The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1918-09-16
TOPEKA STATE JOURNAL
INFORM ALTON
Blu REAU
FREDERIC J. HAsKIN. Director,
Warrington. D. c.
WAR AND LABOR
1.-The Problem.
Warrington. D. c.

WAX AND LABOh-
1.-The Problem.
Washington, d. c., Sept. 1.-THE
task which faces the government in
putting labor on war basis is one
of the most gigantic problems the ma
ton has ever had to meet. 1t has been
estimated that 1t requires from six TO
eight workers in this country to main
tain single soldier in sthe trenches.
The present plans of an army of five
million fighting men indicate there'
fore that there will have to be between
thirty and forty million engaged in
war production here at home. But at
the present time there are only about
thirty-five million men, women ana
children engaged in gainful oceupa-
lions in the entire country. The INFER
ence Is plain. War industries require
every able-bodied worker who because
of age, sex or dependents is not called
by the armys To keep up with the
army program the nation must pc
placed on a 100 per cent war basis
without exception or delay. Demand
for and production of luxuries must
cease altogether. Employers engaged
in work classified as non-essential
must be prepared to give UP their en-
ployes right and left, even to the ex-
tent of going into war work them,
selves and shutting down businesses
which they have spent their lives IN
building up. In cases where non-war
production Is allowed to continue. IN,
ferior workmen and women must be
substituted to release highly trained
| men for work of vital important to
1.-THE nation.
To handle war labor problems the
| department of labor has been COM
pIetely recognized. New divisions. to
meet the new demands of war. have
| been created and are now taking over
various phases of the labor situation.
| 1t Is the war duties of these divisions,
| which ara the subject of this series OF
articles and the three of them which
are particularly concerned with the
problem of keeping the war protects
of the nation fully manned will be
discussed today. These three are the
United States Employment Service. the
Training and Diiution Service, and the
| Division of Immigration.
1t is the vital responsibility OF the
| Federal Employment service to keep
the war plants of the nation adequate
| 1y supplied with workers, no matter
how the action of the draft may drain
| the available manpower supply. To
| clear the field for this task it has been
granted a virtual monopoly on the re-
cruiting and supply of all labor for
| war projects. Private recruiting OF la
| bar by the war employer is a thing of
the past; on penalty OF having his sup
plies of fuel and raw material cut o.
| he must obtain his men thru this fed
eral agency. In the words of the reso-
luton of the war labor policies board
which tnaugurated this policy on Au-
gust I, "All recruiting of industrial
labor for public or private work con-
| nected with the war shall be conduct
ed thru or in accordance with methods
authorized by the United States En-
| ployment Service
The cause for this drastic exercise
OF federal authority was the condition
OF anarchy which prevailed in the
labor market after the outbreak of
| engaged in war production and every
| private employer with war contracts
| went out after labor, no matter what
I, effect their actions might have upon
other industries equally important to
the prosecution of the war. Those
were halcyon days for the private re-
crufting agent who got a commits
sion on every man he placed, and
therefore had a pertinent interest in
| seeing that labor was kept shifting
| from place to place. One instance
out of thousands is illustrative:
In Knoxville, Tennessee. few
| months ago there were q number of
war industries in need of unskilled
| workers. A colored labor scout, carry
ing his office under his hat, recruited
200 colored laborers from war plants
in Nashville, getting a commission of
81 for each man, and took them to
| Knoxville. Then in order that his
| return trip might be fruitful, he re-
cru1ted zoo more men from war plants
in Knoxville and took them back to
Nashville, also at So apiece. On in
| vestigation it was found that over
three-fourths of the second 200 had
filled jobs vacated by the first 200
few days previous.
The same condition, magnified was
prevalent thruout the country. In De-
tro1t, street car advertisements called
for war workers to go to Pittsburgh;
IN Pittsburgh street car advertisements
called for workers to go to Detroit.
working men were deceived into vast
ing their time and money by trapes-
ing the country looking for war jobs
and wages which they might have
found at their own doors. Labor
!, turnover scaled at some plants to loo
per cent week and an intolerable
situation of waste, discomfort and de-
lay was created which paved the way
Tor the rigid monopoly of war labor
supply now concentrated in the United
States employment service.
The employment service has now
almost 6O0s branch offices in every
part OF the country, and recruiting
agents in practically every county
and township in the forty-eight states
Thru its efforts thousands of men and
! women are being placed in war work
daily, not only in plants engaged
directly on government contracts, but
in farming. mining and transportation
as well>>s No worker is recruited at the
expense of other war industries and
every effort is being made to equalize
the present war labor shortage by
transfers from non-essentiaI indus
tries.
J The training and dilution service
! is another fundamentally directly
Y concerned with the effective manning
of the nations war plants. Organiza
5 ton of this work is now going forward
in cooperation with the activities OF
. the employment service in piacins
workers. What is meant by training
L war workers is evident. s'Dilution,
$ demands a line of explanation. It i.
the process of filling skilled Iabol
shortages by assigning PARTIAL.
: trained men and women to the execu
= tiara of 1,la xaracass L.