South Bend news-times. (South Bend, Ind.) 1913-1938, 1915-03-08
Men Out of Work Not Idle Because They
Want to be; Want Work But Can't Find 1t

the CQlGI reason. + OF IN A5VV We
found six and one-half million men /
unemployed and~the world was at
peace.
Recently the New York Times de- I
clared that labor laws passed by the
influence of unions enactlng cOndi- |
tions of employment unacceptable TO
wage earners was one of the chief
causes This must be accepted with
reservation while no doubt there is
some truth in il.
The Seasonal Evil
Another reason that may be as
signed is the seasonal occupation.
Z There are scores OF lines of trade
which are seasonal, i. e., are limited
TO certain seasons of the year, leaving
the workers in those trades idle for a
part OF the year. Among the ap
plicants for shelter in February, 1914,
at the New York municipal lodging
house, 5.243 were contractors, 1.525
were painters, 94S carpenters, 1874
Z day labOrers. Thus il appears that
the men whose trade is limited to GER
tain months were in the majority.
Yet these causes touch but the
garment hem of the great problem Of
! the unemployed. The problem Of the
4 unemployed is distinctly a problem OF
the nineteenth century. We began
/ with the substitution of mechanical
! power for vital; it came when the
/ muscle was compelled TO yield to the
machine. This change transformed
/ the agricultural, the commercial and
i the industrial world.
This great cause affected all lands,
all people, all commerce and all in
/ dustries.
/ Agriculture Affected.
ut of course affected agriculture.
! With the introduction Of machinery
/ came mans increased efficiency. The
/ n VIn \
plOw; in the wake of the cradle and
/ drop machine came the modern self
| binder; and the fail gave way to the
modern thresher. The work of two
men was done by one, and at harvest
time one individual does the work Of
four and five.
Still greater was the change made
in the industrial field. Formerly in
many lines the individual created the
product wit hhis own hand and sold
1t over his own counter. But with
the coming of steam and machinery
he no longer became the creator and
seller. He bought his machine, made
product and sold it. One man now
does the work that 10 or even 200
men did formerly. A boy today makes
the screen wire which formerly re-
CURED the combined efforts OF 200
men. One man today operates 10,
20, even 40 looms. Many a man has
invented a machine which threw him
self and companion out of employ
ment.
The substituting of machine for
vital power has had more to do with
increasing the army of the unem-
ployed than any other one thing.
Machinery to Blame.
The skilled mechanic has often
been thrown out of employment for
the unskilled. The machine which
HI .Hr.~4
does the work even better than he
could have done it, and he himself
joins the great army Of men out of
work
Again competition became rife
among the owners of the machinery.
The chief object is to produce the
best and largest amount possible at
quired TO operate the machine re-
quires neither skill nor strength.
Hence unskilled labor, child labor,
woman labor is carried into factory
and workshop literally by the tens OF
thousands and it became easy for the
child to find employment which is
denied the father, the labor markets
open to women and close to men.
output is Increased.
The increase of machinery has
produced a corresponding increase of
output This has made necessary an
, latton increased threefold in the last
half of the nineteenth century, our
, manufactured products increased Is
, fold. Practically every nation OF the
world is entering the industrial field
which formerly was held by England
alone. Germany, France, Japan,
China all are engaging more and more
, in industries. This means that there
will be increased competition and an
: ever relative decrease in foreign trade
! as each country supplies its own de
mands. 1t must ineluctably follow
, that we shall see, with a narrowing
! field to supply and increased machin-
! cry and efficiency for making, re-
, newed industrial depresSions and sue
cessive periods of jobless men.
Thus in brief do we see some of
the causes of the unemployed classes
/, which is destined 10 be an ever ex-
panding danger unless successfully
met
Possible Solutions.
! I'VE come now 20 a possible solu-
ton of the problem.
Here we tread on grounds which
deserve most careful consideration.
Too often we have passed over the
? problem altogether or else have at
tempted cures which were no more
than measures Of relief.
First there are relief measures
such as bread lines, soup kitchens
lodging houses which are all right In
! their place and yet which are at
tended with perils OF the gIavest kind
The English commission on vagrancy
, reporting February. 1906, strongly
l vetOes the indiscriminate distribution
! of free food. 1t reports that cheaT
: foods and free shelter in London and
, other places attracted Migrants and
. perpetuated evil conditions and in nc
; way remedied the disease. The Man
4 sion house movement in England il
: 1885 was so deleterious in its effect:
I that the country has not yet recOv.
[ cred from It, The administration OF
q charities like that of cocaine should
e not be done excepting by exper
| hands. else the disease we attemp
4 To cure will he magniued No sooner