Newark post., 1921-10-05
NATIONAL EVENTS
Observations and Comments lDritten for he Post
Making Jobs for
Millions of Men

Even in times of normal prosperity
there are many people unemployed.
Some of these do not want work, but
there are plenty of others who
through no fault of their own are
temporarily unable to find work they
can do. Substitution of machines for
hand labor, change in the character
of industries in community, fire and
flood disasters, and physical limita-
tions of the workers are causes which |
throw men out of work at all times,
and often mean long hardship and
wide search before satisfactory re-
employment can be found. 1t used
to be popular to disregard all of
these conditions and treat every man
out of work as more or less worth
less. The uninformed but comfort
able philosophy that anybody who
was any good could find work if he
wanted it, has prevented the working
out, long ago.. Of adequate methods
for the distribution and adjustment
to conditions of all available and de-
sirable labor.
The war forced attention to en-
ployment problems as both a national
and a local issue. 1t was necessary
that every man should work or fight,
and the cooperation Of federal and
local governmental and private agen-
cies for the patriotic purpose of WIN
ming the war, led to better under
standing than ever before of the gen.
eral employment situation. 1t was
only the few who had to be forced to
work. The greatest part of the war
task was bringing the man and the
job together with economic benefit to
both.
The peace time task before the
government at Washington and the
country at large, today, is the same
problem, plus the necessity of making
jobs. To overcome the results of in
dustrial depression and provide work
for 100000 men, the same program
is being followed as was followed for
the war emergency. A National Con-
ference on Unemployment has been
called by the President. The Confer
ence met at Washington on Septem-
Der 26th for the construction of a
preliminary program, and reconvenes
today for the discussion and adoption
of permanent measures to relieve the
present widespread need for work.
Representatives of labor, industry,
and the government agree that the
problem and it's remedies must be
threshed out nationally as to scope,
policies, and general plans, but that
the practical attack upon unemploy-
ment to be made Immediately lies
chiefly with the community and the
individual citizen and employer. Each
community must provide work. For
the rescue Of the country from unem-
ployment and the return of pros
perity, we must do what we did dur
ing the war, accept our individual re-
sponsibility for doing our bit. Our
bit in this case, is sharing our own
job by being willing to work on part
time that others may have part time,
by getting done now and during the
winter all the repairs and odd jobs
over which we have control, and urg-
ing the construction now of such
public works as are needed or are
bound to be needed within the next
few years. All employers are urged
to make repairs and clean up their
plants; manufacturers and retailers
are called upon to reduce their prices
to normal; cities and states are urged
to build schools, roads, streets, and
public buildings; the Federal Govern
men will give immediate attention to
reclamation, conservation, and con-
struction projects which are within
it's present powers. 1t was based on
this program and the expectation of
full cooperation in every community
that President Harding could con.
fidently say that America would
handle the unemployment emergency
. |