Every evening, Wilmington daily commercial., 1918-08-27
NEED Of SKILLED
WORKERS FORPLACES
IN PUSHING WAR
Necessitates Changes of Workmen
From Non-Essential to Es-
sential Industries.
DELAWARE is IN THE FIELD
SneciaI Dispatch From Every Evening
Washington Correspondent.

Washington Correspondent
Washington, Aug. 21-The Depart
ment of Labor announces that Pennsyi,
vania, Delaware New Jersey, Maryland
and eleven other States have been covered
bv fortv-three examiners OF the United
States Employment Service in campaign
10 transfer marhinIsts and other skilled
workmen from non-war TO war industries.
This is part OF the program through
which non-essential industries are to be
drained of both skilled and unskilled
workers. to meet the need for labor which
is retariing and hindering the most eftec-
tive industrial offensive of the United
States. More than 100000 unshlled
.laborers alone are sought. The service
has sent out the call to non essential
manufacturers 10 demonstrate their pa
triotism by releasing the needed workmen
Several thousand skilled craftsmen
have been recruited IN Pennsylvania,
! Delaware and elsewhere during the past
few weeks by the examiners, who them
selves are skilled craftsmen They IN
clude maChiuistS, boilermakers and sheet
metal workers
The examiners are going throughout
the country. talking personally TO workers
in nop-war plants, making patriotic
appeals al rallies of skilled wurkmcn and
y the path of patriotic duty hes
They are also assisting employment
and works managers to find and remove
plant conditions which diSsatisfy labor
and cause All unnecessarily large turn
over.
Incinicnt labor troubles have on several
occasions been settled by the mediation
of these trained officials ms we'll
+ SITUATION Is CRITICAL.
! The situation, rs regards skilled
labor shortage in war industry, IS critical.
The reserves virtually arc gone, the
department announces. 1t Is cOnIec-
tllral whether the present and future
needs Of the war industries for machlnlsts,
/ boilcrmakcrs and other skilled workers
in most demand can be met, even II
every non-war enterprise should give up
+ the whole Of IT'S force Of men of these
( needed crafts.
= This Indicates the danger of tempor-
izng with the question Of transfers from
non-war work and the necessity for the
release of such men by non-war employers
either voluntarily or through pressure
: of public opinion
Ii IS estimated that not more than %
or 25 per cent Of the machnlstS IN tho
country arc engaged now in non-war work
Some Of these for sufficient reasons could
not move readily Conservation OF the
workmen now available Is recommended
in view Of the fact that reserves will he
found inadequate
sHIPwoRKERS URGENTLY NEEDED
Shipworkers are among those most
. urgently needed The craftsmen most
In demand, in the order or the urgency
arc machinists. boilermakers, riveters,
clippers. caulkers, molders and structural
iron workers. Coppersmiths arc IN de
mand far in excess of their numbers
The International Association of Ma
chinists, International Brotherhood OF
BoiIerrnakers. the Sheet Metal Workers
International Union and other organlza-
tions are cooperating IN finding the
needed workmen.
Z. c. Dawson. secretary and treasurer
of the Machinists association estimates S
that the transfers of machInists from
ron-war work are approximately 10000
men a month. OF S90l2 reported en-
gagged on war work, he states that about
so per cent have been transferred through
the agency of the United States Employ
ment Service.
Mr.. Dawson sent the following state
ment to the employment service:
Out OF total number OF / ,152 points
that reports were called for, 253 points
have made report, showing that S9,Ol2
machinists are employed IN essential war
work. The same 253 points report
25,211 machinists are employed on nom
essential work, and 4 4,62S machlnlsts IN
active war service IN the army. Not
including those called since July l..
Estimated on the above figures, the
total number OF machinists employed on
essential war work is 400, ,554; +; in nom
essential work I134 449. These figures
are estimated based upon the averages
Of the 253 points covered Upon this
same average estimate, machinists, mem
bers of the International Association oi
Machinists, in active service in the army
number 20, ,s26.