New-York tribune., 1918-08-22
War With Ease

War With Ease
Consider this statement put forth by
the Department of Labor:
"The shortage of labor in WAR IN
DUSTRIES is now estimated at near
ly ONE MILLION MEN This short
age is seriously curtailing production
Of needed supplies, and unless quickly
remedied threatens to result in a Sc
rious lack of equipment for the army
under the, new army programme"
The United States Employment Ser
vice of the Department of Labor has no
titled all state directors that:
"The seriousness of the situation can
scarcely be exaggerated"
Yesterday The Journal Of Commerce
reported that several big firms engaged
in war work are now short about $4,000
men. "and in some cases operation is
virtually at standstill." Similarly, The
Iron Age will say to-day that the big
iron shortage, complained of for months,
grows more acute; that the situation as
to COAL coke and transportation does
not measure up to the enlarged require
ments of the war; and that there will
be special meeting Of the steel manu-
facturers in Washington to-day. and a
general meeting of manufacturers. in
New York next Wednesday, to take i'm
portant steps to meet the demand for
ship, munitions and railroad steel"
An article in last nights Evening Post
says the coal supply is now twenty mill
ion tons behind fock-bottom estimates as
to what will be needed, and tnat this
shortage is precisely in the kind of coal
needed for the various war industries.
for the factories and for the production
Of steel. We have already printed Mr..
Schwab's statement that in one district
alone, on the Pacific Coast, there is
shortage of $4,000 men.
Now consider some facts in contrast:
There were at the last census some
thirty million wage earners in the
United States. This number has been
very considerably increased by the wom-
en- and young men who have been pressed
INTO service by the needs of war, or at
tracted by the prevailing high wages
paid in the munition plants and else
"here, The present total is probably not
less than forty millions, Of which. saw.
one-half IS engaged in the production
and distribution of food and fuel That
leaves twenty millions to be accounted
IN the various other manufacturing and
distributing functions of the nation and
IN the professions. We cannot imap;na
that more than five million men ara on
gageo directly In the wars activities
the building of ships, the making Of am
munitions, guns, trucks and all the rest.
Five millions is probably far above the
reality. This would mean, then. that
there are probably fifteen million wage
earners in the United States not now
engaged in any kind Of war activity.
Fifteen million wage earners, prob
ably, not engaged in war work-ten or
twelve millions with certainty-and in
the war industries alone there is a short
age OF something like million menl
AND 80 acute Is this shortage that more
than six hundred metropolitan news
papers and hundreds Of more newspapers
In smaller cities and towns are now run
ming or are about to run advertisements
to educate the country for the neces-
sity OF universal support of the United
States Employment Service and its
work"
Consider these further facts: Produc-
ton OF pig iron so far this year is at
the lowest point in three years; and the
steel situation Is little better. The pro-
duction Of copper, 80 vitality needed in
the war, as all the rectat reports NJ
the copper companies show, is probably
lower than at any time in three years
In other basic lines the same thing iS
true, and yet--the volume Of business for
the whole nation is the greatest in jts
history.
This means that the production and
consumption Of non-war commodities il
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