A BRICKLAYER IN SAN FRANCISCO.

Evening Post, Volume LXXIII, Issue 129, 1 June 1907, Page 15

A BRICKLAYER IN SAN FRANCISCO.

Th 3 following extracts from a letter received from Mr. Colin, M'Keuzie, bricklayer, who lately left West Maitland, Nsw South WjiTm for San Franci u co, bears out tlu statements quoted in our Labour column las: v, eck from th; Argonaut: — "I lnve had a' trying time looking, for work. There are a qic-it many buildings going ors, but uleo a great number of men here to do th" work, as many ac forty or iitty on a job, and scores of others looking them up cv;iy day for a enunre to i;ot 11 start. I Irive been on nearly all of them, and the answer is 'Full up; can't make room,' but at last I was fortunate enough to meet .1 fellow from Johannesburg, find ha Ivir given mo a start. Bricklayers here will not give a stranger a. job of they «m possibly help it, keeping jobs open for their mates. It cos.ts bricklayeis twenty-four dollars to join the union, and- they won't 1 let you join straight away, 'i'oii must first get n, job beforo you can become a member. Yon havn to be a citizen, and forswear King and country — so you sec I have come to a beautiful pktc?. Beforo you lift a trowel you have to show your ticket. There aro over throe thoiisind bricklayers hero now, and mor? coming every week, and they are now closing against taking more into che lodpc. Jobs aw all kept waiting for material, "principally limo and cement. I hays not seen a job built with new bricks. All old bricks fvom destroyed buildings ale used, and when tho old bricks begin to get scare? they will not be able to krep cne-quartor of thiN bricklayers going. "Work here is terribly rough. 1 am thoroughly' disgusted at tho styl? in which it is done — jiist thrown togsthcr. Plumbers aro worse off than bricklayers, having to pay forly dollars down, then pasc an examination, when they havo to pay thirty dollars mow, malcinif seventy dollars to join the union. Failing to pass ths examination, they lose twenty dollar,;. There arc s-evenil from Australia, doing labourer's work, not having enough funds to join the union. "I think San Francisco ths most ungodly place a man v. r.6 over in. They work at nearly all factories, iion works, etc., on Sundays, as well as all kinds of amusomonti going on. If any ono enquires ho"/ thingf aro here, I advise one and all not to leave Australia for San Fiancisco. It is no place for Australian;!."