The sun., 1918-09-29
Labor, Capital, Trade
Domestic and For
eign, Living Costs
and Loans Only a
Few Angles

eminent not take some action to protect
them at the declaration Of 'peacef
"High wages have been paid during the
war, but the evidence we have does not
indicate that the savings of war workers
have been materially greater than in nor
mai times. If so a sudden termination OF
employment wapld find millions in q Sc
rious condition, and it should be the
function of the Government to assist them
in readjusting themselves in new civil EN-
ployment.
"Then consider the building trades.
Many people believe that they will be es-
pecially active as soon as the war is over,
but of this there is grave doubt. Ordi-
narily when times are bad and uncertain
financial conditions prevail the building
trades are not active. Moreover, the Gov
eminent is doing lot of building. What
is to be done with these structuresf Are
we going to continue to own and lease
the houses the Government has provided
for these war workers, or are we to sell
themf
Lanes Plan Only One So Far.
"What about the rehabilitation of our
army and navy after the warf II there
is any plan for this it has not been
brought to my attention. What is to be
done with these men, and how are we go
ing to aid them to resume their former
or other civil employmentsf With the
single exception Of a statement recently
made by Secretary Lane relative to the
occupancy Of public lands by soldiers and
sailors, have not heard Of any even ten
tative plan proposed to provide for this
exigeney. The proposal of Secretary
Lane should be given the fullest eonsidera-
ton.
"When peace is declared there will be
in process of completion billions Of dol
lars of war orders. Necessarily most OK
these orders will be cancelled Immediately.
That will mean that manufacturers
throughout the country will have on hand
or under contract large quantities of raw
material and material in process.
"The prices Of such materials will un-
doubtedly decline at once. Who IS going
to be responsible for the losses incidental
to that situationf Unless the Govern
ment saddles itself with these deficiencies
there will be an infinite number of claims
for amounts aggregating billions of dol
lars, and as q result Of that situation we
may have uncertainty for years to come,
and probably many failures. The credit
facilities of the country must be modified
and prepared to meet this condition.
"Let us turn to the general labor situa-
ton. I am not now referring to the labor
situation as it affects war workers or re-
turned soldiers and sailors. Many new
situations have developed since the begin
ming Of the war.
Millions Of Women At Work.
millions Of women are now doing work
heretofore performed by men and with
which they were not connected until the
war required it. Are they to return to
their former employments or unemploy-
ment, or are they to continue their present
pursuits in competition with the millions
returning from military servieef Would
it not be well for us to provide for per-.
manent employment agencies throughout
the country ard not only find employment
for those seeking it, but arrange for the
transference of unemployed to localities
where there is a dearth Of laborf
ultimately connected with the question
Of labor is the one relating to social well
fare. Many European countries and
other nations have taken steps nationally
relating to many social welfare questions,
for example, like providing for old age
pensions, health insurance and other SIM
liar matters Those questions are being agi-
tated in the United States in some localf-
ties and pensioning system has been
adopted applying to a limited number Of
civil employments. 1t is being done in
and probably unsatisfactory and
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