Every evening, Wilmington daily commercial., 1918-07-27
UNCLE SAMUEL,
LABOR PROVIDED
antinucd from page

Labor wilI 10 supplied 70 Industries
according to q priority list sifn 70 the
one used ~ tie Railroad AdmrI.t ration
last winter THIS viii not he i hard and
fast rule, however, for the relative I'M
portanee n Industries varies with changes
IN tho var situation Thus, though ord
nance IS always badly needed the need
for orc sort If ordnance NAV he more
Imperative st one time than another
As far as possible, local labor demands
will be met with the local labor supply
Where the supply i inadequate for all
needs 1t wall be distributed among en-
ployers requiring comparatively small
numbers of worlncn The larger re-
quircmcnts will he filed with worhnen
transported from other states
SOMEWHAT Ike THE DRAFT
The method Of handling the labor
supply problem has bern worked out on a
plan somewhat similar in operation 20 the
machinery Of the 5eiertlve draft All
of the recruiting and distribution will
be conducted bv agents Of the Public
Service Reserve the recruiting wing IF the
Employment Service In Tins thew vii
be assisted bv local community lahore
boards and state labor boards The
apportionment VII bc made Nv quotas
determined bv the | nIted States En-
ployment Service and approved by the
War Labor Policies Board 50 aS ID insure
a fair contribution TO war work from all
parts Of the country. and 70 prevent
any community from being unduly drain
ed
The total demand has been divided
among the various States and each State
Will sub-dIylde It's quota among its varl-
ouS committees Estimates nave already
been made as 70 now great a proportion
Of the working forces Of the various state
have been drawn into war industries.
and rs % how much unsklled labor IS
engaged IN non-war industries. Quotas
Will be revised ana restated every two
months
The demand for labor Is being deter
| mined mostly through orders for work
men and through estimates OF future
requirements 4 careful check on the
demands and estimates Is being kept
by the local boards Firms have been
known 10 call for 900 men a week when
they could not put more than 100 to work
Then, too. the employer engaged n
non essential work viii De gwen
measure of protection, though his needs
must be subordinated those Of the war
industries tie will be allowed 70 recruit
his own labor as before, though ne must
I not make oyertures 70 workmcn at war
work Should he advertise, II must be
with the consent Of the Employment
Service When his needs do not conflict
with more important ones the government
will endeavor to tind help for him
Some uncertainty has existed as 10 just
what constitutes war work Many in
dustries not operating under government
control or contract seem to be essential
TO the war program. Street car operation
and coal mining are examples 70
clarity this point the War Industries
Board has decided that war work consists
IN the manufacture Of products or the
erection of structures, directly or IN
directly supplied to some department Of
the government for Use IN connection with
the war Products supplied Indirectly
include goods deliveret!e4andtr sub-con-
tract To government contractors 50
that street car operation IS not war work
and coal mining only partly SO. How
ever, both these industries are important
to war work How relatively important
any particular industry is will bc deter
mined by the local boards
Though the Capitalization Of labor
supplies viii doubtless benefit both
| employer and employe, labor Will very
| likely heneht most. Olne feature of this
benefit will be the standardization Of
wages, i problem to which the War Labor
Board is now devotlng a great deal Of
attention An announcement Of a stand
ard wage scale, similar to that devised
| by the Shipping Board, viii he announced
| by the Labor Board in short time This
will 60 far towards aholishing the old
competitive bidding idea, formerly nee
essary to keep wages up. Ii Is quite
| possible that organized labor viii endeayor
| to keep Federal control of the labor market
| in effect after the war, III order to make the
standardized wage scale a permanent
| institution.
4But the governments chief concern
| for the present is to keep war industry
at It's maximum efficiency, by whatever
means possible The fittest men for
war work" is the slogan of the centrahza-
| ton policy Production is handicapped
because war plants are filled with men
unable and untitled properly to perform
| the work The ''non-essential manu-
faeturer" has been given as his cue to
place the best of his workmen at the dis
| posal of the nation, and the government
means that he shall take It.