The Dawson news. (Dawson, Ga.) 1889-current, 1909-06-30
WORK FOR IDLE MEN
Powerful Agency to Transplant
the Idle to Fields of Labor.
WALL STREET BACKS MOVEMENT

A New Organization Formed to Solve
a Difficult Problem. What the
Idleness of an Army of Two Mil
lion Unemployed People Means.
Nearly a Billion Acres of I'm
claimed Land.
NEW YORK.-Much is expected
from a new organization recently
formed here-the National Employ
ment Exchange-in the way of pro-
viding work for the vast army of I'M
employed now aggregating 100000
persons. This great army should be
earning at average rates about ST.
100,000,000 year, considerably
more tnan the national debt On the
wrong side of the ledger they rep
resent a drain of almost that much
on the nations prosperity. They
should be purchasers. But they are,
-perforce, borrowers. Some of them
are beggars.
Capital looks askance at this show
ing. 1t is bad business" 1t is
doubly bad because it is unneces-
sary. There is work for every one,
homes for all. The only thing nee
essary is to transport the labor where
it is most needed. To do this-to
put labor on the market like stocks
and bonds-the National Employ
ment Exchange has been incorpor-
ated under the laws of New York,
with headquarters here, and with
100000 subscribed to defray the
preliminary expenses. The exchange
is going to begin at the bottom. It
is first going to provide work and
homes for New York's army of ap-
prOXimately 10000 unskilled work
ers who are now subsisting from
hand to mouth. After it has done
this it will enlarge it's activities.
The leading men of Wall street are
backing the exchange. Through
them it will be in touch with the
foremost fnanciers and manufact-
urers of the entire country. Once
fairly started in New York it is to
have branches in all the larger in
dustrial centers of the nation.
What This IdIeness Means.
Mere figures give no adequate idea
of how materially the country would
benefit were these 100000 unem-
ployed put to work The $1,1OO,-
100000 they would earn in year
would buy the equivalent to every
dollars worth of manufactures and
products exported from this country
during the year 1908. The same
sum would buy outright the state of
Virginia and everything in it, ac-
cording to the last census valuation.
Just imagine how the mercantile
and manufacturing concerns would
boom if the purchasing power of the
people were increased HOO, 0O0,-
600 year. Then you will gain some
idea of how tremendous is the prob
lem of the unemployed; then you
will realize why the astute Wall
street financiers are so anxious to
solve it. For it means as much to
them as it does to the poor, unskilled
laborer who is wearing out shoe
leather he can't replace in a vain
effort to find the necessaries of life
for hungry family.
Yet the problem is not so serious
as it was somewhat more than a
year ago. Then more than 3,OO0,-
600 wage-earners were idle, accord
ing to the reports of the representa-
tives of the Industrial Workers of
the World. In the last year more
than million men have gone to
work. But they were mainly the
skilled laborers-the artisans and
tradesmen. These classes are rap
idly being re-emplOyed. Everything
tends to show a return to normal
conditions in the near future. The
unskilled men, huddled together in
tenements in the big cities, are the
ones who will be last to find work.
And they are the ones who will first
be aided by the National Employ
ment Exchange.
There is plenty of work for them
to do, but they are never where they
are needed. There are millions of
acres of land to be titled, but they
can't get to it. There are new COM
munities forming which are crying
for men, skilled or unskilIed, but the
helpless urbanites profit as little
from them as if a reservation on
the moon were opened to settlement.
To put these men where they be-
long, where they will contribute to
the prosperity of the country instead
of retarding it-that is the task to