The Telegraph-courier. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1888-1946, 1917-08-23
some FROM OTHER CITIES
Big Influx of Labor to Kenosha Is Not
ed During the Past Month Demand
Being Made That Idle Men Be Put
to Work or Sent Off to Fight.

Factory statistics for the month of
July, as prepared by the local bureau
of the Manufacturer Association,
show the plants to be in a fourishing
condition. A marked increase in the
number of applicants for employment
as well as those hired, is shown. Most
shops reported a gain in operatives for
the month and the total showed sixteen
hundred employed to thirteen hundred
dismissed Two hundred fifty appli-
cants were listed for employment and
six hundred sixty operatives registered.
Special attention is directed to the
fact that the numerous idlers in the,
city, if compelled to work, will aid
materially in the labor supply. tin
normal times,'' says the report, there
are several hundred men living in the
city with apparently no occupation.
These fellows are slackers in every
sense Of the word and should be dealt
with as such. We trust that the County
Council of Defense, whose powers are
broad, may order census Of the I'M
employed and cause every person to-
either work or leave town. It is es-
sential from any number of view
points that there be no shirkers
in. any line at this time, and
a general clean up will be produc-
tive of beneficial results.o
All farm labor applicants are now
referred to the county agricultural
agent, and farmers seeking help are
urged to use his office. In years past
the bureau served the agricultural in
terests as far as possible and records
show that each season from one humid
red to one hundred fifty men were di-'
rected to the country. This. service
was rendered simply as an aceommo-
dation in adjusting the man to the job,
for at no time did the Office make any
charge for it's efforts Now that the
county is fortunate in having an agri-
cultural agent, it is deemed advisable
to have all employment of farm labor
carried out through one channel.
An increase in the number Of female
applicants the past month is noted.
The demand for this class of help is
good and few apply who are not placed
Immediately. Wages and working con-
ditions in the local shops are better
than those of most other cities pro-
ducing similar products Positions are
open for girls of fourteen years and up,
but those coming under permit rules
must secure the required papers from
the permit officer before commencing
| work There are now in round mum
bers over one thousand female factory
operatives in the city and prospects
indicate that before the close of
1918, that number will be increased by
at least fifty per cent.
Kenosha s advantages as an indus
trial ethyl are attracting workmen in
| large numbers. Tt is estimated that
over two hundred out-of- town people
secured employment at the local fac
tories during the month Of July. Many
of the men are heads of families, anxi-
Gus to make their homes in Kenosha,
if conditions prove satisfactory An
instance showing how the coming Of
one brings others, is set forth in the
case of young man of Swedish ma
tionality, who recently secured work in
a local factory. He said that he had
two sisters, nineteen and twenty lone
years Of age, at home who would gladly
come on guarantee of steady employ
ment. These girls are now in our city,
and in view of the excellent oppor-
tunities they have discovered, are like
lly to become permanent residents.
Numerous examples of this nature gg to
show that Kenosha is second to none in
opportunities offered to home seekers.
July being the summer vacation
period, few meetings of the associa-
ton were held Several important
matters are outlined for the future and
are now in the hands of the various
committees. Recent acts of the state
Legislature amending the workmen 5
compensation and apprenticeship laws
will call for a number of changes in
the system now in use. 1t is expected
| that added attention will be given to
safety and sanitation measures, which
though well to the front in all shops,
can still be strengthened. The work
Of the organization planned for 1917
and 1913 should make the year one of
the busiest thus far experienced