A Fraudulent Promise of Work
Employment agents defend their reputation after sending laborers on a fruitless, costly trip to British Columbia.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
Grover & Day, the employment agents mentioned in the Post-Intelligencer as having sent five laborers upon a wild goose chase to British Columbia for employment, take exceptions to the statement that they could show Chief Jackson no authority for sending the men up to the Nakusp & Slocan railway for employment. They claim that they merely could not show written authority, and disclaim any underhanded work or sending the men on a false order. In a letter written by Mr. Grover, one of the firm, the explanation is given that D. A. McGilvray was the contractor for thirty miles of work upon the Nakusp & Slocan railroad. J. H. O'Leary & Co. had a sub-contract. They claim the laborers were ordered by O'Leary to be sent to Vancouver for $12.50 per day, but that confusion arose when McGilvray disavowed the order. The agents offered to refund the office fee but not the fare the men had already paid.
“The men would be foolish to accept our proposition.”
This dispute over recruitment fees and false promises of work on the railroads mirrors the ongoing struggle for labor protections in the gig economy. The frustration of these men, sent across borders for phantom jobs, is a precursor to modern debates over predatory staffing agencies.
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