Daily press. [volume] (Newport News, Va.) 1896-current, 1907-05-29
THE pEARrH OF LABOR.

All reports, public aud private, seem
to point to employment at good liy.
Ing wages being offered more gener-
ally than ever before In this coun-
try's history. 1t is true that this is
n condition not confined to this
country. Canadian advices are that
something very similar exists north of
our border. and nearly every European
country notes scarcity OF skilled la
Dor in many lines. For instance, the
only limit to setting up of new cot
ton.mill machinery In Lancashire is
reported by n commercial agency's
Manchester correspondent to be the
scarcity of labor both to install and
to afterward operate producing spin.
dies and looms. In Germany the SUI
perlor attractions of city life In man
ufacturing centers are said to have
drained the rural districts of that en-
piro OF Its supplies of agricultural
hands. In Italy the government is
reported to be concerned Mt the i'm
mense emigration which is stripping
that country of its rural labor. 1t
might BIO thought that with the i'm
mense immigration into this country
the problem of obtaining n full labor
supply would be an easy one, but Il
is said that large part of the pres.
ent immigration that comes from
central Europe especially tends to
gather In the coast cities, and what
ever complaints como OF Inadequate
employment In these cities Is due sim
ply to congestion of supply in the
larger cities, to the detriment of the
market In the smaller centers and In
the rural districts. The complaint of
scarcity of labor ut the South is one
of several years standing, conse.
qIent upon the gathering to new in.
dustrial centors of the rural popula-
tion, but it is noted that notwith.
standing higher wages offered and
paid, mill labor Is scarce now In both
Southern and New England cotton
mills.
The help.wanted columns of the
papers of large city like New York
testify to the pressure of demand for
labor. One popular medium for this
class of labor carries daily three
times rs many advertisements of helm
wanted as 1t does of situations want
Ell, ana there have beer instances OF
advertisements of boys wanted to run
errands not ellcltlng one response.
Another instance of this kind was nj.
torded this week In the hanging un
Oh sign by a large New York bust.
ness house Of a 'boy wanted" for
four days not bringing one satisfac.
tory applicant. There may, perhaps.
DO something said as to the improper
distribution of the supply of such la.
Dor, and there is also something prob
able In the theory that increased ia.
cilities of education and regulations
as to the employment of children un-
der school age limit the floating sun.
ply, but these hardly cover all the
ground. There is, in fact, n dearth
Oh labor despite the large immigra.
ton and the immense yearly increase
OF population; and to return to the
matter of employment of boys, there
Is no doubt that 10y wanting 20.
sltion expects to start at double
wages paid when men now of mid,,Io
age were boys. No doubt these con.
ditioas may be modified IL trade and
industry quiet down, but SO far MS
can now be seen. the labor market
has shown few signs of the Industrial
reaction predicted for some time past.