The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1924-02-27
WORK SLACKENS
AS CAL DENIES
UNEMPLOYMENT
100000 More JobIess
Since June
Rv LELAND 0InS.

By LELAND OLDS.
(Staf Correspondent Of The Federated Press)
Yes, we have no unemployment to-
day, is the latest song hit jointly
produced by the presidents accom-
plished cabinet and officially okayed
by Coolidge himself.
Will it be popular among the tens
Of thousands hanging around the en-
-ployment agencies where there are
reported to be 166 applicants for
each 100 jobs?
100000 More JobIess.
Evidently the cabinet members
leave the hard facts behind when
they go to confer with the chief ex-
ecutive, for the most recent report
of the U. S. department of labor i'm
dicates that at least 100000 workers
who had work in June, 1928, are out
of job. And that takes no account
of the steady increase Of the popu-
lation which would normally add at
least that many more. In Illinois and
Indiana there are tens of thousands
of coal miners out of job or work.
ing only two or three days each
week.
Then there's the scientific labor
market indicator Of the federal re-
serve board which shows a steady
decline in the number of jobs avail
able for each hundred applicants.
Since the high point in 1928 this
barometer has fallen more than half
way back to the depression level of
1921. That means unemployment,
but somehow the president and his
cabinet can't see it anywhere. Per-
haps they are looking too high, over
the heads of the workers, at the sem
ate. There's full employment there,
at least in the Teapot committee.
White House Bunk.
This official White House utterance
goes on to assert that everything
that can be manufactured in the
country seems to be finding a ready
market. That's putting it a little
strong. How about the great locomo-
tive concerns, Baldwin and Ameri-
can, working only Is per cent of ca
pacity because they can't get orders?
Baldwin laid off more than $4,000
workers during the last months of
the year.
How about the car building plants
/ that laid off more than $4,000 work
ers between October and December
so that the Illinois department of
labor refers to the collapse Of the
car building industry?
Shoe Industry Down.
When, however, this White House
utterance turns to individual indus
tries it is most unfortunate in its
choices. The boot and shoe industry.
1 it says, is active and able to dispose
of products as fast as they can be
made. How about it? According to
the Feb. IL statement Of the u. S.
department of commerce production
of shoe factories fell off 100000
pairs between October and December
and reached a point 100000 pairs
below production of the same month
year ago.
And incidentally in January the
boot and shoe industry was employ
ing s IL per cent fewer men than
in the preceding year. Hoover's en-
gineers' committee reported this in
| uuSLry Dduly OVereApdnueu.
Textiles Worse.
The textile industry is an even
more unfortunate choice. All re-
ports show that the textile industry
has been unable to dispose of all it's
products for many months with the
situation growing worse. AS whole
it has laid off one-tenth of its en-
ployes since March, 1928. During
December wooden mills consumed
about one-ffth less wool than in the
preceding December.
While the cotton mills are averag-
ing less than sc per cent Of single
shift capacity with most northern
mills operating only two or three
days a week. Some have shut down
altogether.
Business will probably pick up
somewhat as the spring approaches.
But not enough to absorb all the I'M
employed workers. And for an Off
cial utterance from the chief execu-
tive Of the nation to blink the exist
ence of very considerable unemploy-
ment today suggests that he is sup
posed to be either an official ostrich
trying to avoid the sight of danger
ahead by burying his head in the
sand, or dispenser of false optimism