in this is reduced to q nullity.
 It is with pleasure therefore that the attention of that official ie drawn by the Iudu7trial Worker tc these most successful mining opera, tious where there is TO such tAing as the eight hour day under ground except by accident.
 In doing sc, may C hope be ex- pressed that no untoward accident may occur to any of the 'partners SO that suit fer damages may not result in any unseemly uncloaking of the real conditions of working in that mine It i3 quite unneces' sary to point out either to the Slavic Mining Go. or the District Attorney how embarrassing it must have been to officials who fail to take cognizance of such operations when such at one timG threatened to have an airing in the courts and the bona or mala fides of such partnership agreement YVES to be determined upon under tho law. And it is of course fully understood that that embarrassment would not have been lessened by the fact that such partnership agreement by those who intended to use it for the set purpose of law evasion, should have at ono time received official sanction.
 The prosperous operation of the mining company which misdirecte1 it's communication to this office is understood. The successful evasion of the eight hour law is not blamed upon them. If they successfully get away with it, to use popular and successful official expression that's their business. They are interested in getting as much as they possibly can out of their en- ployees-we means partncrs-and that an eight hour law should not be allowed to stand in the way thereof is to be understood as 1n- teliigiblo and reasonable from the employers point of view.
 No employer need mistake the position of this paper. The Indus- trial Worker fully realizes that the employers will not enforce volun- tarily any labor law where they can evade it. They would be foolish as employers if they did They are not in business for their health. even if some officials are in office for ethe purpose of ornamenting such positions. The enforcement of this law lies with the workers who ought to sec that the men sworn to enforce the laws do their duty in this regard.
 That there are discretionary pow CTS in the matter with officials in