The twice-a-week Twin Falls times. (Twin Falls, Idaho) 1916-1918, 1917-11-13

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ident knows the person to whom the
aid is extended The costly machinery
for the distribution of charity in the
larger cities shows nothing more sys-
tematic than the work carried on
gratuitiously in this city by the board
under the leadership of Mrs. Kennedy
Packard. OF course, some probably
get by" who are unworthy; since no
machinery is incapable of error
The sO-called pool hall bum" sit
uation came in for some investigation
The statement is general that there
are plenty OF men to do all the work
of the community and that the labor
shortage comes through a great num-
Der Of men without money or visible
means of support, who lie around the
pool halls and other lOafing places
and wait for winter, when it is assum-
ed quite without reason, that they
viii sit around stoves warmed by coal
furnished by the county, and clothed
and fed by the Associated Charities;
or worse still, that good cash is paid
out to them through the last named
organization to be spent playing pool.
The fact is that the county has gen
orally been able, when weather per
mitted, to put on work for the able
bodied and that those who could work
and would not, got nothing Similarly
no man who was able to work got any
aid from the Associated Charities;
none got any money at all, and where
in a few instances the wives and chill
dren of imprOvident men have been
assisted it has been on the condition
that the man get busy on the first job
available and that he keep out of the
pool halls A few perhaps have Oc-
OCCASIONALLY evaded the last condition
surreptitiOusly.
Relative TO the men vaguely de-
scribed as a "lot of those fellows hang
ing around the pool halls and places
or standing on the street corners" the
TIMES reporter appealed to City Clerk
W. A. Minnick, head of the municipal
employment agency, Saturday for an
estimate of the number Of men who
pretended to want work, but who
would refuse steady employment when
rendered. He said that he thought
that the number might be as high as
fifty. Sometimes, during the busy sea-
son as many as twenty would come in
and ask for jobs during a day, but
would refuse them, when rendered on
the ground that the wages were in
sufficient. They were always looking
for fancy jobs with big wages. He
added that he had had few such ap-
plications during the previous week
and few applications for men so he
thought the labor stress was over. He
said that the great majority of work
ing men here, iabored steadily. Some
days, as many as half of the floating
working population asking for jobs
were of the class that declined steady
employment The majority of the
loafers were floaters.
Secretary w. f. Edwards, head of
the Twin Falls County Farm Bureau
employment department, was inclined
to agree with the city office, with this
amplification: There are practically
no men around this city who do not
work sometimes. | have gone down to
the street corner at times and found
a dozen or more men in a bunch who
would refuse to accept offered employ
ment. A few days later they would be
out working, earning a few dollars,
which they would come in and spend
after they had earned it. The trouble
was not that they would not work at
all; but that they would not work
enough. They were not doing the best
that they could. Counting all the men
who declined or failed to work as
much as they should have done,
guess the estimate of fifty is not far
from wrong. A large number of this
class is Inherent. Some follow the
potato digging They do not want to
do anything else, and stick out for big
wages. Others follow other kinds Of
special work and drift around from
place to place. All these will soon
leave this tract. They will not remain
for the winter There are men around
this town who do not work as much as
they should. At the same time, people
are sometimes mistaken in regard to
the number of those, who without
means of support sit around pool halls
and other comfortable loafing places in
this city. There are a number of men
around this city who are pretty well
to do who spend part OF their time