The Brattleboro daily reformer. (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1913-1955, 1914-05-02
CONNECTING The
MAN AND The JOB
New National Movement to
Aid the Unemployed.
THROUGH LABOR EXCHANGES

These Would Eliminate Difficulties of
Both Work Seekers and Employers.
Problem of the Idle Calls For SoIu
ton Regardless of Whether the Times |
Are Good or Bad.
A constructive program to combat |
unemployment-such is the slogan Of
the first national conference on EN-
poyment. This is the first concerted
effort which the United States has
made to combat the national problem
of what to do for the man without a
job.
The Association on Unemployment.
which is working in utilization with
the American Association For Labor
Legislation, proposes to make this
work permanent rather than periodic,
and to do this it proposes a definite
program which includes two main fea-
tures-the ''regulariZing" of the so call
cd seasonal industries and the estab-
fishing and knitting together of public
employment bureaus into a national
system OF labor exchanges.
Engiand-in fact, all Europeans
been forced to face this problem of the
unemployed, gnd it is doing so through
the labor exchange.
The New York Times publishes an
interview on this subject with John b.
Andrews, secretary of the Association
on Unemployment. Mr.. Andrews has
been investigating the question of I'M
employment In the United States and
abroad since 1910.
Wage Loss of $1,oooooo,ooo.
United States census figures for
1900" says Mr. Andrews, 'show that
In that year over 100000 working
people-that is, nearly fourth of all
those engaged In gainful occupations
in this country-were at some time OF
the year out Of work. OF these some
100000 lost from one TO three months
each. ON the basis of so Il week this
represents a loss in wages of approx
mateiy 500 100000. The figures from
the 1910 census are not available yet
Two million of these 100000 wer'
employed I'm trades where four to 81!
months work was lost, representing
total wage loss of approximately $500
100000. while some 100000 were idl
for from seven to twelve months in tn
year-a wage loss approximately agai
of S3Oo,OO0O0O.
This brings the wage loss occasion
ed by lack of employment to total
SIOOO,OOO,O0O for a single year.
Even in prosperous times we hav
Q1VnrtiSiT
that workers were not to be had. !
the very same time in other parts I
this country men are tramping fro
shop 10 shop looking for work. The
has been no place to which they mig
apply for trustworthy information co
corning positions open in any 9th
part of the country. Even If the
had been they would in most cases n
have had the money to get to the 10
that wanted them-the jobs they soug
I'm vain.
Exchanges In Nineteen States.
The first step in the organization
the labor market Is not only the S!
tematic supervision Of the local. co
mercial. private employment burea
There must he something which rea'
es further than that-sOmething viii
enables employer and employee TO
reliable information, not only from d
ferent parts of the city or the sta
but different parts of the whole COZ
try. This institution is the system
public labor exchanges. which not o.
collects information from the regul
ed private agencies, but establishes
chain of free employment bureaus
THE public labor exchange I'M
state control has already been prov
ed in nineteen states and twelve 1
inequalities Of the United States.
"Of course" concluded Mr. Andre
"the employment bureau is to be
both men and women and absolut
no fees are to be charged. The
partment of agriculture furnishes
formation without cost That is
function Of the labor exchange
furnishing OF information"