The labor journal. [volume] (Everett, Wash.) 1909-1976, 1918-11-29

the urdll. lIeIe was juDlc I-'.-
lem, which the United tates En-
ployment Service was at once cal.d
upon to solve.
This great organization, through
its farm labor officials, succeeded
first of all in mobiizing all the
spare labor Of the wheat country
the older men and the boys wso
could give effective service. Ne,
men out of jobs or expecting calls
to the army within month or 50
were collected from all parts Of tie
country. In one way and another,
great harvest army was created,
which worked its way north throu"1
the Mississippi and Missouri val
| legs to the Canadian border with a'l
the precision Of a victorious army
on the battlefield The American
wheat crop was saved, and that cr
Canada as well. Before the army
was demobilized, the American com
crop was also gathered.
While this great project was uo-
der way, the Employment Service
was guiding men into essential oo-
equations. There was a spIcn'l
response to the Nations need when
men in full strength and vigor wee
summoned from non-essentiaI 10 S
to wartime production. As oecg-
pations were added from time TO
time to the non-essential list, the
muntion factories and other war
work received a supply Of recruits
who have given excellent service to
the country
Here again came an instance Of
cooperation between employer and
employee. AT first a few facJory
owners felt apprehension about pl2r-
ing young men without experience in
machine work. Nevertheless, the fac
tory gates were opened for their re-
ception and everything possible done
to instruct them in. the work requir-
ed to turn out war materials.
Labor has kept the stream &C
guns and projectiles, of foodstuifs,
and clothing moving steadily for
ward during the past year and a
half. SO efficiently has the Ame"i-
can workman performed his tas',
shat America has practically SUD
ported the world, and yet the people
at home have suffered no real hard
ships
Coal presented one of the greet
problems of the war. Coal is
vital necessity to all the forms Ct
war work-to the factories that pro
duce war materials, the homes Of
the workmen, the railroads and the
ships that transport goods to ell
parts of this country, and to our
soldiers abroad. Many miners had
, been called into the Army; the de-
peted number that remained must
produce more coal than had ever
becen mined before, to supply the
wartime need.
Miners who had long considered
themselves on the "shelf," who had
accumulated enough money to live
the balance of their allotted years,
volunteered to come back to the
mines to help defeat the German.
Miners in the South gave up their
Labor Day holiday-a day which
means more to the workman than
almost any other in the year. They
remained steadily on the job, and
have accomplished a great task.
But the job is not finished The
Labor Department keeps this mes
sage before the workers: mot until
peace is actually signed will we
have peace. The processes of pro-
duction must go on and on; there
must be food, coal, and clothing
enough for the world
In all these mighty feats of labor
the production Of the worlds sup
ply Of wheat, the building of count
less tons of shipping, the mining Of
coal for thousands of Industries and
a great army and navy-Americaa
employers have, on the whole, stood
firm with labor Such men as Van
derbilt and Schwab have realized.
and have said, that the time is at
hand when the workingman, whether
he works with his hands or his brain
is the only man who really counts
The men who work with brain have
done their full share with those
who gave their Drawn There have
been of course a few employers who
have refused to move forward, and
have closed their eyes to the trend
of the times. There was for I'M
stance, the man who asserted his
right to burn his factory ra5he-
than let the Nation or tho vv,.i-