Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-03-30

urSt Cnousn6 OF the employers az q
time of depression was: "Cut the wages;
close down part of the plant" I re-
member that at the time Of the 1893
depression wages for iron puddlers were
cut form $5.75 q ton to $3.25. There
was no benefit to any one from that
course of procedure; only harm. The
men had less to spend; buying Of iron
products was not increased: On the
other hand. there was less buying power
among the mass of workers and actually
less demand for goods than before.
It was Just to forestall such con-
dition that President Hoover called
conferences of Industrial, public util-
ity. railroad and labor leaders. Large
scale building programs, both private
/ and public, were definitely scheduled;
promises were made. which have been
generally fulfilled, not to disturb labor
conditions by wage cuts or wage de-
naands The beneficial effect is EVIL
dent from a comparison With conoi-
lions In 1921. The commissioner OF la
Dor statistics has said, on the basis OF
compiled information, that more than
| 5000 900 men and women were unefn-
ployed in United Stotes in 1921:
One of the present unfavorable FAC
tors reported by labor Is that we still
permit many thousands of immigrants
: to enter without quota restrictions to
| compete for Jobs with our unemployed.
| Under the contract labor law. ir1ni-
| grants cannot enter into contract Tor
| work before entering the country un.
less it is approved by the Secretary OF
| Labor. hence immigrants come in with
| out restriction as to the need OF their
services. In october alone there were
| 26,74 immigrants entering the United
| States to compete for Jobs with our
| own citizens in need of work. talk
ed with man from a foreign land
| recently who was out OF work and
couldn't find a job. 1t is pititul sight
! strangers trying to find work that can
| not be found He tramps the streets
| all day. and at the end of the day
| w1thdraws from the crowd with sad
heart into night of loneliness.
Still another unfavorable factor has
been the uncertainty in business Great
| ed by delay in tariff revision. Mer-
| hesitate to buy or produce until they
| know definitely what foreign conpe-
tition there may be.
Labor Saving Machinery.
Probably even more important as 4
cause of unemployment, temporarily At
| least Is the widespread installation OF
labor machinery We have looms
for the manufacture of cotton goods
which are so nearly automatic in their
operation that one weaver can operate a
score of them. With quarter OF a mill
lion less men, the railroads haul more
freight than they hauled some years
ago. Industry is producing - per
cent more with nearly 100000 less
workers. A single example will sufiee
In q factory making sewing machine
needles, girl formerly employed 70 de-
tect defective needles could inspect 5000
an hour Now a machine enables her
to inspect $1,000 needles an hour. In
other words, the machine enables one
girl to do the work Of nine girls-and
eight girls lose their Jobs; 49,
the employment situation. The favor
able factors more than outweigh them
as is proved by the fact that tens OF
| thousands of wage earners have te-
turned to work during the last few
weeks.
On of the things that will create
more work in the cities is the aid be-
ing extended to our millions of farmers.
| The Federal Farm Board and other
Government agencies are putting the
| farmers In q position to make profits.
| Those profits will be spent for clothing,
| radios, automobiles, books, sewing
| machines, farm implements and the
! Thousand and one things that keep men
busy In city factories and workshops.
| Equally important, the men who now
manage industries generally understand
that high wages breed prosperity. The
old policy Of giving labor as little as pos
sible has given way, quite generally, to a
| policy of paying as much as possible. A
| liberal or saving wage results in addi-
| tional purchases by wage earners; re-
suit, more prosperity all around. For
the first time in the history Of industrial
depressions industry did not take adj
vantage generally OF the chance to
"slice" wages.
AS this Is written the tariff debate is
about to end, and the present uncer-
| tainty in many industries should termi-
nate within q month or two. The re-
suit will be resumption either of normal
operations, or the beginning of greatly
increased production, with need for
thousands of additional workers.
Construction Under Way.
From all over the country come re-
ports of actual commencement of con-
struction on public works, and on build
ings, private and public. The Secretary
Of Commerce has announced that the
construction program OF the Federal
Government and Of various civic
agencies will amount to $1,000, 900 900.
BY early Spring, road building will be
under way throughout the country;
1 ROWV4 H4uAAbo NAAA NC uALucI COIlSJIu
river and harbor Improvements started
post Offices and other public buildings
rising from the ground and private
building contracts under way. This is
the great prosperity reserve" that will
carry labor up out of the valley Of I'M
employment. Already the Associated
/ General Contractors of America has an
nounced that buildings planned so far
this year are almost double (188 per
| nf IfIoaf fIoor,
Engineering contract awards for this
year, up to February q were go per cent
more than last year.
The vast construction program. large
| ly attributable to the Presidents con-
ferences with industrial, business and
| labor leaders, will furnish relief" to the
| unemployed more than anything else
1t is jobs, not charity, that the unen-
| ployed want and must have. And the
building construction program alone is
already furnishing employment to tens
of thousands of additional men and
women in Offices, stores, cement plants.
steel mills, lumber yards and scores of
other industries.
am heartily in favor of more &C.
curate and timely statistics relating to
employment, as proposed in bills intro
duced in Congress, as well as better
system of public employment agencies
But it Is the creation of jobs that am
primarily interested in, not alone for
Government statisticians or clerks, but
for men and women who are paid by
the hour, the day or week, or on a
piece-work basis.
Steps to Increase Work.
Months ago the Government. under
the Presidents leadership, took definite,
practical and effective steps to increase
employment The action then taken
already has produced substantial re-
suits Even more substantial results