Fulton County tribune. (Wauseon, Ohio) 1883-1925, 1914-11-20
4 LABOR PROBLEM
The Problem of the Unemployed" A
Paper Prepared and Read by Miss
Jessie Wolcott Before The Woman's
Club of wauseon, Tuesday Novem-
J ber Tenth, 1914.

Club of Wauseon, Tuesday Novem-
ber Tenth, 1914.
The great army of the unemployed
which in the past winter reached a
number far surprising the number
of the standing army needs, before
it receives any consideration at all,
except that of national menace, to
be carefully sifted. So varied are the
individuals who go to swell it's ranks
that there must be likewise varied
manner of treatment in order to bring
the help that is in some instances i'm
periously demanded. There are very
few of our large cities that did not
have to deal in some way, during the
past winter and many other winters
past, with this problem of the unem-
ployed.
The municipal Lodging House in
New York City lodged and fed more
in the past winter than in the two
preceding winters. Out of 100000
organized wage earners, 101 900 were
reported idle September, 1913, by
bulletin of New York State. In New
York City the estimate of the unem-
ployed was 100000 for the winter,
1914. An estimate given in February
was that 80 per cent. of the laboring
population or 350,000 were jobless. In
San Francisco the problem was also
threatening. There the unemployed
organized and marched through the
city demanding work.
Before anything can be done for
this great throng of unemployed, it
must be carefully sifted so that the
individuals fall into one of three great
classes. First there is the class Of
the unfit; Second the class of the en-
playable; and Third the class of the
unemployable. Moreover we can not
90 far in the consideration of any
one. of these three classes without be-
coming involved in the question of
efficiency, underemployment or i'm
migration.
In the class of the unfit we have
the sick, the aged, and the immature.
All of this class who earn wage will
fall in the class of the underemploy-
ed. those who can earn part. of their
living, but must depend on the chari-
ty Of friends or society for the rest.
In the case of the immature we have
not only the question of the underen-
ployed but also the question of in
efficiency. England has a system OF
providing a pension of shillings a
week to the aged poor. Germany a
system Of old age insurance for those
who need help. England also has
since 1911 system of governmental
insurance against sickness.
For the employable part of this
army of the unemployed there is
much that can and should be done.
Jane Adams writing for the Ladies
Home Journal Of September, 1918,
said: cUnemployment of man less
than SIS is abnormal and wasteful of
Drawn and muscle, and of ripened
Judgment and valuable experience"
AL b conference held in New York
CITY in March, 1914 for the discussion
Of the problem of the unemployed,
twenty-five states were represented.
The members of this conference were
employers, labor men. college profes-
sors, city and state officials, socialists
and social workers. AS the discussion
went on, industrial remedies govern
mental measures, and preventative
methods came to the fore as the only
solutions.
The unemployment insurance, such
as is used in Germany and Denmark
and bravely started in England was
discussed by some sessions OF this
Congress. The employing class has
money and foresight enough to lay
aside something for probable day
in the future when there may be no
income. So does very often, the bet
ter paid workingman, the possessor of
a skilled trade. If he does not do this
he very often has his union to help
him over the hard period. Why should
not the common workingman provide
some such means Of security. One
great hinderance to such an insurance
Is the low wage, generally being only
what he can live on in prosperous
time. Foresight is and has been
lacking in this class. No American
youth of today with foresight should
drift into such condition.
AS this class of people have not the
foresight to look after themselves,
the state should supply it. To meet
this end this Conference passed. a
resolution for Bureau to be connect
ed with the Federal Department of
Labor. This NBureau to be known as
the Bureau of Distribution with pow
er to establish employment exchang-
es throughout the county to supple
ment the work now being done by
state and municipal bureaus. This
federal bureau to act as clearing
house of information and means of
furthering the distribution of labor
when the distribution will not make
for the deterioration of present
standards Of wages, conditions and
hours of employment of American
workingmen, or the impairment OF
their efforts to improvement. All lab
or employment bureaus should be un-
der federal or state direction, and
free from politics. Then the laborer
will not be left a prey to private
bureaus which can increase their own
prosperity by giving the man short
The dovetailing of seasonal oc-
cupation could also be managed
through state and federal bureaus.
The work of such a system would be
to ascertain and report the surplus
and shortage of labor Of particular
kinds at particular places, and to dl-
minish the time and energy now spent
in looking for work and the conse-
ouent leakage between jobs. With re-
liable information the laborer could
be sent from section of the country
where labor is slack to a busy sec
ton. In country with as varied a
climate and industry as is possessed by
the United States there is always
some section that is crowded with
work. With this broader view which
the federal bureau could give, public
work such as roads, municipal light
ing, water works and street paving
work could be done at periods when
other work is slack. Shops and fac
tories that run only part of the year
could supplement with seasonal work
AS it is, we often find such shops lay
ing part of their men off at a time