New-York tribune., 1919-05-26
A Conversation
With DIR. Kirchwey

The one real pessimist among those
in touch with the labor situation, aside
from the organized labor leaders, is
DR.. Kirchwey, whose bureau now is
being financed on money borrowed
from j. P. Morgan & Co., with the
expectation that the government will
repay it.
"On what do you base your esti-
mates that there are so many people
out of work ?" Dr. Kirchwey was
asked.
"On the general situation" he re-
piled. "There are no definite figures,
and we can get none. Our service in
Washington maintains what we call a
barometer getting returns from
many lines Of business, and this
barometer shows a serious lack Of
employment in the country. Business
men have told me that ordinary peace
time business was only about so per
cent. of normal at New Years, and
from our figures I do not believe it
has improved much since"
but your figures here show more
jobs than applicants?
"You must not place too much weight
on those figures; and of course there
are great many people who will not
apply to an agency for job unless
they are in serious straits. A good
many follow the old custom of going
from place to place job hunting. l do
not believe there are enough jobs to go
around if we knew how many people
needed Them
But your figures do not show any
increase in the number of people hunt
ing for jobs; that is, your lists are not
increasing, and there is always mar
gin between the jobs asked and those
offered"
81 do not see what that shows"
doesn't it indicate that even if there
are good many people looking for
jobs on the outside, they are not clear
ing up the market, so that there is
really an actual margin between jobs
asked and jobs offered ?"
81 do not see how you can say that, in
view of the general conditions we have
just been discussing, unless you mean
to imply that there has arisen such a
shortage of labor owing to the men
who are still in the army, and those
who have gone back to Europe, that a
balance has been reached far below the
normal of prewar industry
"Then you must remember that the
chief difficulty is getting men to the
right jobs. A man cannot be expected
to take q job much below his Standard
unless he is starving He uses his saw
ings, instead. He won't do anything un-
familiar, and he won't go away from
home. That may not be wise, but we
have to take human nature as we
find it,"
"Then you would not say that the
labor situation was serious?"
ooh, no. 1t is not serious, and don't
think it, will become serious now. There
would be little trouble if it were not
for the demobilizing of the soldiers. 1t
is mainly problem in adjustment, but
lHdt is q real prODleM. inaC Is my I'M
preston. You see, we have to deal
largely in impressions here. am sorry
| cannot give you anything more def
ute In the way of facts"
The point made by DR.. Kirchwey.
that many of the Jobs are not of the
kind the applicants want, has a strong
bearing on the situation. There are at
present few jobs in the building line,
and men trained in this line are avoid
ing suffering by grace of their own
foresig ght and saving, rather than by
anything in the general situation.
Even so, the agencies report, these
men are not yet at the point where they
will take anything that comes along,
even in their own line They are far
from beng destitute. and they feel they
can afford to wait for something that
looks good.