Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1915-12-01
UNEMPLOYED StilI with Us

n number already opened or soon to be opened
in various cities and towns of the Common
wealth. One of the aims expressed by
Jacob Lightner. director of the central bureau,
is to create a condition. with the aid of busi-
ness men and manufacturers that will lessen
the periods of ldleness in various industrial
plants. The bureau and its branches will not
cure the evil-either public or the Individual
evil-of unemployment Bringing the jobless
man and the manless job together is not the end
of it, and the distribution of labor to meet the
fluctuations and vibrations of industry is
mpossibility. The time when we shall eliminate
entirely the undeserved misfortune in. unem-
ployment is beyond our sight Insurance will
be adopted before the coming of that millen-
mum.
cally, or In response to extraordinary, spec
tacular or extreme stimulus, and then forgets
and neglects. Triangle fires, Slocum disasters,
iastland horrors and. Lusitania crimes are
dynamic forces In public opinion for a short
time and speedily become static memories So
last winter the problem of unemployment had
its innings with the attention of the American
people. Then the munitions BOOM spectacular
enough caused us to forget the unemployed
that We have with us always. And some that
we didn't always have. For up at 1919 Arch
street they are not convinced that the employ
ment situation i'm Philadelphia has come back
to the former equilibrium, which wasn't at all
satisfactory, either. Commercial help is still
hunting jobs.
The building in which the Philadelphia branch
of the state Bureau is housed is loaned by the
city. which also details a police officer to pre-
serve order and line up the applicants in the
corridor while they await their turns in the ex-
animation room. Examination room" sounds
formidable, but not much so, in most cases.
as II did TO the young man In the impressionistic
necktie, who rebelled at having TO answer the
questions propounded and who left muttering
something about 'red tape" Apparently, Jobs
not forced on anybody, and as for "red
tape" 1t has its uses, as II probably did in this
instance. The home relief department of the
Emergency Aid is cooperating with the State
officials by lending a stan of office assistants
and paying part of the expenses of the agency.
Cooperation has begun there the ground
floor, and ii the public at large follows the ex-
ample the success of the enterprise will be
Something must be left for others TO do, and IL
householders, we'll business men and
manufacturers, want to help, there's way.
College Men in the Lineup
Yesterday the office, which is In charge of
D. r. McCampbell. had been in operation seven
working days. Six hundred and forty-fo ap-
plications had been received. The average num-
Der a day Is, therefore, about rs. Something
like 50 men and women have found jobs through
the agency. and that is a pretty good record for
a starter. OF the si4 about l10 were women and
search Of housework. The men were looking.
most of them. Tor pretty near anything that
would bring wages. Some suggested shoveling
coal others mentioned shOveling snow. I'm
snow shovel just now. Several Of the appli-
cants were candidates for Jobs as watehmen.
These we're old men. unable to do hard manual
work. One old man stood ia line yesterday
hungry looking. overeoatless. bent. but appar-
entity intelligent and honest. Maybe he had a
kindly friends maybe this and maybe that-it
matters not. be wanted work. That l. sum
elenf
That Is Justification for his being N the work