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Show I MAYRGANIZE I Federation Will Take I Them in. More Than One Thousand Employed by Smelters and Railroads. I Satisfied With Hours and Wrtges, but v Do Not "Want to Pay for-tlio Privilege of Working. There are indications that thofriction which has existed for Ihe past two years between the Americans and Greeks employed at the smelters and mines will bo settled In a manner satisfactory satis-factory to both nationalities. ' The Greeks are said to be in a mood to identify themselves with the Western Federation of Miners, and the Federation, Federa-tion, realizing that the Greeks are here to stay, will receive them as members. The question was discussed at the recent re-cent meeting of the State Federation of Labor in Ogden, and there is reason to believe, has engaged the attention of the miners' convention In session here this week. Wages Are Satisfactory. The foreign laborers seem satisfied with the wages paid by the smelters and the hours of labor, but there is much complaint over the manner in which employment must be obtained. They claim that Jobs must "be secured through agents, who charge from $5 to $20 for their services, This? is how the system is described: At least $5 must be paid cash down. If the laborer, after five months, does not pay the remaining 510 or $15 he is discharged at once. Nor is that all; men get employment for a few days, are let out and have to pay the agent's fee all over again. The cost of securing secur-ing new Jobs Is, they allege, sometimes as much as half of their wages for a year. President Charters's Opinion. A. W. Charters, president of the State Miners' union, who has looked into the Greek labor question very closely, says: "I have been told repeatedly by the Greeks that they were forced to pay extravagant ex-travagant fees to their agents to get a chance to work. When work was scarce and many men were idle the fees ran as high as $20 for a Job, but when there is a large demand for labor $5 is considered con-sidered sufficient I know positively that representations can be made by the agent which lead to the discharge of any Greek he may single out, and that a Greek cannot secure w'ork at the smelters without the recommendation of the agent. While the Greeks receive the snmo wages as Americans from the company, they receive much less after settling up with the man who gets them their Jobs. There used to be a rebate taken out pf each man's check for the agent, but this practice has not been continued in the past few months. The Greeks are certainly very bitter over the manner in which they are required to seek employment Any Greek can Join the Miners' union if he wants to. In fact we have several Greeks already In the Murray union." Railroad Laborers Complain. The Greeks on the railroads make Bimilar complalntB. As their pay is less from $1 50 to $1.75 per day they are less liable to stand the tax Imposed ijmi upon tnem. They say that, after thev j have bought and paid for a Job, the 1 agents get $1 per month from the rall-roads rall-roads out of their checks. A typical story is related by a railroad laborer: "Some time ago I paid $12 to get work and was to pay $1 out of each j month's check besides. I got a Job j by this means on a section near Rlver-1 Rlver-1 ton. I worked eighteen days at $1.60 per day. I was discharged for some reason, I do not know why. The $1 was taken out of my check. When 1 applied for another Job $15 was demand-ed; demand-ed; then it was reduced to $10. I man-1 man-1 aged to get $6, which I paid to an agent. H He did not get me any work, and re-fused re-fused to return my money when I got a Job on my own account." What tlie Man. Got. Here is a table showing what the man got out of his wages: Hj Earned by eighteen days' labor at $1.60 $23.00 Paid for tho Job ,$12.00 Deducted from check 1.00 Hospital feo for month GO Total 13.50 Had left for himself $15.30 Another Greek says he paid $10 each H for three Jobs, all in less than six months. The first Job, he says, lasted 1 three months at $1.75 per day. At the H second he worked a few weeks and was laid off. He was idle fifteen days be- fore getting the third. Some of the railroad laborers com-1 com-1 plain that they have had to pay for 1 transportation which was issued by H the railroads free. 1 It 1b largely to escape this system 1 that the Greeks ore seriously consid-erlng consid-erlng the formation of a union so that they can deal directly with their em-ployers, em-ployers, or, at least, select their own intermediaries. H Says Greeks Are Contented. I Louis Skllrls, a Greek who supplies much labor to the smelters and rall-roads, rall-roads, asserts that tho complaints of the men grossly exaggerate tho facts. "It is true," he said, "that I get $1 per month from the check of each H Greek employed on the railroad, but in H return for this I Interpret for them, H write their letters, take care of their H money and do worlcthat I would not H do for a single individual for $5 per H month. I do not charge them any-1 any-1 thing for getting them Jobs, but some-H some-H times they arc so thankful for what I H have done for them that they come H around In four or five months and 1 hand me $5 or $6 as a gift. There is no H dissatisfaction among the Greeks. They H are pleased and contented. H "When I find a man who Is trying to H stir up trouble I tell them to discharge H him. I protect my countrymen against H agitators. The companies formerly B hired thelc Greeks direct, but Jtbere were so many misunderstandings and so much trouble that they made a contract con-tract with mo to hire all their Greek labor. Thov will not hire a man unless un-less I send him. "The Greeks do not need a union. They have a society that loolts after them when they are sick and buries them when they are dead." At Outs With the Doctor. Dr. P. G. P. Attlas, a Greek physician physi-cian from Denver, insists that Skllris is no bettor than the other labor agents and that he is constantly In receipt of complaints against Skllrls. Dr. Attlas expresses himself as heartily In favor of the proposed organization. Skllrls retorts that Attlas Is desirous of gaining control of the Greeks and Is wroth because he, Skllrls, will not employ em-ploy him as a physlciun for the labor- C More than 1000 Greeks aro working In the smelters and on tho railroads in Utah. They come In gangs from all parts of the United States as fast as they are wanted, and the officers of the unions say that many of them come from Greece virtually as contract laborers. As a class they are very Industrious In-dustrious and saving, and the police blotter has yet to record the arrest of a Greek for drunkenness. |