Atlanta tri-weekly journal. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1920-19??, 1922-06-20
Certain Labor Becoming Scarce,
Cove Rohcon
SAYS BabSOn

employees from the textile and other
mills have been able to get a salts
factory wage in connection with the
building and other trades. Thus
there is very little suffering or
hardship in these mill cities. The
strikes may never be officially de-
clared off. They may be ended by
the mill owners securing other en-
ployes from the country districts.
who have never before worked in
the mills, and by the old mill work
ers getting positions in other lines
of activity. The strike is developing
largely into, a swapping of jobs. SO
far as the general welfare of the
country is concerned, this is as
satisfactory as to have the strikers
go back. The average business man
is primarily interested in having peo-
pie employed, and to business as a
whole, it makes little difference for
whom individuals work.
II prophesy that the threatened
railway strike will end by the men
shifting jobs. These men engaged
in the maintenance of way, are
largely men who have not been able
to secure positions in trades. Under
present business conditions the cut
is justified, as these men could not
secure elsewhere wage equivalent
to what the railroads are now pay
ing them. II, however, business
begins to improve this summer, and
the demand for labor increases, it
is very probable that the best of
these maintenance-of-way men will
get positions in the building and
other trades while the railroads will
import a new lot of men from the
country.
For the past year or two we have
seen in the papers accounts merely
of wage cuts. Reductions have run
all the way from 10 per cent to so
per cent, with an average of about
rs per cent. I should not be sur
prised to see some advances from
this time on. The Firestone Tire and
Rubber company, of Akron, O., has
already advanced wages 10 per cent.
Other concerns which are temper
arily short of labor are offering
more money. 1t is, however, inter
esting to note that the labor unions
were not successful in holding up
wages at the time of the decline and
are not forcing increase at this
time. History is simply repeating
itself. The law of supply and de.
mand determines wages as it de-
termineS prices. If business begins
to pick up this summer, as 1 antici-
pate it will, the demand for labor
will increase. Owing to. the fact
that immigration has been cut off,
this VIII necessarily cause employ
ers to bid against one another and
wages will again go up, for a time
at least. Considering a long period
of years into the future, the trend
of wages may continue downward,
be surprising.
"The Babson chart on business
conditions is acting in very pc
culiar way and is suggestive of a
turn for the better within the next
few weeks. The time is fast ap-
preaching when one-half Of the pre-
ceding area of expansion will be Off
set. When this time comes, it can
be truly said that we have turned
the corner. This does not mean that
we are on the home stretch and have
prosperity, but it does mean that
we are on thehome stretch and have
seen the worst. The Babson chart
index today stands at II per cent
below normal. This is due to the
increased building which is evident
throughout the country. Moreover,
this building boom is only begin
ming. We may expect" concluded
Mr.. Babson, "a real scarcity in GER
tain classes of labor during the bal
ance of the year"