Atlanta semi-weekly journal. (Atlanta, Ga.) 1898-1920, 1919-01-17
BUILD NOW!-By Frederic j. HaSkin

It must not be supposed, however, that the
department of labor will encourage building
just for the sake of the employment 1t Will
give The new division of public works and
construction development will be very care
full not to stimulate economically unsound en-
terprses
A point to be emphasized is the advisable
ity of beginning building operations 1mme-
diateIy. One reason for the serious labor
situation at the close of the Civil war was
that building was then limited to short sea-
sons. Now operations can be carried on as
far north as New York in the coolest weather
Modern science is fast overcoming nature by
such inventions as electric riVeters and the
use of steam in thawing out the frozen
ground For instance, all the ground-break-
ing and foundation work at Hog Island ship-
yard was done in the dead of winter last
year.
The department of labor will urge the COM
pletion of the subway and elevated lines un-
der construction in Philadelphia, and other
similar work in large cities. Inquiries from
Harrisburg, Pa, show that municipality is
getting ready to go ahead with municipal
projects delayed by the war. The demand for
residential and business construction in
Washington, d. c., is greater than ever be-
fore. Chicago has Union station to COM
plete.
At the close of the war, the department OF
labor estimated the labor shortage at one
million workers. This shortage has now dis
appeared entirely, and the scales are already
tipping the other way.
1t is quite clear that this situation is only
temporary, but it is also quite clear that it
will be worse before it is better. That is, at
the present time only small percentage OF
the navy and about one-fifth of the army
have been demoblized Add to the number
of soldiers and sailors soon to be discharged
the vast army of those engaged in war occu-
pations who will be turned off on account
of contract cancellations, and you get an idea
of the condition that is coming. The labor
market will be flooded long before the manu-
featuring industries will be ready to absorb
their share of labor and long before the
farmers are ready for the army of hands
which they will demand in time.
The temporarily of this situation may
minimize it's seriousness in the eyes of gov
ernments and employers, but the soldier who
has just received his discharge and the NUM-
ton worker who has been given notice, are
not so interested in the jobs that await them
next summer the big opportunities that
will come in the fall They want to know
how they can feed their families and pay the
rent. The landlord and grocer cannot be put
off with promises about the future.
Work-now! That is the demand of hun
dreds of thousands. And surely there is
work enough to be done. Unemployment has
never been due to a real lack of work that
needed to be done, but always to a lack of
initiative on the part of those who had con-
troll of the capital necessary for it's doing. A
nation which has millions of acres of bush
and swamp to reclaim,sa whole system of
canals to be improved or built, thousands Of
miles of outworn road to be relaid so that it
will carry the growing truck traffic, and bill
lions of dollars worth of delayed housing
projects to complete, has no real excuse for
leaving men unemployed.