The daily Nome industrial worker., 1917-02-01
rHl. EyAsi1H CONTRACT.


 The spread Of neonage ia the Far North ana an illuminating example in tho report Of 2 correspondent from Ueertne who tetls ol firm Fh.re coming rom Nome which era- plo.s men fer lea hours paying them three dollars a day The firm mentioned is known Tn those parts as BecaEssea3 and Cordoyado and The employees were brought with other impedimenta rom Nome as partners.
 From the accounts received it would appear that some Nome lawyer drew up a partnership agree ment which was intended primarily 10 evade the eight hour law, Under this wonderful instrument the firm above mentioned takes in employees as partners and agrees to pay them one per cent over and above the wages paid when inc sum of $2o.oo0 is made.
 This contract is not unknown in Nome. and last winter ii enabled quite number 5f Eaywlre outfits to eveda tha eight hour law by getting bunch nG uagua together and pro- missing them a nominal pro rata of the proceeds Of operations.
 One does not expect much better from an outfit such as that referred 10. and still less of that class Of miners who for inc love of a ->+, will sign such a partnership agreement.
 The most important fact in con- nection with such an agreement is that while it is Q fictitious one, en- abling operators to evade the law, and as such not bona fde. it never theless ,au be practiced for the pur- pose of uul1ityiug the eight hour law with impunity and apparent i'm muuiN.
 And furthermore it is only labor laws which are allowed 10 be contra vented in such an outrageous man. ner.
 Frankly when one feels indignant at this deliberate and daring eva sion of the law. although one may feel inclined to berate and denounce the operators who effect such an evasion in their own interest, We can hardly denounce them consistently without paying attention to those who allow this sort of thing. IS this sort of thing has been allowed to go on for over year in the Second Division without any effort made to prevent it.
 The operators who so evade this labor law, probably do not give hang about any law, and only the fear of prosecution prevents them if occasion arose where there was money in it, breaking much more serious codes. They are influenced by the desire of profits. That is their one concern as operators and because they find a number of jobb- itcs willing to labor under peonist conditions they take advantage of such to more prodtablv operate their ground. They are peon buns.
 Ii i- understood that the miners O.. that section of the country where this sort of thing has come in as an irtolorable innovation and where higher wages nave been uniformly paid. are furioualy indignant; they know that such glaring evasion of the law is simply an announcement to ignore the law wholly upon the part of all operators
 In this they are distinctly correct For last year when one operator adopted this fake partnership agree ment. it was genrally adopted by all of those who wanted to ignore as they did the eight hour law.
 We might denounce and attack and berate authorities, officials and operators and scabs until Doomsday without enecting anything more than few ruffied feelings among sinecurists who never want to be troubled with enforcing a labor law.
 But the point is. and it is the only one that until the workers them selves determine that these labor laws shall be enacted and enforced by themselves and there is a strong economic. organization to en- act and enforce such labor matters,