Perth Amboy evening news., 1920-12-02
THE HASKIN LETTER
MPLOYN
Nv Frederic j. HasLxin.

dence almost everywhere In the
United States, according to reports
reaching the Il. s. Employment Ser
vice. In some little factory towns
It means only a few hundred men
out of work. In New York 1t means
100, 900 men out OF work in a single
industry. SO far 1t has not meant
bread lines nor other symptoms of
acute distress. And no one can tell
how bad il IS going TO be. That de-
ponds upon how quickly n easily
the price-readjustment is made-or
rather, makes itself.
But the man out of a job is a sig
nihcant figure. He Is the hardest
of all radicals to answer. You may
say that the agitator who criticises
our institutions talks bosh, but the
man who wants to work and knows
how to work and cannot find the
chance, surely has a real case
against society. He is the man Of
ali men who will listen when some
one 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 stomach is empty and the
door to his job is closed.
To prevent unemployment Is
| VII lllOAS d6 u olCp lOWhIu sup
pressing radicalism than any
amount of red-baiting and anarch-
ist-exporting. Yet unemployment
hits us periodically and we have
never yet made any intelligent effort
to take care of it.
The Employment Service.
The nearest thing to an effort in
that line was the creation of the U.
5. Employment Service during the
war as a part of the Labor Depart
ment. 1t vas o provided to take
IA of unemployment, but rather
to help in overcoming a labor Short
age. Nevertheless. 1t was an organ-
ization for studying labor conditions
and its machinery could be used
against unemployment as well as
against shortage.
At present this government tu-
reau is just barely alive: During
1912 it received appropriations of
So 5000. For 1920 and 1921
congress has given it 100000 and
$225,000 respectively. In other
words. 1t has received just enough
to keep it In existence with a skel-
eton organization. Even that EXIST
ence Is dependent upon further leg
islation. The Nolan bill, which has
been reported favorably by the
House Committee on Labor, would
make 1t a permanent bureau. I'm
less this bill Is passed 1t will pre-
sumably go out of existence.
How would the Employment Ser
vice go about preventing unemploy-
ment IL 1t were made a permanent
bureau? The most direct and ef-
fective way would be for it to open
employment offices in every indus
trial city of the country, with its
Washington office acting as a clear
ing mouse. .Ey such a system 1t
could bring the man and the job to-
gether, and reduce unemployment
to a minimum. If a thousand men
were thrown out Of jobs by the clos
ing OF a factory In Massachusetts, at
the same time that a thousand were
needed for a state road-building
project in Pennsylvania, the EN-
ployment Service would know Il.
n move the men where they were
needed.
This would not solve the problem
o fcourse. 1t would not create jobs.
But 1t would give the man out of a
job a resource, a hope. 1t would
make the size and nature of the
problem evident. II would be an
immense advance owe the attitude
of indifference mixed with futile
philanthropy with which we have
always met the unemployment
problem before.
This national employment SER
vice, as it was operated during the
war. collides with our political
ideals. 1t is regarded in many quar-
ters as a violation of states rights,
and an extension of the evil of pa
ternalism. There is no present
prospect of re-establishing such a
system. Sentiment. as the saying is,
goes against it.
State and Federal Cooperation.
But a very similar system a be
established by cooperation be-
tween the Federal Government and
the state governments. 1t is such
a system that is contemplated by
the Nolan bill, and which the pres
ent officials of the Employment Ser
vice hope to establish. Thirty-three
states already have employment
services with Offices in about 200
cities. If some Federal aid were Of
Tered, 1t is possible hat the rest of
the states would establish employ
ment services, and hat all of the
principal industrial centers would
be served. In return for a small
Federal appropriation, these state
services would be bound to furnish
the Employment Service in Wash
tngton with all available Informal
ton concerning labor conditions and
they would also. perhaps, be COM
PEELED to maintain certain standards
OF efficiency in order to get this Fed
eral aid. In this way a system sim
liar to the Federal system, with
WA shin pf0n anfino DC la,---
house. would be established without
violating states rights or Extend
Ing very much the authority Of the
Federal government.
A Labor Survey.
The U. S. Employment Service.
while waiting to see what the new
Congress is going to do to it, is pre-
pairing to make a survey of the la
Dor situation. Such a survey is
made once a month now by the Blu
reau of Labor Statistics. but the
Employment Service contemplates
a more intensive and extensive ef-
fort. The country will be divided
into nine geographical divisions and
agents will be established in the
principal industrial cities of each.
These will make bi-monthly reports
the exact conditions of the
TABOR market in all of the funda-
mental industries in all parts of the
United States. This information
VIII make clear to employees, to Ia
o leaders to Congress, the exact
conditions at all times. 1t will sup
ply n facts. which is certainly the
hrst step toward solving any prob
tem. the Chamber of Commerce of
the United States is understood to
nave endorsed this proceeding.
Manufacturers are beginning 70