New-York tribune., 1919-05-02
Still Not Enough Vacancies
for Arriving Troops, How
ever, Employment Bureau
Head Asserts in Appeal
Churches to Aid Drive
Debarkation of Soldiers in
New York Held as
Handicap to Local Men

The New York director of the United
States Employment Service says there
are considerably more than 100000
unemployed men in New York. includ-
ing soldiers, sailors and marines.
All of the 2,762 officers and men of
the old Goth and the 1900 in the 11th
Engineers regiments are now in camp
here.
More than half of the 10000 of the
77th Division has arrived. with large
contingents of the remainder coming
in daily.
Within the last two days transports
brought 1908 more troops to New
York.
American soldiers still in Europe are
applying for employment through
government agencies at the rate of
10 900 week.
These men must have jobs.
What Is To Be Done About 1t?
CTEPHEN C. MASON, president of
~ the National Association of Man
ufacturers, the membership of which
employs more than $4,000 workers in
New York, responded to the above in
terrogation yesterday with the state
mept considerable portion of the To-
cal problem is due to the large num-
Der of soldiers being repatriated
through this port and the hand-to-
mouth buying by jobbers, retailers
and consumers awaiting expected price
reductions and thus preventing general
business resumption.
"Whatever the factors contributing
q bo ,o1i J.
business men of the country are doing
all they can to cope with it," said Mr..
Mason. Some time ago we issued a
circular letter to the 4,40O members
or the association, pointing out that
their one outstanding obligation now
Is to take back into their plants the
men who ceased their work to place
their lives at the disposal of the ma
ton.
Necessity Of Action
"They have been urged to recognize
not only the patriotic duty but the
practical necessity involved in giving
absolute employment preference to our
returning troops. We believe that the
complete reabsorption of our trained
men Will greatly strengthen the bull
warks of industrial freedom as we'll
as enable our industries to regain
their proper efficiency.
our membership has made it pol
ICY to take on an even larger number
OF discharged service men than that
represented by the stars in the service
flags in our Offices and plants. l have
been informed that thousands of re-
turned men have already been given
back their old jobs and that other
thousands will be cared for as soon as
they are discharged. We feel that the
Of hn
more lifting thing than pledge their
every effort and resource to the men
VINO preserved the institutions and
principles of America on the field and
sea of battle"
The estimate by Dr. Kirchwey, direc-
tor of the United States Employment
Service in this district, that 100000
men were out of employment in New
YORK, which was contradicted in a dis
patch from Washington, was declared
Yesterday by DR.. Kirchwey to be not
only true but ultra-conservative.
Il have consulted with leaders of la
Dor organizations in New York" DR..
klrchwey said, "and they tell me that
my estimate was far below the mark.
What they gave me as figures | am
not at liberty to disclose, but I will
say that they are far in excess of
those l announced.
Report Based on Surmises
"Thc Washington report was based
on weekly report from industrial
centers, indicating the number of men
who had been discharged and the num-
per OF men who had been employed in
select number of concerns through
out the country" he said.
Inc report from New York, for in
stance, was based on canvas of 200
seIected concerns employing about 10O,-
ooO men, and it showed that an eQuilib-
rum had been reached in those plants
IN other words, that the number of
men who had been employed lust about
counterbalanced the number of men
who were discharged. That canvass
and report were made merely to show
the trend of the labor situation in
those plants, and in no way can it be
construed as dealing with the unem-
ployment problem"
Secretary of the Interior Lane and
Colonel Arthur Woods, assistant to the
Secretary of War, yesterday issued ap-
peals through the local employment
service headquarters for the universal
observance Of next Sunday, May 4, as
Emplooyment Sunday" In connection
with these appeals DR.. Kirchwey ad-
dressed letter to the thousands of
churches of I'll denominations of the
state urging upon them to launch a
campaign that day. to assist the Fed
eral employment agencies in finding
Jobs for service men.
The new unemployment bureau for
service men established by the city's
business organizations in the Hallen-
beck building, sos Pearl Street. re-
ported that on Monday it had listed q
surplus of 5S8 iohs "