The Washington herald. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1906-1939, 1921-10-15
The Unemployed.

THE conference on unemployment has come
and gone. 1t without any blare Of
trumpets or any promises. 1t has gone, but
has not closed the door behind it. It has left
permanent organization with the Endorsement of ali
the interests represented in the conference to un-
dertake to do certain things; give effect to con-
illusions they reached This is a very practical
suit carries the force of body of very practi-
cal men and women who know that families cannot
eat ideals nor live on dreams resolutions.
This after-organzation will stimulate action by
cities, States and communities to expand public
employment through public works. 1t will en-
courage action by corporations to take on more
tnen and with labor unions to further split-hours
1t will follow through all the Recommendations
which will help the immediate situation, realizing
that the only way to end unemployment is to de-
yelop jobs for the idle. From this thoroughly prac-
teal point of view the conference has already proved
very helpful 1t has concerned itself less with
psychology, than with facts and human nature.
In the follow-up program a number of very
important items. 1t is not enough to uncover
wastes; the essential thing is to cure stop them
The flow of employment is stopped much by arti-
fetal obstacles by lack of demand for production;
Indeed the lack Of demand is often consequence of
these obstacles. Building bumped up against arti-
hcial price-hxing akin to burglary. 1t was the in
crease in prices above what was either fair or
honest, which halted building, rather than lack of
financial ability though the financial powers did
their share in obstacle-raising.
1t is the next job to compel readjustment of
unreasonable costs and the unlocking of financial
help to give building demand a chance 1t was also
disclosed that the obstacle to continuous labor de-
nand in coal mining was not so much seasonal As
artificial Preferential prices to railroads with re-
Siprocal preferential supply forms obstacle
From this comes another in that railroads do not
store seasonal supply, but have more less
preferential service.
The law is adequate to compel fair distrbu-
ton of at the mines. 1t only needs to be en-
forced and with this will come an nducement for
railroads and large consumers to store seasonal
supplies during the slack season. Railroads are,
therefore, asked to accumulate hve-months sup
ply, releasing for the distribution of household
coal BY coordination of the needs of railroads
and large consumers with the supplying of the upper
lake and other docks, there can be worked out
car distribution at the mines which would result in
practically continuous operation
Another definite project is to publish quite con-
tinuousiy employment information showing the sup
ply and demand in the central localities for the
various kinds of labor. This would help regulate
the labor flow to equal the demand, though we be-
lieve that this will be satisfactory until there
is Federal employment bureau. No matter what
the information, nor how accurate, labor flow will
not regulate itself 1t cannot tell for itself when
demand has been filled, nor from where This
Federal aid to the unemployed never should have
been abandoned and Congress do nothing better
for now and the future, than to re-estabish it.