Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-10-21
SPEAKERS PICTURE
PLIGHT OF IDLE
Social Welfare and Trade
Experts Heard at Monday
Evening Club Dinner.

4
subject of eloquent discussion in q series
Of talks delivered by several Of the Ma
tons foremost authorities on social vel
| fare conditions and economics before q
large and representative group attend.
ing the dinner held last night by thu
Monday Evening Club at the Y. w
G. A.
1.-THE evils of the crowded tenements
are being brought back to US In certain
parts of the country because Of unem.
ployment," said Miss Mary Anderson
States Department Of Labor. "A sur
vey which we have just completed In
South Bend, Ind, shows that four and
i've families are living under the same
| roof, having moved into the same house
together as o result Of unemployment
These conditions are bringing back the
crowded tenement with ell its evils
! which we thought q thing of the pas
In this country"
Says Employers Suffer.
''Not $50 miles from Washington" she
continued, "in one Of the mine regions
miners are going to work without any
breakfast, so that the children can have
something to eat before going to school.
These tragedies are not only for the
workers." declared Miss Anderson, "but
for the employers as we'll In Chicago
blocks upon blocks of empty stores can
be seen in certain parts of the city,
where storekeepers who ran small stores
which gave credit to workers were
obliged to close shop and leave, no
longer able to carry on the unpaid
credits of the workers"
Much Of the responsibility for the
present situation was placed by Miss
Anderson upon new industrial systems
and mass production. New machines
and sudden changes in systems have
thrown literally hundreds out Of work.
she claimed.
Take textile mill today" she said.
Last year you would ind one person
tending 80 or 20 machines. A new sys-
tenn, introduced practically overnight,
makes 1t possible for one person 70
tend SO or rs machines. This is 50 in
the cigar and cigarette trade. About
flve people are all that are necessary
70 tend one machine where it used to
take 90 or 100 people for the process of
making cigarettes. A machine for cut
ting bandages which previously used
with six"
Many older people are being thrown
into the unemployment class, Miss An
derson said. because the tendency
among employers now Is to take only
the young.
Young Replacing Old.
This Is an era Of speed" she de-
clared. The older workers have lost
their speed and are therefore dis
charged and their places filled by the
young. These older people win prob
ably never locate Job again and they
are left for the young to support"
These are merely some of the TRACE
dies which face US now and in the flu
ture, but 1t behooves all of us to do all
we can to face the situation" Miss An
derson concluded.
Observations Upon Employment and
Remarks Upon It Only" were Offer
ed by Leifur Magnusson, director Of
the Washington ONCE Of the Interna-
tional Labor Organization, at the con-
clusiOn Of Miss Anderson's talk.
Failure TO advance the workers
standards Of living In proportion to
the country's increased power of pro-
duction, was one oe the reasons adj
vanced by Mr.. Magnusson for the pres
ent condition.
''It is not so much overproduction but
underconsumptioa," declared Mr.. Mag
nllsson. I'VE have not improved our
methods Of living as we have our ca
pacity to produce"
I'VE should 60 ahead with more pub
lie works." he continued. Money Is
going into the wrong sources. Restrict
production in lines already in excess
and stimulate works, such as roads and
schools, which add to community capt.
tai and welfare"
Asks JobIess Insurance.
Mr.. Magnusson made q strong plea
for employment Insurance, stating that
funds should be built up in prosperous
times to use In times Of depression"
However, it Is now too late to talk
about long-range plans" he added. "It
seems to me it's up to the local COM
nunity TO accept the challenge Of the
Presidents call to action and to find
relief for the unemployed, whether
merely odd jobs or charity. lover 5000
persons are without employment in the
District Of Columbia alone. and 1aat
number may increase to 10 or 80 thou
sand for certain lengths of time"
Mr.. MagnuSson suggested that as a
relief measure q committee be organized
composed Of employers and workers to
work out the best solution for unen-
ployment relief.
The establishment Of co-ordinated
State and national employment agencies
as a solution to The unemployment sit
uation as offered by Mr.. Magnusson was
given strenuous objection by DR.. John
A. Ryan, professor Of moral theology
and economics at Catholic University.
Employment exchanges are overrated,"
declared Dr: ryan. They don't make
jobs because there are no Jobs, ex-
changes will not help. Exchanges mere
iy bring jobs and people together"
when see the utter futility Of our
leaders since unemployment began" de-
clared DR.. Ryan, IT wish we had twice
as many Communists in the country as
we now have so as to put the fear of
Color something-into the hearts Of
our leaders"
Recalls Maine Program.
Recalling the public works program
submitted by Gov. Brewster Of Maine,
over q year and q half ago, which met
with the hearty Endorsement Of "the
very highest" Or. Ryan asks, what
has been done with that program?
Nothing"
I'VE have had no help from our re-
sponsible leaders. either in industry or
politics" declared Or. Ryan. Commit
tees won't make jobs-the best they can
ment and, perhaps, in that way, bring
about some response. -
An optimistic note was cast into the
talks Of the evening by Albert T. Burns,
head of the National Society of Com
munity Chests and Councils, on q Ma
tion-wide tour, who claimed that the
unemployment situation was not so bad
in the West as it is in the East.
I'VE find that the situation is
spotted" said Mr.. Burns. I'm Sacra-
mento, Calf, and Portland, Greg, it
has not been necessary to expend an
extra cent for relief"
Mr.. Burns highly advocated employ.
ment insurance as q relief measure
Employers, as well as employed. should
be made to bear the cost Of unemploy-
ment through assurances. THE more
usA can vaakn tha cost hawv.a k.sy al s.a