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Wednesday, October 3, 2018

Loafer Law to Force Store Store Clerks, Cooks in Private Homes, Bowling Alley Employees, Etc., to Become Laborers in War Industries, 1918

“Loafer Law to Be Enforced,” from the French Broad Hustler, Oct. 3, 1918

Chief of the Local U.S. Labor and Employment Service Bureau Enforcing “Work or Fight” Law

Charlotte—The “raid” made on certain East Trade street pool rooms, restaurants and barbershops by the police during which 20 negro loafers were taken in tow and told that they must either become acquainted with some essential work at Camp Greene or elsewhere at once or have warrants sworn out for their arrest, apparently has had its effect on the “loafers” in that section of the city.
E.N. Farris, chairman of the community labor board, and V.J. Brawley, chief of the local United States labor and employment service bureau, were both strong in their denunciations of the “slacking loafers” of Charlotte and stated that the raid was only the beginning of the fight to make, with force if necessary, this class of citizens do their share toward the winning of the war.

Mr. Farris said, “There is an immediate and imperative demand for laborers at both Camp Greene and Camp Bragg, at Fayetteville, and it is the patriotic duty of all men, knowing themselves to be at work in non-essential industries, to offer their services to Uncle Sam for government work.

“Ample warning has been given both employers and employes of non-essential industries and the time has come when action must be taken to awaken the ‘loafers’ to the fact that they must go to work as the war industries are actually suffering and war work being delayed because of the lack of labor.

“It is obviously wrong to have able-bodied men continuing to sell candies and cigars, serve drinks in soda dispensaries, shine shoes, cook in private families, working in bowling alleys, pool rooms, dance academies, etc., when there is real men’s work to be done. In most of the cases I have mentioned women can do the work as well as men and the time has come when it is up to the employer to so arrange his business, in conformity to the essential employment regulations, as quickly as possible before information is filed with the war labor policies board.”

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