Waterbury evening Democrat., 1904-12-08
THE REAL SITUATION
THERE IS NOT ENOUGH WORK FOR
 THOSE WHO MUST LABOR.

Reduction of the Hours of Toll sug-
 kssted am n Permanent solution of
 the Problem How Conditions, of
 Employment May Be Impr0ved.
 In a recent article published in the , Boston Globe 0. L. Baihe, general sec retsry- treasurer of the Boot and Shoe Workers union, suggests the shorter workday as a means of providing work for the unemployed. He says:
 "There is enough work to employ everybody, but everybody is not en1- ployed Some are not employed from choice, others because they enjoy the fruits of the labor of those employed and millions because they cannot get employment The statement that there is enough work for aIP is applied in the sense that if every individual enjoyed the opportunity and could freely exercise his right to work all would be employed, because the land now in disuse and capable of employ ing the labor of and supporting every person now idle would be cultivated, various enterprises spring up and the present lines and new lines of indus try and endeavor extended and devel- Oped. This is not the situation, how ever. The real situation is that there is not enough work available to all who must work to supply their daily neces- sitfes. To that element of society con- monly designated the working people employment at some gafnful occupa- ton is necessity Nevertheless while the individual seeks employment in- stead of employment seeking the indi- vidual and the channels of employ ment are controlled by others and closed or open to the seeker as the con- troller elects work will not be availa- ble or accessible to all.
 Finder our present system every line of business is conducted on the princl- pie Of the least possible number of em- ployees and the largest possible results from each individual employee.
 Under such a system millions will be forced into involuntary idleness and millions more overworKed While we are dominated by the purely commef- cial spirit and business enterprises are conducted without regard to the needs of the workers, but for profit to the employer, each individual employee will be forced to do more than his share of the product When all lines of industry are operated at their nor- maj capacity there remains d large ar my of unemployed This is the case generally, even though it is also true that while millions are idle it is some times difficult to supply the demand for labor in particular locality or sec ton of the country. However, this is due to the fact that those desirous of employment cannot reach those locali- ties or sections or the wages are so low that workers will accept work at such wages only as q last resort.
 Some economists might elaborate system by which the unemployed could be moved from place to place as de- mand for labor appeared.
 Socialists settle the problem by the cooperative commonwealth. Imprac- dcal plans or utopian schemes entail- ing a complete overturning of our pres ent system cannot be put into practice. Expedients and paIliatives might fur nish slight temporary relief, but would later leave the situation as before and would not in any way affect or improve conditions.
 'The conditions of employment must be improved. There must always be large number of unemployed under our present system or any system likely to become the established one this side Of the remote future. Various plans
 might be locally adopted and relieve the situation for the time being, but to my mind the most civilized plan of fering universal relief and a perma,