New-York tribune., 1918-01-19

'u"S'''"' -\eW or, OOCyCu The Gar
heid clos'n: edict yesterday morning bv
banking fires. The Merchants Associa-
ton estimated that in the mctropolitan
district--which includes not ONLY the
greater city. hut nearly New JERSEY and
estchcstcr County $50, 900 persons
were sent back to their homes for five
days of enforced idlencss.
Inc barometer Of the city's foelinps
toward the order was found at the
switchboard of the Merchants Associa-
ton, where thousands of heads of busi-
ness institutions sought information as
TO means of obeying the order In all
these calls. according to officers of tho
organization, there was not one plea for
information as to a legal escape from
its restrictions.
Women Workers Hit Hard
In most cases the men and women
workers did not know that they were
affected by the closing order until thev
read notices upon the doors of their
places of employment announcing that
business had ceased fo1 five davs bv
order Of the Federal government. At
practically all of the big factories the
news was accepted good naturcdly bv
employees, who looked upon the locked
doors as an unavoidable hardship of
war.
But to many others notably women
workers in the garment making IN
oustrE-the announcements came as lit
Tie short OF Il tragedy. GROUPS Of
weeping women and men who were nj
most equally affected gathered about
the loft buildings IN which thev nor.
mally spend their waking hours and re-
peatcd one question over and o,.o.
again. ''''
How viii we live" they asked
he question was unanswered last
hlsht. SINCE their employers agreed that
lneN could not assist their workers.
whose wages are figured almost OK,
cIusINe!y upon the piece basis. Officers
o. thelr unlons announced that these
workers had been working on a mini.
mum wage scale, had lost much time
recently and had difficulty in obtaining
,he bare necesstes of life when work.
!ns on full time.
Employment Bureaus Swamped
mat these workers do not intend to
'!'~''N NHSit IiNt UdNS IN IUlenGSS. how
ever, was indicated BY an unDrece tented
lush for jobs at the ninety employment
ofhces maintained by the government
"l'nin the city limits. The increase in
anp!lcantS was estimated al between IN
and 30 pen cent. w
FRIDAY IS dull day for job hunters.
Say officers OF the Clearing House for
Employment Offices, but $4,000 more
mn., men ,o;'3 s9usht work through this agency
HesIefdaN ;a1 than on the Friday Of last
week. Monday is expected to be the
oisgest day in the history of the en-
LIoyment bureaus.
NO trade suffered more severely
than did that Of the garment garment
workers, whose members are naid
Almost exclusively on a piece basis
.Iu' ana as consequence, will pocket
!ne entire loss brought about by their
ldlencss. Moreover, the officers of
their organization said that they. of
al the cltEs workers. were least able
70 lace such a loss. How they will
OBTAIN the bare necessities OF life dur
Nls Ihelr enforced vacation nobody
even pretended to say.
Nearly $1,000 members of the Anal.
gamated Clothing Workers of America
employed i'll the city's five boroughs,
reported for duty in the morning and
read the news of enforced idleness in
'ONA>N' poSNCu oil ttle uOOIS OF ShOOS
None OF their number had known
whether they would be forced out hv
the closing order when they ceased
work Thursday night.
Calls 1t Serious Blow
'Nobody knows how serious blow
this is to the garment workers." said
Joseph Schloss berg secretary-treas
urer of the organization. "Their loss
III wages will amount to more than
s300,000. When you consider that
every one Of these men has family
OF from three to five dependent upon
him and that he has been making only
enough to live on when he had six or
seven days of work, you can see Just
where this leaves him."
Complaints were even more bitter
among the women and young girls who
make up a majority Of the members of
the National Ladies' Garment Workers.
Union, whose officials estimated that
between 10000 and 100000 workers
had been forced into idleness during
the tiveday period. Abraham Bara-
noh, treasurer of the union, estimated
the wage loss at 100000. He said
that this loss would be d tragedy in
many families where every penny had
been necessary to provide the bare ne
cessitles OF life during the winter.
The twenty-five story building at 14l
West Thirty-siXth Street was n hive Of
unproductlvc activity throughout the
morning as the 5000 men and women