The evening times., 1897-12-23
THE ARMY OF UNEMPLOYED.
Immic raj ton I.abOr's Greatest Foe
Saws Prof. George GuntOn.

Says IrOI. GEORGE uuutOh.
New York, Dec. 23.-Prof George Gun
ton. who has made the labor question
his life Study, has a remedy for the woes
Of the 81 900 unen. ployed. He says:
I'm the fhst place 1 Go rot place fun
confidence in statistics of idleness. In
neatly all wellequipped establishments
especially whero machinery is used, 1t
takes more tran the mere machine hands
to equip tie shOp. 1t takes 125 printers
to run ice cases. II statistics were taken
any day only 16O would be credited as
being en.nlovedin in tfat particular shop.
This Is social fact of which statis-
tics tale no notice. In offices, factories
and all indoor woIk from 10 to 25 ger
cent of those employed must OF neces-
sity be out OF work every day, and you
cannot call them unemployed.
..lf these were to be deducted from tn.
statistics OF tie unemployed it would
make n difference, hut would still leave
large army.
'.Ir yor ask what shall be done for
them tins next week l will reply nothing,
except the arbitrary putting OF your hani
in till for them. The question is not
one of December, 1897, but 4 permanent
problem. which no amount Of philanthropy
OF. soup kitchen or any form of charity
can deal with. To the same extent /, IS
partially true or public improvements
unless the applicant for work must prJ.e
a certain tern. of residence in the city
/ am always in favor of increas sing the
amount OF public improvements. Il is
much better for the city to make con-
tribu,ions through taxes than through
church and other charities
what wouhi he the best way to prevent
dis ress in the future?''
In the first place we ought to have a
practical suspension OF the Immigration
law for humber OF years-say five.
Then. for twenty years immigrants should
only he admitted who possess on landing
the equivalent of at least SIX months
American wages at the tIade they came
here to follow.
New York and other cities are deluged
with herds Of chea p. almost helpless, people.
They tend TO lower the standard of living
OF the wage class and through that tend
to either lever or prevent a rise of wages.
They make it constantly more difficult
for city la borers to keep their organizations.
They dc not Join unions because OF thr
Cost AMI al unreadiness to axe the brunt
of the struggle which the demand for
better Conditions involve.
I'm that way they tend to perpetuate
in large number of the cruder industries
n lower standard of ages, and hand-to-
moat,. ri.nner of living, SO that 4 week
out of work makes charity necessary.
Sweat shops are of that nature. III
they were not here tailor shops would be
in altogether better condition. There would
better social relations, better pay, better
quality of citizenship and wholesomeness of
eady- ma de clothing.
..Thr most effective way of suppressing
the sweat shops, IL seems to ME, is to maze
the owner of the property responsible.
Condemn the property and forbid the col
lection of rent for such purposes.
Il think every attempt to alleviate this
problem. by decorated 5-cent dinner cara
vansaries in the street and charity y-suppurt-
ed restaurants in fact, any method OF
feeding the people with other peoples
money OILY tends to aggravate the evil.
Dinner for cents simply makes 1t pos
sible to eke out a living on what can be
gathered by begging and anything which
will make begging pay will increase beg
gars.
of this general question that the unem-
ployed and those verging on pauperism
in this city have been augmented in the
past five years by the efforts at feeding
people for 5 cents a meal thr Jugh un
meals.
'.Thcusands of beggaTs come to New
York every winter because they can live
on 25 cents a day by patrOnizing the
5-cent dinner wagons and a cheap
lodging house. 1t is a pretty poor beggar
who cannot get 25 cents a day. All this
adds to the troubles OF the work
ingmen out OF employment
The wife of a musician writes to the
World that it was mistaken when in its
table OF unemployed it printed that
no music ians are out OF work. She writes:
Hundreds of them are out of employ
ment snd nearly starving. Times Were
never so Lad as now. ! know this to be
the truth, as my husband is a violinist and
belongs to the union. He has not made
living fer W ceks. 1t will be poor Christ
mas for mv childreyi.'s