The Rock Island Argus and daily union. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1920-1923, 1920-12-02

WaahtngtO1, ID. C., NOV. Iy.-Ine
man who 10 willing and able to
work but can't ind Job. 10 with ~.
again. Unemployment 10 in evf-
dence Almost everywhere in the
United States, according to reports
reaching the U. s. employment
service. In some little factory
towns It means only few hundred
men out Of work. In New York it
means 100, 900 men out OF work in
4 single industry. So far it has
mot meant bread lines nor other
symptoms Of acute Distress And
no one can tell how bad 1t is going
to be. That depends upon how
quickly and easily the price-read-
justment 10 made-or rather, makes
itself.
But the man out of . job is q
significant figure. He is the hard
est Of all radicals to answer. You
may say that the agitator who criti-
cises our institutions talks bosh,
but the man who wants to work
and knows how to work and cannot
ind the chance. surely has q real
case against society. He is the
man Of all men who will listen
when someone tries to tell him that
the nation is organized on the
wrong principle and ought to be
made over. There is no use asking
him to be content, when his stom.
ach il empty and the door to his
job is closed.
To prevent unemployment IL
worth more rs = step toward sup.
pressing. radicalism than any
amount Of red-baiting and anar.
chist-exporting. Yet unemployment
hits Ms periodically and We have
never. yet made any intelligent e.
fort to take care of it.
The Employment Service.
The nearest thing to an effort il
that line was the creation Of tn,
U. s. employment service during
the war as q part OF the labor de-
partment- 1t was not provided Il
take care Of unemployment, bu
rather to help in overcoming ;
labor shortage. Nevertheless, i
was an organization for studying
labor conditions, and its machiner!
could be used against unemploy
ment as well rs against shortage
At present this government Il
just barely alive. During 1919 i
received appropriations Of $500,
!. 600. For 1890 and 1921 congress
has given 1t 100000 and $225, 00'
respectively. In other words, it ha'
received Just enough to keep it IL
existence with a skeleton organiza
ton. Even that existence is de
pendent upon further legislation
The Nolan bill, which has been re
ported favorably by the house com
mittee ON labor, would make it /;
permanent bureau. Unless this bill
is passed it will presumably 60 on
of existence.
How would the employment serv
ice 60 about preventing unemploy
ment il it were made a permanen
bureau! The most direct and effec
tive way would be for it to opel
employment Offices in every indus
trial city of the country, with it!
Washington Office acting as a clear
ing house. By sue ha system,
could bring the man and the jol
together, and reduce unemploy
ment to a minimum. If a Thousand
men were thrown out of jobs by tn,
closing Of a factory in Massachus
etts at the same time that a thou
sand were needed for q state road
building project in Pennsylvani.
the employment service woul,
know it, and move the men wher
they were needed.
This would not solve the prob
lem, of course. 1t would not Great
jobs. But it would give the ma
out of a job a resource, a hope.
would make the size and nature c
the problem evident. It would
an immense advance over the att
tude Of indifference mixed wit
futile philanthropy with which "
have always met the unemploymer
problem before.
This national employment sys