Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1914-12-29

new fee, collusion with immoral resorts
sending applicants to places where there is
no work. and general Misrepresentation OF
conditions.
Only recently the writer heard from
Northern New England labor official har-
rowing story of the lumber camps, where
workers had been sent from private agencies
in New York and were fined and imposed
upon to an extraordinary degree. Eight
men, including printer a painter and a
clerk, were sent by another New York pri-
vate employment agent to what was de-
scribed in their contracts as CONSTRUCTION
work. machinist and contract work" The
men found themselves in O Pittsburgh steel
mill before the furnaces Physically unable
to do the work required of them, they had
to apply to the Office of associated charities
for assistance in finding work at their trades,
Although an investigation was made, New
York State was unable to take any action,
as none of the complainants was within its
Jurisdiction. Such examples could be multi
piled almost indefinitely
Need of National Exchange System
Public employment bureaus, designed
partly as an offset to the abuses OF the
private agencies, date in America from 1890,
when Ohio authorized the first State sys-
TEN. Today there are between 20 and so
such bureaus maintained by 10 States and
by dozen or more municipalities.
Notwithstanding the work of a few, these
public bureaus are still far from furnishing
an adequate medium for the exchange OF
information on opportunities for employ
ment.
EVERY one who has studied the problem
realizes that method and system in putting
men and opportunities for work in touch with
zach other will not of themselves prevent
oversupply OF labor of jobs. They viii do
SO no more than the Cotton Exchange guards
against an over or an under supply of cot
ton Ihey VIII serve merely as Jewelers. in
the scales Of labor supply and labor demand.
Besides the unemployment which is due to
the failure Of men and jobs to find each
other, there is much due to other causes
which even the best system OF employment
exchanges would not directly eliminate.
But every one realizes that these other
causes of unemployment cannot be success
FULLY attacked without a basis I'm compre-
hensiVe' conseientiously collected informa-
ton such as cannot be furnished by our
present machinery for dealing with the prob
leH' Under present methods there exists no
automatic, cumulative means for collecting
the facts That results, OF course in exag-
gerated statements in both directions. Our
paueity of Information on this complex and
vital question has continued. even though
labor problems in one form or another have
taken the lead as subjects for legislation.
ANY scientific lawmaking on the programs
OK social insuranee-especially unemploy-
ment insuranee-and OF vocational guidance
must be grounded on facts OF relative em-
ployment and unemployment OF the workers
taoniated by trades, by sexes and by ages.
"lthout nationwide system OF labor ex-
ehahses' no basis can exist for anticipating
in an accurate manner the ebbs ana nows
OF the demand for labor. without coneen-
tration OF the information now collected and
now held separately in thousands OF sep
afate organizations throughout the land. the
possibility Of looking into ths future, or Of
Fronting By the past Is out Of ths question.