The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1928-05-17
URGED
To HIRE IDLE
WORKERS
By B. G. FORBES

Many thousand OF employees are
Working cruelty long hours and
IRE suffering from exhaustion at
this moment while a still larger
number of thousands can lind no
work whatsoever. Would II not
be feasible for great many
brokerage houses in Wall Street,
IN Chicago, San Francisco, De-
troit, Boston, Los Angeles, Phila-
delphia and other active financial
centers to take on additional cler.
lcal help at this time?
One accountant employed in
busy brokerage office writes.
cashiers, book-keepers and
clerks of every description are
working day and night--an aver
age in my case of Is hours out
of the "A. This notwithstanding
the fact that there are a great
many experienced accountants
who would be only too grateful
for work.
Rush Held Temporary
I'm the firm where / am en-
ployed the excuse for not putting
on more help is that this great
volume of business is only
furry and that they would dis.
like to put men to work only 10
have to lay them off within three
or four months To the man who
is walking the streets looking for
] a job, employment for even a
short period is most welcome.
Therefore. to give him part OF
this work would not only bless
him. but would give some of us a
chance to sleep more than four or
five hours a nfght-also a chance
to get acquainted with our wives
and children.
II can tell you from first-band
knowledge that there is work with
the stock and bond houses for
many men. Mentally. feel like
] q scab' working 16 hours a day
when some other fellow needs
half OF it so badly. Physically,
need the rest cure.
Solution Offered
OF course. there are drawbacks
to taking on temporary clerks,
especially as it is TO be presumed
that all young men and young
women trained in brokers offices
are already employed. Even SO.
there are certain branches OF the
work which it would not be diff
ficult to teach to capable new
clerks, and thus kill two birds
with one stone; relieve those now
under excessive strain and give
work to many now idle.
judging from the correspon-
dence received by this column, the
two subjects of widest interest at
present are the dazzling boom IN
stock speculation and unemploy.
ment.
One New York Curb broker
who, incidentally paid less than
$4,000 for his seat few years ago
and could now get $4,000 for it.
tells me that the tidal wave or
buying by the public Is on the in
crease rather than the decrease.
Many among the new crop of GUS
toners don't care what price they
pay for stocks they have made up
their minds to buy, he says. A
sudden rise OF IS share only
makes an issue look. more attrac-
tive to them.
'Boobs" Making Money
"The funny thing is" he added,
shat the kind we call boobs have
been making nearly all the money.
Most Of the people in Wall Street
have been afraid of the market
for a year and haven't dared TO do
any plunging. Rank outsiders have
had no such fears. They have
swarmed in blindly-and made
money"
He did remark, however, that
there are now times when bids for
certain stocks are ominously
scarce. This is making him more
cnary than ever about what may
happen
Will employers get together and
tackle the new phenomena of
,widespl cad unemployment stimuli
taneously 18th reasonable ma
tional prosperity?
(I,opyright. 1928 by r. c. Forbes)