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wall - just plain backless benches such as you have in the worst kind of employment offices that you ever saw. I would have expected something kind of spruce and modern like the best employment offices that we conduct. There was a big high platform with a big, strong, heavy panelled wood barricade around it. I asked the conciliator what that was for. “Oh,” he said, “the announcer he gets kind of scared sometimes when they go after him when they don't like the way he calls them for the shifts.” There was a door from this platform by which the announcer could duck down into the office if he wanted to and lock the door behind him. It was a kind of protection to the announcers up there.

There was a big blackboard behind him that was ruled off. On it were the names of the companies and the names of the ships. The custom was that when a ship was known to be coming in, they would post the name of the ship, the probable hour of arrival at the dock, and the number of men wanted in the different categories. Then the men would come up and sign on for that.

To my surprise the hall was not very full of men. I mean there were perhaps not more than twenty or thirty men hanging around. There were two calls on the board for ships coming in scmetime during that day. I said to Tom