Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1906-11-23
Industries Of Whole Country
Are Suffering From Lack of
Sufficient Help
WESTERN TRADE HAMPERED
Scarcity of Labor Prevents Completion
of Many Large Undertakinss-crop
in Localities MISUNDERSTANDING
Help Also scarce-one Asency's Re-
port.

New York, Nov 23.-With prosper
than ever before and with immigra-
ton outrunning all records, there has
never been time when employers,
from the Pacific to the Atlantic, were
crying so loudly for workers as now.
In many branches of skilled and I'M
skilled industry New York is suffering
from labor famine. Employment
agencies cannot fill one-half the orders
Of employers. Everywhere in the
wholesale and manufacturing sections
of the city one sees in almost every
window a placard announcing that help
is wanted. Scores Of large retail es-
Establishments are unable to get boys for
their delivery wagons, and are employ
ing middle-aged men at mems wages.
Hotels, restaurants and clubs cam
not get men for the ordinary places
even at largely increased wages. Eng
disappearing men and boys for I'M
SNiilSi WI CSl DS ODldlutu DIT
any price, and even the immigrant
class, regarded as undesirable help
demands eXorbitant wages for infer
Tor service. In the matter of feminine
help-the servant class-many EN-
ployment agencies have given up try
ing to do business in that line, and
have sent notices to their patrons adj
vising advertisements in newspapers
as the only way of getting women for
ordinary housework. In the skilled
trades there has been more or less
difficulty in getting all the men that
are needed in prosperous times in New
York, but that is largely due to the
apprentice system of the trades unions,
which is designed to keep the supply
of men behind the demand
In the west trade and industries
are being hampered because of the.l
scarcity of labor. Many miles of rail-
road remain unfinished because men
cannot be obtained to carry on the
construction work, and almost all
roads are suffering from want of
freight cars because of insufficient
workmen in the shops. Crops in
some localities have not been harvest
ed, and many mines are producing
only part Of their capacity because
labor cannot be found In this coun-
try probably there never was a time
when an able-bodied man had smaller
excuse for relying upon the generosity
of others.
Within the last two weeks many |
have been held between
men who employ large numbers of
men and boys and the heads of large
agencies in this city, to
find some way of getting help. Thus
far the help has not been discovered,
nor has the cause of the unusual scar
city been satisfactorily explained.
Talks with few of the larger
agencies threw some light on the situ-
alton. In the rooms of Odell, Robins
& Cooper perhaps the largest gen
eral agency in the city. there were
probably so anxious employers cluster
ing about the application desks beg
ging for men and boys for work. Tela-
phone bells We're jngling and messen-
gers entered frequently with requests
from employers. The number of APP
plicants for places, almost without ex-
ception, could neither speak nor I'M
derstand English.
IF we had 1000 men and boys to-
day." Edgar V. Odell president of the
agency, said. eve could put every |
one of them into a good place, provid-
ed they We're of average intelligence
and willing to do a fair days work.
We supply men for every class of
work in all parts of the country, but
matters have reached that stage where !
we simply cannot get hands at $50 a
month or more, and we have to reply |
that we cannot get men at any figure.
A few years ago we could have sup
piled good men for this work for SIS
a month. For several days have been
trying to get an engineer for a desir-
able permanent place in this city a
$50 a month, and I could place large
number Of drivers. but nobody seems
to want these places" !