The New York herald. [volume] (New York, N.Y.) 1920-1924, 1921-09-29
Part Time No Solution.

The very first thing for the Con-
ference on, Unemployment to do is
to find out how many persons in the
United States, here, there and every
where, are idle because they are on
strike, or because they will not work
under the wage scales their indus
tries can pay, or because they are
not willing to work eight hours a
day, or because they will not work
where they cannot force overtime
exactions even when there is not
enough regular time work, or be-
cause they are not willing to work
on a basis of productivity.
Right at this minute while the
! Washington conference is trying to
solve the problem of unemployment
$4,000 railway trainmen are voting
to walk out Of their jobs. More than
100000 locomotive engineers, fire
men, conductors, switchers, &C., have
voted to walk out of their jobs.
Their ground for this action is that
they will not work under the wage
award of the United States Railroad
Labor Board.
All over the country, in the build
Ing trades, In mines, in shipyards,
in mills and factories, men are off
the payrolls not because there is not
work for them but because they will
rot do the work on wage scales or
under working conditions that will
permit the industries employing them
to meet their payrolls and keep
afloat.
After the Unemployment Confer
ence has checked up in the cities.
towns and country districts the num-
bers of the idle who are thus unem-
ployed not bsrause there are no jobs
for them but because they will not
fill the jobs there are for them, it
will not be so hard to discover and
arrange ways and means to fill the
jobs with those who do want them.
In the meanwhile the Unemploy-
ment Conference. the unemployed
workers, the employed workers and
the country may be very sure that
putting the present workers on half
or three-quarters time to give some
working time TO the idle is not going
to solve any part of the problem.
IL there is one thing that expert
ence has shown in the matter of in
dustrial production and division of
what is produced 1t is that the part
time scheme, merely to keep the in
competent and the lazy on the pay
rolls as well as the hard workers and
the efficient producers, is the most
costly operating scheme that can be
followed. The heart is taken out Of
those who deserve better than that
and the undeserving, sure OF his part
time Job as sort OF charity relief
measure, just shuffies through his
work.
Nine employers out Of ten who have
tried the part time scheme to take
care OF the goats along with the
sheep have found that produc-
tivity-the creation of the things
that are to be divided-is sacrificed
ny the part time scheme. AZ this
runs up production costs and as
these costs are what is the trouble
with the country to-day the Confer
ence Committees scheme will not
make for the revival of business: on
the contrary, It will prolong business
stagnation. IL will not lessen unem-
ployment; on the contrary, it will
Increase unemployment by as much
as the part time scheme with its
economic inefticiency runs up costs
80 sharply on many industries and
other employing concerns that they
are compelled to shut down alto.
gether with the whole force, instead
or a mere fraction, thrown OF their
payrolls.
Once more THE NEw YORK Herald