The Knoxville independent. [volume] (Knoxville, Tenn.) 1894-current, 1917-08-25
BY SAMUEL GoMPERs.

" CIV" SNASii q SS'ioihiSi @NiSeos
By SAMUEL GoMPERs.
When we consider that at least three
civilian workers are necessary to main
| tain one soldier in the field; that it will
I be necessary for the shops and the fields
of this country to supply many of the
essentials of our allies in the war; that
the undertaking upon which we have
just entered is one of gigantic proper
lions and we fear will not soon be fin
ished; that the first draft for soldiers
will remove men who are now employ
, ed in Industries, most Of which must be
maintained and that in all probability
many other drafts will be made, it be-
comes apparent that there must be def
mite plans formulated to maintain
continuous supply of workers
Several i'll considered plans and meth
DDS have already been proposed and
some adopted. Most of these have been
based on a proposal to secure additional
workers without effort to readjust
workers under new economies. In or
der to deal with the problem nationally
we must determine which are the es-
sential industries, whether men can be
spared and women workers employed
without injury to the women and there
fore to the life Of the nation. Some
protests have been made to the employ
ment of women workers upon the
ground that women should remain at
home and not desert the true sphere of
women" Others, without even the pre-
tense Of scruples, are Fastening women
into employment for which they are not
fitted and are advocating the importa-
ton of foreign workers or any other
humans that can be exploited so that
human flesh and blood can be coined
into war profits.
Undoubtedly we must work out
national policy to deal with the matter
of substitutions after drafts begin.
There are numbers of women willing
to work willing to do their utmost for
the-nation. There is no need to force
them into industry now, but plans
should be ready when men are with
drawn for military service, There are
number of trades which will neces-
sarily have less and less work to do
as the war progresses. Among these
may perhaps be counted the building
trades.
From many localities already reports
come to the effect that all the building
trades are not employed. For instance,
in Chicago in more than half the trades
Of the building industry men are I'M
employed. There should be devised a
comprehensive plan for dealing with
| the general problem of employment
scientifically and humanely.
Such a plan should begin with an i'll
| dustrial survey, thus securing accu-
rate information of opportunities for
employment and of the labor power of
the country. Then the necessary ma
chinery to connect workers with op-
portunities for employment should be
established and workers and employ
ers intelligently advised in furtherance
of the best interests of humanity as
we'll as production.
Under such conditions women would
be aided to find development in work
instead of exploitation.
Instead Of working out our problems
upon national basis, we find this has
occurred: A skillfully conducted cam
paign is being carried on to establish
the idea that scarcity of workers ex-
lists, followed by clamorOus demands
for freely importing MeXicans and
coolie workers and for rushing women
into all kinds Of employment In
Cleveland between seventy-five and
100 women are running Bradley ham
mers in one shop. Women are wiping
engines in the running house at Akron.
.. Many are running engines in the
machine shops and doing other labori-
our work around large manufacturing
plants. One woman has been employ
| ed by the B: and o. railroad as a shop
hand She packs journal boxes. which
are on the aXles Of wheels and must
| be filed with waste and OIL Flag
women have appeared on railroads.
Women are employed in the foundry
trade, in machine shops and munitions
| plants. One lumber yard in Chicago
is reported to be employing women to
handle lumber. Truly there can be no
| justification for employing women with
! so little discrimination We cannot
disguise the fact that during the prog
ress Of the war women may he en-
ployed in constantly increasing num-
bers, but surely our nation has enough
! intelligence to see that women are not
employed in handling Bradley ham,
mers and doing the toughest sort of
| manual labor for which they are phys.
ically unfit and that when they do
equal work with men they receive
equal pay.
An intelligent way to start on this
problem would be to have physicians
and scientists formulate fundamental
principles for guidance and then adopt
national employment policy based
upon these principles We cannot af-
ford to wage war for humanity and
democracy and refuse to recognize the
fundamental principles of human well
fare in dealing with the women of our
nation.