Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1919-03-15
"ThO Fifth Wheel"

Frantic consultations are being held
to cave the United States Employment
Service from the death decreed for It
at he end Of this month BY Congress-
ence along with other Government
agencies created for war purposes only.
And no convincing reason has been
advanced for making an exception OF
oont,ss s i q tSis services war record
which appears a. the strongest reason
against continuing its existence.
It tried to meet the all important
necessity of supplying labor for war IN
ating a whole new labor-supplying ma
cilinery, overlooking the usefulness OF
existing machinery desisned for exact
" that thing. In other new lines OF &C.
tiyitX the Government worked through Ugh
operating or regulating.
Tin deciding to run railroads, the
Government did not scrap all existing
lines and attempt to lay out new roads
The result Of the labor service pro.
grAm was q muddle, unsatisfactory IN
many particulars. which even agents
OF the service admit: The mere geos,
obstacie. From desks in. washington
able and conscientious workers in the
service found they could not handle
labor shortages in the West. IN Maine
or In Louisiana: Disinterested omS'ahs
in Washington found that they had. IN
many instances. to work through IN,
canabie political apointees who mad
been River, the positions in the outlying
cities, where the problems actually e1-
listed. ,h.+
II NAV turn about and try to handle an
entirely different problem-to supply
tobs for men instead Of men for 1oUs.
And in this field II is even more WIN
u
out the necessary macn ,nrr,r;s. ;s not
tied to Government departments IN
neace as 1t was in war; the GoVern-
ment's difficulty in locating jobs IS TAR
.reater than its task OF finding men.
In the few months of peace the serv-
ice has Numbered around in this new
field. Even it's reports OF the amount
~ Unemployment have been fatly dss-
nuted by those who have untaHHls
means Of knowing how man! men .,; n
ties Of the service branches seem ac-
tualiy TO have unsettled the LABOR mar
ket. to no purpose. ..;.,, ob,;.
There Is Of course. the OBVIOUS ~
cation Of the Gov err, ;ehs % sc s
~ fh, War Department is planning ~
Continue its joh-hnding bureaus AT can
tonments. II these do not sunice: ins
Government NAV now do whal II Ia 80
to do before. , ut,i,2e AZ
Emf to maintain a separate se1vi s
conferred at Washington to ma joys
scattered through states is 70 ihS S, w
a NTH wheel for the coaeh'-oos'o'
Globe editorial.
On Feb. % the Kennebec journal
reported this insolent government
hureau's demand for $16.oo0.oOo TO
carry on in 1919 its business OF tie
ir~ up labor votes to the federal
trough for use in the next cam
paign. These agencies not only
blew money right and left in elaoor-
ate ofYlces and in big salaries to men
needed for their influence in union
ORGANIZATIONS. and in flooding news
paper Offices with the "pubNcitS
product of numerous experts in Sc
curing space. but they presumed 70
order newspapers concerning tneir
"he,n wanted" or situations want
cd" advertisine-it MUST go through
u. s. Employment Service hands.
The entire scheme was unwar-
ranted, hare faced. political. paternal.
McAdooism. 1t fails. as it richly de-
serves. and we are only sorry Tor
those tied up to it rs salary carriers
who must be dumped upon the labor
market at n hard time. and after
they have been given a taste Of bet
ter wages than they had previously
earned and an optimistic view OF the
future Of their employment.