The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1909-07-02
THE GOVERNMENT AND
WORK FOR OLD MEN"

WOhA FON O1<L MEN
One of the leading Newspapers of
New York has been doing a splendid
pie,e of work in carrying on crusade
against the disposition in these times
to shunt off the IMAM over fifty" when
he applies for work The Times of
that city has opened its columns, free
of charge, for the advertisements of
this class of unfortunates seeking EN-
ployment, and in addition it has been
printing a most interesting and illumi-
mating series of communications from
students of the proposition.
There is found a widespread impress
sion that the man over fifty is in fact
peculiarly desirable person. Given
health and good habits he is a man of
riner experience and more discriminat-
ing Judgment than the young man, and
the notion that he lacks something in
energy and initiative is mainly non
sense.
A long series of letters have been
received by the New York paper, in
Guiding many from employing concerns
which enter protest against the preiu-
dice against men of mature years.
Numerous firms have sent in word
that this is the kind of men they want,
and that they can give the right sort
of men of this age employment.
Manifestly, society cannot afford to
prosecute so foolish an enterprise as
the elimination from productive effort
of men whose hair has taken on some
of the silver The prejudice against the
old men is one of the incidents to the
revolutionized industrial conditions il
these times. Employers and employees
do not maintain the personal relations
and touch which were possible when
working forces were smaller. The en-
ploye is inevitably come to be regarded
in much the same light as the raw ma
teriaI; he is to be ground through
the machine, turned into product and
/ by-produet, and the waste thrown
away. His product is the work of his
/ best years. she by-product is the laRor
of the earlier and later periodIs. But
/ it is passing strange that IN time
when great manufacturing business
generally makes its profits out Of care
ful utilization of by-product and pre-
vention of waste, society should 90 to
the opposite extreme and tend TO re
iect more and more of that which, in
the labor. supply, Is highly useful, on
the ground that it is waste.
The economic waste of turning out
tie middle-aged and old workers must
be visited upon the society which is so
short sighted as to adopt the program.
We will have the old-age pensions
problem on our hands in very earnest
and very soon unless there is an effec-
tive response 10 such appeals as are
now being made for the seasoned
workers OF New York.
And right here is a good place for
an observation about the program OF
"weeding out the aged and inefficient
III the Government employ in Washing
ton. If enterprising Government ex-
lecutives viii just devote themselves tc
the suppression of inefficiency, and viii
not accept age as presumptive evidence
OF ineffciency, much of the danger viii
be avoided. If, after that, they viii
recognize the obligation of society tC
look after all its members, and Of the
Government to set society a good ex
ample in this regard; if they viii ad
lust the work to the qualifications, and
give all workers a fair chance, the
shaking up of things viii be altogether
desirable. But there is need to keeI
very sane realization of the ten
denotes of any movement aimed at TIT
old worker simply because he is old.
The National Government should no
be seeking to rid itself of its veteran
workers, just at time when enlight
ened communities are fairly gettin,
around to giving them a fair chance
The reputation of the Government 70
sensible business methods is none to-
good anyhow. It cannot afford to star
being reactionary on this question jus
when the people generally are awaken
ing to the need of progressive and sen
sible handling of it.