Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1915-06-07
Monday, June 7, 1915.
"The Team" and "The Came"

-SpccCu Ldu d Soou OcdI " say dUOuI
the team" and about the way
members of the team" should play
the game,' and about what would
happen to any of the players who
break training or otherwise ball-up
the game. And yet there is a no.
ticeable and lamentable absence Of
Democratic team work. The Presi-
dent-captain mas evidently given the
signal for a prosperity play all along
the line, with a run around the end
to goal. if possible: and some of
"the team" have tried to execute
the maneuver.
The game was to convince the peo-
pie that prosperity has returned and
that great job, accompanied by
high wages, is Sherlock -Holmesing
every able bodied man. But, all al
once, the play was broken up by the
Bureau of Labor Statistics in the
Department of Labor in a report on
unemployment in New York City.
The report is based on a census Of
1O4 city blocks selected to include I
representative number of families of
various nationalities and all classes
of industrial workers, combined with
a census of all families in 1903 in
dividual tenement houses and resi-
dences. covering a still wider range
Of distribution.
The enumeration was made in the
first half of February, 1915. In
families having total membership
of 229,42S persons, of which number
i95.443 were wage earners OF these
families 11,723 had one or more wage
.earners out of work, showing an ag-
.gregate of 15,411 persons, or 1872 per
cent. Of all wage earners in these
families without employment of any
kind The total number Of wage
.earners in New York City in 1915, is
approximately 2.455,00O. The per
scentage of unemployment found
among the members of 54,S49 families
visited Q6.2 per cent? applied 20
this number, shows that the total
number of unemployed in New York
City was about S9s.0Oo. That esti-
mate does not include any of the ir-
regular or part-time workers.
A tabulation of the unemployed by
periods of unemployment shows that
Ill per cent. had been out of work
more than $50 days; 26.4 per cent.
more than 100 days; 1913 per cent.
more than 80 days; 55.S per cent.
more than 60 days; 76.4 per cent.
more than 80 days; sS.4 per cent.
more than 13 days and 92.S per cent.
were out of work at least one week.
The occupations or trades having
the largest number Of persons unem :
ployed out of the total of 15,417
were: Common laborers, 2440, build
ing trades, 2045. and the clothing
trades, 1881. The fact is noted, how
ever, that the figures were obtained
at a season Of the year when work in
the building trades and in the cloth
ing trades is normally slack and tina:
the number out of work reported for
these trades was affected to large
extent by the slack season.
In the report are embodied the re-
suits of two Investigations made by
organizations in New York City, the
Mayors Committee on Unemploy
ment, and the Metropolitan Life In
surance Company. The Mayor S
Committee reported that the increas.
in the number of unemployed, based
On the decrease of employment. was
about per cent. of the total number
of workers employed in December
1918. And it was estimated that
about 100000 more persons were un
employed in New York in December
1914, then in December, 1913.
At about the same time the Metro
politan Life Insurance Company
made an investigation as to unem-
ployment by a canvass of families Of
156,96O policy holders of the COM
pany. and found that 45.421 persons,
or IS per cent. of all wage earners ia
those families, were out of employ
ment. The greater proportion OF
unemployment reported is accounted
for largely by the fact that this sur
vey was made nearly month earlier
in the season than the investigation
made by the Federal Bureau. and at
q time when the extent of unem
ployment was probably somewhat
greater. The results Of the Metro
rolitan Company's study are, there
fore. substantially in agreement with
the results Of the investigation mad,
by the Bureau Of Labor Statistics.
4. We have not learned whether this
statistical bureau will be dropped
from the team" for this off side