The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1895-05-10
AN ENCOURAGING SITUATION.
THE LABORING CLASSES PAIRING
DETER THAN USUAL
AT THIS SEASON.

An Estimate That Not over Twenty
i've Per Cent. Are without Regular
Employment, and Many of These
Find Odd jobs Enough 20 Keep
Them GOinE-The Railroads md
Wharves Have Not Reduced Their
Forces and in some Instances More
Laborers Than Usual Are Employed
The enors Of some Of the discontended
10 make capital out OF the alleged extra
ordinary amount Of unemployed labor in
Savannah and Chatham county viii. If
persisted in, lead them TO bankruptcy.
An inquiry was made yesterday with re-
gard to the situation Of the labor ng
classes here. and the result is one that
shows up we'll for Savannah in compari-
son with other sections.
The statement has been made elsewhere
without inquiry into the facts that there
are seven men in this city out Of employ
ment where three are at work. or in other
words that more than tVO-thirds of the
laboring population is without employ
ment. An investigation made yesterday
showed that the situation is just the re-
verse of this and that not more than %
per cent Of Savannah's laboring popula-
ton, at the outside, is out Of regular en-
ployment.
The railroad shops and wharves are al
ways a good barometer of the situat on
among the laboring classes. When their
forces are reduced attention is called to
the situation, and other reductions Of
forces seem TO be concurrent with them.
The officials of the Savannah. Florida
and Western railway say there has been
reduction of their forces point
The men in the shops are working on
shorter time. as Is always the case at
this season Of the year and dur ng the
summer season, but the force mas been
in no wise reduced.
The forces employed at the Central
railroad shops and on the .wharves are, n
anything. larger than they were six
months or a year ago. Supt. Kline sta
ted that things generally speaking are
looking brighter. He has more laborers
employed now than was the case year
ago, and within that time there has been
no reduction of the forces. The wharf
force, Of course huctuates with the
amount of business to be done. and is con-
sequently some smaller In the summer
season than when cotton is being moved.
The longshoremen, for the most part,
Il Is true, are idle at this time of the
year, as there are practically no cotton
ships to be loaded. The majority of the
lonFshoremen, however, are not particu-
larry anxious for work during the summer,
as they make enough during the season
to keep them going the year round. Some
of them will, under no circumstances, do
any work in the summer unless there is
ship in port TO load.
Mr.. w. +. Chaplin, chairman of the
roads and bridges committee Of the county
commissioners, has excellent opportunity
for observation in this connection, and
generally knows pretty we'll what the
situation is. He does not think that more
than Is per cent. of the laboring people
are without regular employment. He says
that probably 1900 laborers could be Sc
cured in the county, should they be want
ed, but these, he states, are by no means
without employment. Some are idle from
choice, It Is true, but the ma iority of them
either have their little farms in the cOun-
try which they work, when they have
nothing else to do. or take what jobs they
can pick up and thus make a fair living.
He considers the situation comparatively
encouraging, and says that there Is surely
no cause for complaint in Savannah. as
other sections
1t win be readily seen that the situa-
ton IS by no means bad one, and the in
dications are that IL is briehtening up
even though the summer season is coming
on.
Mayor Myers was asked what his OBJ
sesrvatl2n had been as TO the proportion
or employed and unemployed in the city
While II is true that there are large
number of unemployed men Just now"
he said, this is always the case at this
season of the year. l do not think we
have any greater number of unemployed
than our neighboring cities. Certainly
nothing like the proportion stated"
Suppose we reverse the PROPORTIONS
and say there are three idle men to seven
employed, would that be about right?'
he was asked.
mo. IL would not" was the reply The
proportion of unemployed is not so great
as that About one in seven Is the cor
rect proportion, in my judgment, and [
have very good opportunities for observa-
ton"
Chief of Police McDermott. when spo-
ken to about the matter said that in his
rounds Through the city ne saw very few
idle men, no more than usual at this sea-
son of the year, if as many.