The Bennington banner. [volume] (Bennington, Vt.) 1858-1894, 1891-07-24
UNEmPLoYED woRKINamEN.

The fact that there are many able
bodied men, who while willing and anx-
iOus TO work are unable TO find employ
ment and are for that reason in want Of
the necessaries Of life has caused much
discussion among those Interested in tho
labor problem. Various explanations Of
the phenomenon have been advanced and
some who could not explain It have gone
so far as TO deny its existence and insist
upon it that any one who is really anx-
ious TO work can at any time readily find
work to do. Others acknowledge that
men who want work are sometimes un-
able to find it, but maintain that this
state of affairs is necessary for various
reasons, some Of which are very curious.
Mr.. Edward Atkinson, the well known
economist, is one of those who seem to
think that opportunities for work are
not really lacking, and that the stories
told about the large number of men out
of employment. are without substantial
foundation. AS proof of this he relates
how sudden snow-storm in Boston
brought demand for men to clear the
street railway lines, and advertisements
in the city papers brought something
less than three thousand men for the
work. He evidently regards this as
/ glOOl DOclbANO llldb LOt bAliOO bAAOuohhn
men had been unavoidably out of work
in Boston at that time. conclusion
which was somewhat hasty, inasmuch
as it is highly probable that the same
storm which called for the work Of a
large number of men on the street also
created demand for their labor in other
directions. He also seems to have failed
to take into account the fact that only
able bodied men are suited for work on
the streets and that many men might be
badly in need of work and yet unable to
do this kind.
As matter of fact the statement can
not be controverted that there are al
times large numbers of men out of EN-.
lployment. Mr.. Atkinson's opim ms,
while erroneous, are evidently honest
and gained while searching for truth
however blind the search may have been
In this respect they are in marked con
trast TO those of the editor of the New
York Euening Post who commenting
upon the fact that thirty thousand meI
in East London were out of work, made
: the brutal statement that such condi
I ton of affairs was beneficial. The ide;
, on which this opinion was founded wa!
that certainty of being able to fine
: something to do by which to earn a liv
ing would cause the men now in employ
ment to grow more and more careless
and insubOrdinate in doing such wOrl
! as they already had" and that probably
l five hundred thousand men are "kept NJ
; to the mark" in London by the sight o
! these thirty thousand industrial failures
This treatment of the case is evidentl,
founded upon the assumption that hui
man nature as found in the so-calleI
laboring man is different from thatfount
in other classes where the work is les
strictly manual. In other words tina
those who labor with their hands hav
no interest in their work and no desir
to be faithful to the interests of thei
employer or to earn their wages; tina
u they have no ambition to excel or to ris
to higher positions but merely to d.
their work just well enough to proven
q the unemployed mon from getting thei
places.
i While this may be true in isolate,
= cases, it is in the main untrue, for Their
q is greater or less desire on TIL
part of most workingmen to do thei
= work well and this ambition docs not al
ways bear n close connection to the fac
L that the best skilled men usually find al
active demand for their services, a
wages above those paid the averag
workman. On the whole the employees
+ men will average higher as to skill ant
\ attention to business, but this does no
: prove that men of less ability are not en-
titled TO earn living for themselves ant
families.-AmeriCGn Paper Trade.