The Birmingham age-herald., 1923-08-21
GREAT BRITAIN IS GREATLY ALARMED
 BY UNEMPLOYED.
GeddeS' Report On Ellis IS- land Conditions Fails To
 Deter Men
By RALPH II. TURNER Leased Wire To The Age-Iiernld)

(Leased Wire To The Age-Hernld)
 LONDON, August 2O-Huudreds of skilled workmen already are gather ing at Southampton and Liverpool to sail for American ports as part or the new September igra tion quota.
 Sir Auckland Geddes' report on Ellis island conditions has failed to have any retardlng effect on the men Faced by a winter of heavy un employment and suffering, thousands of the best type of British mechanics and laborers are preparing 10 make a new start in the United states.
 Employment prospects are gloomy here.
 At the present time, 1,185,ooO men are officially registered as being out of work When account is taken of their families, this means that six want of jobs.
 Depression FaT-Reaching.
 Even this number, however, does not indicate the full extent of in dustrial depression in the British Isles for large numbers of jobless men neglect to register their names with the ministry of labor
 Government officials do not con- ceal their alarm over the prospect of a bitter winter. The ministry of labor has outlined schemes of relief,
 
 O00 900 in promoting construction works and other measures designed to provide employment, but these proposals have been attacked as vaguesand inadequate. Even the gov ernment admits that the relief prof ects will not care for more than 800, ,000 men and of this number 1s0, 900 will benefit only Indirectly
 Must Stabilize Continent.
 The prospect has immense poten' tialities, for it promises to under mine not only the economic situation, but will exert pronounced effect on political and social conditions.
 All discussion of the subject even tually recognizes that fact that tn- dustry will receive no material stim- ulus, until conditions on the con tinent become stabilized That eX- plains Britains desperate anxiety to settle the Franco-German struggle It also reveals why a growing sec tion of British opinion now fears that France not only seeks the political and military control of Europe, but is also going after economic domina tion. British industrialists charge that France, by keeping central Europe in a ferment of disturbance and despair, is closing British mar Hets waile she consolidates her own ~-asi-Gon.
 The industrial group in the house of commons headed by Sir Allan Smith. has addressed a letter to Pre- mier Baldwin, strongly protesting against the governments attitude toward unemployment, as outlined in z recent debate in the house,
 o o O
 Relief Inadequate.
 The industrial group declares:
 If the present rate of unemplOy- ment is maintained (and there was nothing in the minister of labors speech to, encourage the most san euine to hope that the rate will be checked), this relief will be quite in- adequate to prevent even larger numbers than last year from becom- ing worthless.
 "The gravity of the position can not be exaggerated. A point which does not appear to have had the con sideration it deserves is the demoral- ization resulting from continued un- ence on the workers, and more par ticularly on the youth of the c0un- try. The whole question of national vitality is at stake"
 Your correspondent, when in Scot land recently, encountered this feeling of the 'deadening influence" which tional vitality" Thoughtful Scots de- unemployment is eXerting on the ma plored that large numbers of the country's best workmen were emi- grating to America as fast as the quota law would admit them. But the indifferent wOrkmen-the men who are least desirable physically and intellectually-are paid to be se- maining at home where they can draw the dole that the government pays out to the idle.