The Bismarck tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, N.D.) 1916-current, 1932-10-03
WHY? OH WHY? OH WHY?
Bismarck, N. D..
Sept. %, 1882.

Sept. ~, 1SS1.
Editor, Tribune:
We are living through a depression
that tops anything in history. Unem-
ployment also excels anything in his
tory. In fact, there are many things
nowadays that climax anything that
has taken place heretofore. Even our
state capitol burned couple of years
back, which was also something that
had never taken place before. After
a battle between Bismarck and James
town as to who should have the honor
Of being the capital city of North Da-
kota. Jamestown was finally showed
under with votes for Bismarck In the
March election and Of course lost the
battle. Ever since then our hope has
been that local conditions would i'm
prove when the construction of the
new state house got under way.
To date the contract has been let
and the hole representing the base
ment has been dug and that is about
all that can be said The contractors
have moved to Bismarck but forgot
their building equipment at home.
They hired few men to spade away
some dirt In order to pour concrete
for footings. It has taken nearly a
month to complete the holes for the
footings Of the building. Only a few
men were employed, with all the way
from so to 200 men waiting on the
capitol grounds to 60 to work. When
they finally got ready to pour little
concrete. they realized that in their
equipment a concrete mixer was also
necessary but that it had not even
been thought Of They. in order to
save the day. had to borrow small
mixer from the state training school
at Mandan in order to get started. If
a concrete mixer had been shipped
from Chicago at the time this one
arrived on the scene here, it could also
be mixing cement by this time. The
writer is on the capitol grounds every
day and sees the progress made, to-
gether with the rest of the people up
there. Hiring and firing seems to
progress more than anything else.
There is one man that will not be
fired and he is the son Of an appoin-
tive state official. This young man
had been hanging around expecting
a hand-out job, but evidently it did
not show up quick enough, so on Sat-
urday morning, Sept. "a, 1892, his
father took the son over to one of the
foremen and introduced him. where
upon this foreman shakes hands with
the young fellow and Immediately
pulls book out of his pocket and
writes something on piece Of paper
and hands it to the boy, who in turn
rushes to the contractors office and
gets checked in and goes to work. If
any man would even attempt to get
away with as little work on that job
as this fellow does. he would get his
time at once. This is the rottenest
piece of work that possibly could take
place. The writer witnessed this per-
Torrance personally so seeing is be-
lieving. There are lots of honest,
hard working men who appear on the
scene every day ready to go to work
as they have families to support. but
do you suppose they can hold down a
job? There Is reason why.
There are too many good men fired
on this job and progress is too slow.
Too many foremen, straw-bosses.
time-keepers, etc., for the number OF
laborers on the Job. To make long
story short. there is too much STALL
ing around" There Is a "nigger in
the woodpile' somewhere. Everybody
can't be dumb or wrong. A project of
this kind should certainly progress a
pace or two faster than this one is
doing. Certainly there is no progress
here.
The cornerstone is to be laid on
Oct. 8 and not a speck of anything to
lay 1t on so far. It seems to the
writer that "sky hooks" to hang it on
will be the only thing to save the day
now until the foundation can be laid.
At the rate it is going now it will
be two years or more before the cor
nerstone can be put in place. Why
not get down to business? Why not
pull these fellows off the job who be-
long to this corporation and put on
men who are worthy Of work and
have families to support? >,
Keep them on the Job and let them
do a days work in . day and not make
the project q slave driving piece Ct
work. and local conditions will be
benefited. The public can see plai,,l,
what Is going ON. The w'cel cannct