The Nenana daily news., 1919-01-11
POST DECLARES
 LABOR PROBLEM
 IS MI SERIOUS

put ourselves uOWn to winning the peace" by drives as we have to winning the war, the problems of labor and industry in the after the-war period will be easily and instantly settled," says Louis F. Post, assistant secertary of labor. MT. Post declares he does not an- ticipate any particular problems in the readjustment period. "We changed quickly from peace to war production" he said, land it seems to me that there should be no reason why our factories and our work men should not be able to change back from the war basis to the peace basis as quickly, making due allow ance for such lack of raw materials as may exist, due to seasonal con- ditions. But, given the raw ma terials, plants which were manu- featuring articles for peace trade before the war should be able to reassemble their machinery and change their processes back to the basis of peace production without so much confusion and delay as many people anticipate"
 There is bound to be certain shift ing of labor from plants at present solely designed for war work back to plants that were the big pro- ducers in peace times, Mir. Post be- lieves; but he regards the employ ment service of the department of labor as a suitable agency for hand ling the problems that might arise from such shifting and believes that it will be able to provide workers with jobs as we'll as to provide workmen for employers.
 There is an element in the wage question winch may produce indust- rial unrest and in that only does the country face danger from the recon struction necessities, thinks MT. Post. Even this may be avoided by in- telligent agreement and conference between labor and employers. How ever, Post declares, Eff employers are to be guided by the type of men who have figured all through history as the privileged class, who think it their religious duty to re- fuse to deal with organized men, we will have trouble. If so much dis position will be shown by employers to adjust industry and its problems as the men they hire, the possibility of trouble will be reduced to a mini num-
 "The worker who in peace times was able to earn $30 week has under war wages and war overtime, frequently been enabled to go home on pay night with $10O in his pock- ct, representing his weeks wages. The man who has experienced this is not going to be willing to stand, a material reduction in it. It is true, of course that he will be willing to forget the overtime work he has been putting in, but even should there be reduction in the cost of living, which seems unlikely, the worker is not going to accept re- duction of his wages to his pre-war basis. That, however, is matter of the individual, rather than the union.
 "Collective bargaining will solve much of that. I feel that there should be continued existence of the agency represented through the Ma tional War Labor Board. The de- cisions of that board, providing for a review of the wage awards every six months on the basis of changes in the cost of living, and more par ticularly the awarding of the right of collective bargaining, if entered into thoroughly and in harmonious spirit by workers and employers alike, will do much to solve the problem through the operation of the shop committees.
 I do not anticipate any lack of jobs. People forget that we have been practicing abstention from what we need and that there is much