The Birmingham age-herald., 1919-06-13

George B. Tarrant, federal director of employment for Alabama has re- ceived a letter describing an interest ing experiment by a large employer of labor
 This man who employed so many oth- CTS wanted first hand information of the viewpoint of the workman. He therefore assumed various aliases and went job hunting in various cities. worked in numerous places and shared the daily life of the laborers. He thought congress would be interested in the results of his experiment and ac- cordingly wrote the following letter.
 Washington. D. C., June ', 1919. Hon. James w. Good Chairman, House
 Committee on Appropriations, House
 of Representatives Washington, D. c.
 My Dear Sir: As the result of my experiences of the past few months, l find myself greatly interested in the question of the future of~the United States Employment service as now be- ing considered by you and your com mittee.
 q am an employer of labor In or der to get the viewpoint of the coun- try's workers. I have been working as a laborer under an alias in several plants and factories. My observations to date seem to me pertinent to the question now before you. In a word they are this: The difference between Americanism and bolshevism is the diff ference between having job and not having one. To an extent which no one can conceive who has not himself walked the streets for work, the axle on which the world turns for the work ing man is the job. As long as he can enjoy his three meals a day and think r,f o; 1, fo, i1xy'c ttr some certainty, he is 8 self-respecting citizen, and all this stuff about unrest is of less interest to him than to his employer. But when he is out of a job-then the axle of his world is busted it's jagged slivers enter and cut his self-respect and his very soul to pieces.
 gro be strong of mind and body, will ing to work apd work hard, to walk and walk and ask and entreat and find no work "nowhures," to hear the curses of those who are less hopeful than you because they have walked longer, and to see your purse making a thinner and thinner wall between you and hoarse and hollow -chested bumland = that is enough to try the most reasonable mans faith in his country and its in- stitutions-all of them.
 This fact is well known to the rad ical agitators. In their meetings, l have heard them urge redoubled efforts to enroll new members before these men now out of work get jobs and so close their minds to our gospel"
 AS you, of course know, thousands of employers are devising methods for improving working conditions in their plants, many of them instituting shop committees, profit sharing, etc. These are all good things. But they are frosting on the cake! The whole thing starts with the job. That is what holds the whole thing together.
 ''The biggest piece of insurance against bolshevism that this country can think about just now is nation wide organization for bringing 100 per cent of the jobs available into connec- tion with the men who need them for their daily bread and butter.
 "This connection is not made effi- i ciently or even fairly when workers | have to go to the so-called fee agen- cies" Jobs need workers as much as workers need jobs No citizen should l have to buy a chance to work. Be- ] sides, too many times the superinten- ] dents or foremen who hire men through 1 these agencies get part of the Tee | themselves-and therefore, find means l to fire one worker in order to have a share of his successors fee. It is both unfair to the worker and it is highly | dangerous for the whole country to put l the matter back on the old basis where | 50 men wait outside factory gate for 1 every five jobs. Last winter with 60 | or 70 negroes and foreigners, did my | share of shivering while we all kept | our eyes on the spot where labor | foreman was to appear in order to pick 1 not more than three or four of us! AS 1 we watched the gate. nobody said a | word-it was too serious matter; be- sides each of us was competing with the other But after the three or four