New Britain herald., 1921-04-14
MUNICIPAL LABOR
 BUREAU TO OPEN
Red Cross Will Assist Mayor in
 New Move for Unemployed
SERVICE BEGINS MONDAY


 Be Filled With Capable Emplbyes
 Under Mayor Curtis PIan-1,OO
 Are Registered. :.
 Announcement was made this after noon by Mayor O. F. Curtis that, com mencing next Monday, a municipal la bor bureau will be in operation at City Hall to which prospective employers will be asked to communicate their needs. The Home Service section of the Red Cross will assist the mayor by receiving reports of those who wish to hire help and the clerk of that de- partment will keep a record of em- ployers' wants. From the classified records taken through the unemploy- ment census. those who are most in need of work and who appear to be capable will be selected and sent. No guarantees will be furnished by the city and no references can be given for any employe. s,-..... Data for Employers.
 Among the questions which are to be answered by those seeking help are: What is wanted; white or col ored: nationality, of employe: approx innate age of employe sought; nature of work to be performed; pay per hour: whether or not meals will be given: when and where to report: how long work is to last.
 Yesterday. the first day of the cen sus, brought more than 1,600 of the unemployed to City Hall. about 1900 of whom waited around in line long enough to be registered. while several hundred went away to return later. vse-fx the questionnaires is both interesting and amusing and in a few instances, pathetic. A classification will be started shortly so that those in ur- gent need of work may be sought out and given employment insofar as is possible.
 ,Rcgistrant Has $2yOO0.
 Mayor O. F. Curtis sorted out from the piles Of Sregistrants, last night tht cards of those who have money in the band, property,.or both. He found about 200 in that category. or those who owned property. some explained that the property was a house, some a lot and sofne that 1t was owned in partnership with one or several others. The amounts in the bank ranged from s2 in one case to $2.oo0 in another Some had both large de- posts in the banks and properties which they admitted were of consid- erable value Tn the classification. these cards will be placed near the end of the list of those to. be given jobs since the need is by no means an urgent one. One of the owners of property, a Spaniard, explained that he has a house in Spain.
 The ages of those registering ranged from 14 to 65. Included were some, but very few skilled workmen and tradesmen, a majority being laborers. A wide variance of earnings where last employed could be gieaned in a perusal of the cards, the lowest being $6 a week and the highest $45. One Spaniard explained on his card that months and had beAh out, of work a similar length of time. having se- cured no employment since coming to America. Several filled out their cards to show their last employer to be the City of New Britain and the reason for being out of work that they were laid off.
 Many Amusing Answers.
 One of the questions on the card called for the sex of the registrant. One foreigner scribbled white while there were two Polish" A number of the other questions were similar ly misunderstood with the result that amusing answers were unintentionally affixed to the questionnaire.
 Tn a number of instances, those signing their names to the cards which had been filled out for them, asked at once when they were to start to work and made other inquiries as to the nature of the job, etc. Mayor Curtis and Registrars T. J. Smith. W. J. Ziegler and John O'Brien were kept busy explaining that classification of the applications would be necessary before any action could be taken. This will take about one week, it was ex- plained.
 Action Is Necessary.
 Mayor Curtis said this afternoon in explanation of the new plan that the first two days of the census had clearly demonstrated that there Is need of action on the part of the city government. and for that reason he has planned the establish hment of the municipal employment bureau. 1t was felt advisable that the Home Service Section of the American Red Cross be asked to act in that capacity so that those having work whether of a steady nature or merely the celan- ing of yards. beating of carpets or emptying of ash bins might get in touch with the Red Cross and a man be sent to their home at once. In the cases of manufacturers or other | employers of much labor, their needs will also be filled with capable work l men. through the new system. it is