The Brattleboro daily reformer. (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1913-1955, 1921-04-19
VERMONT INDUSTRY
GENERALLY DULL
Lumber Industries Inactive-UnemplOy-
ment i'm Stone and Railroad Shops
Farm Help Plenty

WASHINGTON. April ia survey
of the labor and industrial situation in
Vermont is contained in the department of
labor's industrial employment survey bull
letin for April. which ltas just made its
appearance. This monthly publication
describes itself as providing "a strictly
neutral service, inaugurated for the pur
pose of regularly collecting and distrib-
uting current information regarding gen.
eral and specific industrial employment
conditions. the distribution of labor. and
the fluctuations in employment through
out the country"
/ Vermont is grouped in district No.
! 1.-THE New England district. Under the
/ head of Rutland" the report says:
Rutland shops and metal trades are ex-
ceptiOnally quiet with no immediate pros
Ipect of Improvement in volume. Trans
portatIon contributed some to unemplOy-
ment. Marble quarries in vicinity are
affected by depressed building conditions
in country generally"
| st. Adams gets this account: I'm the
| shops of one railroad which were shut
down Feb - and reopened March II, 10
per cent of the number normally employed
were put to work on necessary repairs.
Montpelier and Barre: There con
tinues to be some Unemployment and CON
siderable part-timc employment in these
cities, due principally to lack of orders.
. Several quarries are shut down on ac-
count of dullneSS existing in the c0nstruc-
ton industry. No housing problem exists.
! Building is at a Standstill. A gradual
picking up of quarry work is predicted
with the coming of spring
Bennington: One concern manufac-
! turing a special line of textiles is at
| tempting to stimulate business through
intensive magazine advertising. While
| there is shortage of houses building
costs appear prOhibitive. This interferes
materially with the development of any
plan to relieve the situation. There is no
| project. public or private, of any magni-
ttude in prospect as offering employment.
| Unemployment is variously estimated at
| from 1000 to 1900 with textiles. metal
trades and building trades principally
affected. While no plants are closed.
there Is much unemployment in all lines. -
| The general situation in Vermont is
summarized as follows in the report
! There il dullnesS in all lines of industry.
| with considerable unemployment and
part-time employment. in lumber. boxes
and shocks: also in manufactured stone.
IN railroad terminals and railroad shops.
| and in the textile and metal trades. There
| has been a noticeable Improvement in tex
tiles. due principally to a seasonal de-
mand. The concenSus of opinion is ia
vorable to general improvement. with
the belief that it will be of a temporary
character
In the general survey of the industrial
field throughout the country the report
contains this paragraph relating to farm
labor: The general outlook for farm
labor supply in various special crop areas
is exceptionally bright. and there is an
| indication of an abundance of capable
farm help at reasonable wages"
| Taken as a whole, the general country
wide survey is by no means optimistic.
in spite of the fact that 1.-THE general tex
oh l-oI
ment over a month ago when many
Ipiants were closed" AS to the outlook,
the report concludes: ''The cOncenslIs of
opinion as to future prospects for business
lgenerally is that there will be no imme-
date developments towards prosperity y