From time to time reports have reached this newspaper about some of our countrymen who have come to this city in search of work and who have become victims of racketeering employment agencies. The system of asking money for a job which is never secured for the applicant is not confined to Chicago neither is it news to us. The question is that the "victim" pays for a job which he may or may not get, the latter case being the more common.

We recommend that those who might be seeking work through employment agencies, make their choice with the utmost circumspection so as not to become victims of a fraud. The only way to put a stop to these wretched swindles is to stay away from the places where they are practiced. Applicants should pay for employment after they have obtained it.

We do not wish to say that this shameful practice is carried out by all the employment agencies in the city. There are many places where fraud is not perpetrated and where promises are fulfilled. Of these agencies one is located at 631 West Madison Street, a Mexican one which is operated honestly, and which carries out what it promises. There are others of this kind but it is evident that they are not numerous.

We should stay away from those places where they promise much and give nothing.

It was not long ago that a group of Mexicans lost money in dealing with one of these fraudulent agencies. All the efforts of our countrymen to recover the money which they had paid for employment they did not get, were in vain.

It is evident that some of the employment agencies have studied the game to the end and that whatever money gets into their hands, is kept by them.

Before registering at one of these employment agencies, make first an investigation about its integrity and then pass your findings on to other countrymen. To go blindly ahead and pay is the worst thing one can do.