The Washington herald., 1921-09-06
LOOKS TOHOOVER
TOSOLVE PROBLEM
OFsUNEMPLOYMENT
Harding Has High Hopes
OF Conference Later
~, This Month.
ny MARX SULLIVAN.

ny MARK SULLIVAN.
The mind Of Secretary Hoover is
Prfn1Srily an engineering one. 1t Is
one, Of the Pew engineering minds
IN public life in any country. We
haks the legal mind-have it rather
In Excess Of its due proportion. We
hase1the banker mind. and the
lakor mind. and the farm mind,
and other varieties Of class mind
We have also. rather In excess of
what we can Comfortably absorb.
the politician mind pure and simple.
the sort Of mind that makes Gavin
McSas of san Francisco say that
the politician is the only animal
kneYn to nature who can keep
boeh ears to the ground at the
.sRs time"
ButS,Mr. Hoover has almost a
monopoly of the kind OF mind that
can survey the economic forces OF
the world as a business man sur
veys.athe conditions of his own
country. and figure out what is
likely to result from them. and,
more important figure out what can
he done to direct these forces to q
different result. II is the mind OF
the super business man who is a
manager OF industry on large
scale. plus a student OF markets
and trade conditions II is this Kind
of mind. undoubtedly. that has led
Mr.. Hoover to consider unemploy-
ment :: and at the unemployment mt
conference which will be held un-
der his direction shortly after the
middle Of the month. he can be eN-
pecteds to provide whatever sug-
Ecstion may he possible in the
direction of controlling this particu-
lar economic phenomenon
Back to Farms.
The unemployment is not as
srsst Is statistics make it out The
Department OF Labor figures say
5.7aO.o00 men are out of work. But
GOOD deal Of what the statisticans
see as unemployment is really in the
shape of farmers sons who went
into the factories during the war
and are now being absorbed again
by the farms without much discom-
fort For this and other reasons,
rarefuI persons who temper statis-
tics with personal observation and
Judgment say that the actual un-
employment is nearer 100000.
But whatever the figure, the ex-
necied phenomenon OF postwar
unemployment is upon us and must
hc sLooRcd in the face. II ignored.
iu ui=ht readily have unpleasant So
riaI and political results. After the
,JVfI war. the wOrkless. discharged
S.rHGer was absorbed by the free
land Of :he West. So far as the
-eueral public was concerned. he
disappeared and was no problem
N"wE We no longer have the free
aid aud for il "" must substitute
"'-pnonnic intelligence.
immigration Act Indicated.
rIpcidcntaIIy. the sudden appear
apcc Of unemployment in America
illustrates the wisdom Of the act
restricting immigration. which was
passed during the FIRST few weeks OF
Hdrding's administration. Other
wise. our unemployment problem
might have been greatly increased.
Throughout the world. great num-
hers OF human beings have been dis
LODGED by war and postwar cOndi =
tions These dereIicts float towards
uS as inevitably as water flows
down hill There was some degree
Il truth. although more mere clever
moss, Of course. in the saying that
America was becoming the cess
pod bf the human race. However
JhcS new law puts limit. even il
only 4. loose and partial limit. on
tho. number Of immigrants who can
increase and compIicate our unem-
pluy ment problem.
One Obvious Onset.
The 6ne obvious offset which. ap-
psTrntLy. che administration has in
mind for unemployment is the So
called .raiIroad bill 1t is believed
that if the government will ar
range for the railroads to get i'm
mediately a <uficiAnt sum on ac-
count ''or the railroads claims
Icainst the government. then the
railroads will be able to provide
work for 100000 men, in part di-
rsctIy on the railroads and in part
road supplies.
This increase of employment will
y iurn improve general business
ind especially increase the volume
~ traffic on the railroads. With
INCREASE Of the volume of trafiC
will come the possibility of lower
'refSht rates. and it is hoped that
his and other eXpedients will
.ausc the start of a new and better
economic cycle. That, il one may
guess from appearance. seems tO
recount for the dministratton's
obvious. eagerness to have Congress
rass the SO-Called railroad bill'
mmediately after reassembli8g.
(CopHriKht. 1921