Evening star., 1914-04-26
Weather Important
Factor in Problem


More hands needed on the farms
in spring and harvest time than can be
used in winter. This surplus of workers
which is employed in the country in the
spring. summer and early fall finds it,
self regularly idle during cold weather
similarly. there is less building and ship
ping in the winter than in the less riSor-
Gus seasons of the year. Thus. large
number of workmen in agricultural. build
Ing and shipping pursuits are forced by
weather conditions to remain idle from
three to five months out OF every twelve.
This same seasonal expansion ard cor
traction of the numbers of the employed
is found in a great many of the trades.
and in such cases unemployment for
greater or less time each year is the
prospect of all who follow them.
Still a further element in the problem
of unemployment which viii likely re-
fuse to yield 10 regulation IS tire presence
of q class of unemployabe These are the
hopclcssly incapable. the dishonest the
criminals. beggars. vagrants, bodily un-
fit and the intenperate. For these class
IS OF unemployed the prospect for relief
is not bright one
The unemployable rightly. however
form problem in the field of the charity
workers rather than in that of the stu
dent Of the labor market. The man who
thrives through ten years OF begging or
enough money together to buy an arti-
fetal Lee so that he may return to wosi
cannot be considered as forming any
part of the problem of unemployment
II has been found that free grants OF
money and supplies for the tiding of dis
tressed workers over periods of enforced
idleness do more harm than good. Out
bursts OF charity have been held in the
past for the aid of unemployed workers
The workers become accustomed tG
charitable support. learn to depend uro.
others. and in the end are completely
denioralized.
lard a plan was devised few years age
for distributing public work, such as
park Improvement. street paving ano
cleaning. the laying of mains and the
construction of public buildings. among
their number. This plan was further de
veloped in theory. when il was suggested
that municipal authorities should apror.
ton work upon public improvements sc
to take care of the greatest number
of laborers during the slack seasons Of
the year. One of the greatest drawbacks
to this method of relief was found to be
that the municipalities by engaging al
who applied in order Of application with
out respect to fitness We're forced into the
position of paying standard wages fol
very inferior labor.
The principle of providing relief by
providing work however. is a great ad
vance over the
Work Is Better m e h ID o
Than Plain Charity. times of grea
distress efforts have been made to induc,
isborers to leave the glutted city market:
for TIE. farms This has been done undel
public gu dance in England. where con
tirscnts OF unemployed have been drawn
IL
perimcntal farms. These experiment.
have proved costly and of little success.
MANY OF the workmen fully appreciate
the good board and care given upor
these farms and learn to accept philo-
sophically the disadvantages of country
life such as the absence of a,ehouses
They do not. however. make good farm
laborers under the kindly system of gov
ernment training
Municipal lodging houses. missions
soup houses bread lines and innumera BILE
charitable organizations are engaged ir
continual struggle with the suffern2s
caused By unemployment. and in a way
they tend to make idleness supportable
Naturally. the men to go at every short
eninG of a force of employees are the les:
capable They are the men who are al
ways being "weeded out. and many O
them learn to prefer life among munici
pal lodging houses and in bread line:
Two plans for the permanent reduction
of enforced idle workers have recent.
been suggested by an English labor stu
dent. Both of them appear TO be pos
sessed of decided advantage. The frs
Of these plans is that machinery shoul'
he worked out by which dovetailing o
seasonal employ might be accomplish
ed This would mean the adoption o
some means for the transference of tn
army of workers discharged from tn
farms at the end of the harvest seaso
10 trades whose season of greatest EN-
ployment falls in winter.
The other plan. somewhat similar in it
object is TO bring about reduction i
the number o
Become Accustomed so-calied casus
to Partial Work. ~ Vi . uos
into irregular employment through lac
of initiative for finding other and NOR
permanent places. Workers of this elias
finally become accustomed to work fror
two to three days week and to lie +
bed the rest of the time.
To diminish irregular workers and
is the irregular under-e1n ployed work
who forms the cruN of the problem q
rnemploy ment. this student suggest
That the system of giving irregular wor
should be eliminated as far as possibI