HARDWOOD RECORD 



25 



:iliout $32 per month. We are uow rejiioing wages to $1.SJ per 

 lay ami $i per week for board, ami issuing slips to employes. A 

 arbou of the same is kept in the hiring book. You can readily 

 -I'O that any kind of an arrangement eau be entered into with an 

 .inploye who is not asked to sign the slip. If you ask him to sign, 

 lie will refuse. Whatever understanding we have in regard to 

 wages and serviecs he is to render is written on this slip. 



I wish to say right here that laws are such that you are 



ompelled to ^)ay au employe what you hire him lor, provided he 



works at the .job you hire him to do. Any change of jobs makes a 



ihange of wages, proviileil the employer so wishes. If a man is 



hired at t'2li per month to swamp, and he is put top loading, he 



an collect wages of a top loader; or if he is hired al $40 per 



iionth to top load, and he is unable to perform that work, you 



an put him at swamping, and he can collect only wages that you 



lie paying for such work. Again, if you hire a man by the month, 



:;niier the law you are compelled to give him employment for a 



month and he is compelled to work a month, provided he does as 



he agrees. If you fail to give him employment for that length of 



time, he can sue for a full month and collect. 



In hiring under two wages I find there is a gooil chance to pa.v a 

 i'.ior man off at the lowest wage. Again, the question must be 

 listinctl.v kejit in mind, of paying a man full value for his hire. 

 I f you pa.v a good man good wages, he will always like to come 

 I'ack and work for you. It doesn't look well or work out well to 

 pay the same wages to all kinds of laborers — that is, pay the poor 

 • iiiplo.ve the same as you pa.y the good. Treat the men on the 

 - |uare when they treat you on the square, and you be the first 

 til give this good treatment. If the.v try to give poor service, come 

 back with poor pay and a law suit if necessary. If an employe 

 threatens to sue, I tell him to sue, and I fight my case on general 

 principles. Very few sue, as they know I will fight. 



Right here comes the question as to who is going to settle with 

 tliese men. The superintendent will have to attend to some of 

 this. Unless a foreman has a very strong back, he will break 

 down if he attempts to do it all. You might say it is impossible 

 for the superintendent to be on the .job all the time. I will admit 

 this to be a fact, Imt he can arrange his office and other things 

 so that he can help some, and if it comes to a showdown, he eau 

 give the foreman a certain amount of responsibility; but the 

 greater part should be assumed by the woods superintendent when 

 it comes to settling the low wage question. This can be done in 

 conjunction with the timekeeper and office force. Men get down 

 on the fellow who advocates low wages, and as the foreman is 

 with them all the time it is sometimes hard on him. 



We always aim to construct the office with a desk in front, 

 running across so that the men cannot come into the main office. 

 If you do not keep them out, there will be a bunch in at times 

 and they will sit around the foreman or timekeeper, look over his 

 shoulder at the books, keep talking to him, and there will be 

 either a row or the foreman will have to pay them off at any wages 

 the.v demand. Often they have to allow two, three or four days 

 e.xtra. The idea is to get rid of them any old way. You must 

 alwaj's bear in mind that a camp clerk or woods foreman is up 

 against a hard proposition when he comes to settling with men. 

 It is a good plan for large loggers to have an officer around the 

 camps all the time, for protection in some instances. Y'ou may 

 laugh at this, but nevertheless it is a fact. 



I don't believe it pays to have regular pay days in the woods, 

 for the reason that it does not work out well. Sometimes you 

 have a good man and want to pa.v him ^o additional, liut if vou 

 have regular j>ay days the men would receive their time checks 

 and you would have to pay the poor man about the same as you 

 do the good, and you will find in the end that it raises the wages 

 considerablv and makes a great deal more dissatisfaction than 

 pa.ving the other wa.v. 



We aim to send mone.v to wives and families of married men 

 just as fast as it is earned, if they so desire, but we tr.v to size 

 up the young fellows. If they are in the habit of coming to the 

 office and asking for $2 or $.i as fast as it is earned, we head 



them off on the start by asking, "What do you want to do with 

 it?" If they cannot give a good explanation, we refuse to giv^. 

 them mone.v. If they don't like it and quit, we give them what 

 thev have coming and cnt down the wages. If all would do this 

 it would stop some of the booze fighting and dissatisfaction. 



I usuall.v cut every man on his wages who jumps' camp. If he 

 wants to go I say, "What is the matter?" or "I have no man to 

 take your place," or "You agreed to stay until camp breaks and 

 I want you to do as agreed." He, however, wants to go so I tell 

 him to take some money, go and have a good time, then come back. 

 They often do this. By so doing you hold your good men. If a 

 man still insists, I usuall.y cut him $5 per month. This has an 

 effect of holding him. Fifty days is long enough for men to sta.y 

 in the w'oods. Let them lay off a few days and the.v will work 

 better when they come back. This holds good with the foreman 

 as well as with the men. 



Have plentv of straw bosses. Pay them from $.j.00 to $10.00 

 more per month and they will work with their crew. If any of 

 these foremen, straw bosses or men want to go home or on a 

 drunk, you always have some left. Make the men understand 

 that you want to feed, pay and treat them well. If they try any 

 slippery tricks cut the wage. If you do this, things will run 

 prett}' smooth unless you get a camp inspector or disturber in 

 the crew. Just as soon as you find this out let him go. Usually 

 some of the men will go with him. If you are on your job you 

 can smell this in the air. The little birds whisper it to you. 

 Xow comes the time when your spinal column needs to be 

 braced up. 



I assume the position that if a man wants to get drunk he has 

 a perfect right to get drunk, provided he does not do it on our 

 works and to our injury. He comes and asks for $20 or $25 and 

 we ask him what he wants it for. If he sa.vs it is for a good time 

 we sa.y, "Here is your $20; go, have your good time, but stay 

 there until you are through, for if you come back to camp drunk, 

 we will fine you $10." I want to say right here, I have had these 

 notices up in camp and have fined men as high as $.50 for creat- 

 ing disturbance in camp. In one instance this was done when 1 

 was logging at Frederic, Polk County. A man got drunk and 

 chased the cook out of camp with a knife. As far as law- was 

 concerned in that locality, it was practically out of the question. 

 You will find in these small towns that it is a pretty hard proposi- 

 tion to do much with lumberjacks on the law question, and the 

 onl.y course to pursue is to take the law in your own hands by 

 holding on to the money. It hurts the lumberjack, and I find it is 

 a good w'aj' to make him fall in line, provided you have the sand 

 to do it. 



Advancing fares is another verv important question. Stop this 

 advancing fares for employment agencies and labor. If men have 

 not money to pay their own fares, you will find the.v will take 

 the blind baggage or tie pass, and in the end they will be very 

 careful to save a little mone.v to get out where the job is. To 

 advance $500 in fares and not receive over $100 back is a foolish 

 proposition. In the spring you will have a nice big warehouse 

 full of old dirty baggage. Employment agencies hold up before 

 vour eyes the fact that the other fellow is advancing fares and 

 if you want any men you will have to do the same. This is all 

 nonsense. There are only so many men to go around and if one 

 camp gets filled up there will be enough for the other fellow; or if 

 there are not enough to go around by doing business this way, 

 there would not be enough by doing business the other wa.v. If 

 we expect to do our logging in the future by advancing fares 

 through employment agencies, .you may as well make up .vour 

 mind that it will cost $1.00 per thousand extra to log. I believe 

 emplo.vers and the laws of Wisconsin are as much to blame for 

 the labor conditions today as the employe. Men usually go South 

 during winter, as weather is warmer and gives a better chance 

 to pla.y the dead beat, and our laws uphold them. Lumbermen 

 should spend $100 in advertising everv fall or at any time labor 

 is scarce. For instance, if yon want 100 men, advertise for 500. 

 Try it. 1 will venture to sav you will get swamped with inquiries. 



