Evening star., 1921-08-29
PRESIDENT T0CALL
CONFERENCE HERE
ION UNEMPLOYMENT
Contentious Questions Be-
tween Capital and Labor
Will Be Barred.
PROBLEM HELD HUMAN
AND NOT FINANCIAL

Oeuultc 6IOSIhm desired Oy d0V.
ernment officials to Alleviate
Present Conditions, Says Hoover.
President Harding is to call a ma
! tfonal conference in Washington on
| unemployment. to start about the
middle of September Secretary
Hoover Of the Department Of Com
| merce has been asked by the Presi-
dent to formulate the plans, which
| he announced in part today. Secre-
tary Hoover is working in closest CO.
\ operation with Secretary Davis of the
Department of Labor.
No contentious questions between
capital. labor and the consuming pub
| lie are to be allowed to enter into
| this conference, which is designed
| particularly to solve the human prob
| lem of heads Of families who need
work. Secretary Hoover said today.
In TINS connection, Secretary Hoover
said he is not in sympathy with the
| demand for liquidation of labor made
! before the Senate finance committee.
and explained that employment is a
human problem and cannot be liqui-
dated as finances.
| ssbdsOUV NhcmRiOyc0s
| While the Department of Aabor has
announced the Unemployment figures
as 5.735.000. Secretary Hoover frank
ly stated that the condition of un-
employment is not SO bad as this
| would indicate. as these figures in
clude many who during the flush and
boom period went to work to get
more spending money The first
of the conference will be to get an
accurate survey of the real unemploy-
| ment among the primary breadwin-
ners of families. He said he antici-
the real situation is not as bad as
some alarming predictions of the suf-
fering that would come next winter
would indicate.
The conference is to be as small
, in personnel as possible. and Secre-
tary Hoover said he hoped il could
be limited to fifteen to twenty-five
persons. who will be chosen with
a view to geographical representa-
tion and to representation of the
labor would be represented. Mr..
Hoover said that it undoubtedly would
be. but there was no intention of
letting the conference become a bat
tleground of rival organizations"
Definite Program Desired.
"such contentious questions as the
closed shop, wages or conditions OF
labor are to be strictly barred" Mr.
| Hoover said. and the conference is
solely to study and make recon-
mendations on the unemployment sit
uation as great human condition
that must be alleviated."
He explained that there is need
both by business and the working
people of an assurance OF definite
program" Mr.. Hoover expressed the
unwarranted fear that there may be a
great deal of suffering" The prov
ince of the administratio he point
ed out. is to get before the people
the hope of unity of action and to
cover the area where such hope for
unity of action is possible to keep out
contentious questions.
The conference could develop
something really constructive which
would relieve such problems as in
termittence and irregularity of en-
ployment," Mr.. Hoover said.
! Mr.. Hoover expects to lay his pro-
gram for the conference before the
President within ten days. A state
ment issued by the Department of
Commerce says. in part:
i Departments Statement.
1T is intended to invite represent
atives of the greater groups of in
dustries and thought, and the Coop
4 Grafton of their national organiza-
tions will be sought in their selec-
ton.
1.-The object of the conference will
be to inquire into the volume of need
ed employment. the distribution OF
unemployment. to make recommenda-
tions as to measures that can prop
erly be taken in co-ordinated speed
ing up of employment by industries
and pAblic bodies during the next
winter and in addition broad study
Of the economic measures desirable 10
ameliorate the unemployment situa-
ton and give impulse to the recov-
cry of business and commerce 10 nor
NAL. Many constructive sugges-
tions have been made to the depart
ment by employers, the governors of
states and city officials.
while the business situation is
steadily improving. yet some actions
of the workers may have exhausted
their savings by the coming winter.
and they must be a matter of extreme
solicitude.
i "It is conceivable that America.
with its surpluses in food and cloth
ing, with housing-though crowded
and with an abundance OF fuel, could
allow any suffering among those OF
our own people who desire to work.
IT is necessary that we should be
forehanded in the preparation of such
measures as will prevent any such
suffering.
conference will consume some time,
as he hopes to have it go thoroughly
into the problem. He wants the rec
concentrations of the conference to
show what can be done by labor. by
Industry, by public oficials and the
country at large to provide reliable
employment for those who really need
the work to support families.
Personne, 40 BE Decided
The personnel OF the conferences has
not vet been worked out, but Mr..
Hooyer thinks that these selections
can be made within week.
l. unemployment figures must show
accurately the shifts in seasonal en-
ployment which make the figures now
issued. by the Department Of Labor
unreliable as a basis for any ef-
fective work to relieve unemploy-
ment. Mr., Hoover believes.
| Oficials of the Department OF
Labor have been in conference with
Secretary Hoover and have already
started work on getting the real
facts regarding the number of prt-
mary bread winners of family who
are now out Of work as distinguished
from the thousands who really did not
need work and who ordinarily do not
work, who, during 1920. took jobs in
order that they might have additional
spending money
Secretary Hoover has for some
mittee of manufacturers appointed by
1.-THE Chamber of Commerce of the
United States with a view to bringing
the Department Of Commerce and the
business of the country into closer CO.
operation. The question Of unemploy.
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