New-York tribune., 1919-01-10
Unemployment Crisis
Rendered More Craze
BY Demobilizoaion

I'm three months the unemployment
problem is going to be acute. In six
months it will be very serious indeed,
especially for New York"
That is the opinion of a man whose
business 1t will be to play a large part
in bringing dem obilized soldiers and
peace-time jobs together. lis is Dr..
John Willis Slaughter, director of the
Community Councils, which have been
systematically organized for war and
peace work in hundreds of sections of
greater New York under the stimulus
and patronage of the Mayors Com
mittee on National Defence.
Saying just what is going to happen
IS largely cropping in the Clouds" said
Dr. Slaughter Yesterday "but I think
that from every indication thus far it
is safe to say that a very serious time
is ahead of US. l know my view isn't
shared as broadly as 7 should expect.
think there is a good deal of fatal
compIacency about
he TACT Of the matter is that the
wartime shortage of labor and demand
for men is being very rapidly absorbed
by the demobilization of soldiers and
war workers. Real readjustment to a
peace-tlme basis hasn't started vet.
And while it is getting under way
chunks of labor skilled and unskilled.
Will be dropping off more and more
steadily.
Industrial Morale Needed
"To meet the situation it is neces-
sary to have two things. One is the
proper national psychology Of courage
industrial morale, as it were. With
out that industry viii start up too
slowly to absorb the men DISCHARGED
from the army and the muniton plants.
We should do everything to encourage
lt-everythlng except to pretend that
there is nothing to worry about if we
just muddle along.
81 think this industrial morale is
growing. The lessons Of the war
courage and the habit of doing big
thngs-are helping. Also, the en-
ployer, as class, has a much finer
and much more human attitude toward
labor than he had before the war. A
few short-sighted employers will un-
doubtedly feel tempted to wait for a
pool of unemployed labor to form and
wages to go down. But intelligent
employers that means the mass
of men whose competition dominates
industry appreciate the fact that the
employe earning good wage and hold
ing high standard of living is always
the best employe.
Bring Men and Jobs Together
GAS for the second thing necessary
to meet the unemployment problem-a
mechanism for getting the jobs and the
men together. There we have. besides
the private employment agencies of
peace times, the great Federal service
instituted during the war. And the
Community Councils have been linked
up close with the latter to comb the
city for employment opportunities.
"The Federal Employment Service
has fifteen district Offices in the CITY.
with solicitors in each going through
certain industries constantly canvass
ing vacancies and reporting them back
to various clearing points. This has to
be supplemented however, to reach all
the employers of labor, and it is there
that the work Of my own organization
comes in.
"The Community Councils, which are
nelghborhood bodies all over the great
er city, have organized headquarter rs in
their districts to which the needs Of
the smaller employer are reported. and
from which special, personal and vol
untary canvass is made. The informa-
tlon regarding openings is being post
ed att these headquarters and also for
wardcd to the district Offices Of the
United States Employment Service. BY
TINS means we nope TO cover industries
and small employers with per-
haps only ten workers under them -
which might never be reached other
wise.
Demobilization Problem Serious
Let me emphasize that it is neces-
sary to use every means to safeguard
the return Of our soldiers and hasten
the resumption Of industry. The coun
try took year to get on n war basis.
1t can't get back on peace basis in
three months,
Even If America had STAYED ont of
the war and there were now no rcmob-
iization to deal with, even il we had
merely to face postwar conditions as
manufacturing nation, the situation
would be grave enough. We would find
industry hesitant and lacking conf
dcncc. Think what it means to add the