Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-04-25
REDUCED WORKING
SCHEDULES URGED
Shorter Hours and Higher
Pay Declared Solution
for Unemployment.
BY JOHN F. SINCLAIR.

- BY JOHN F. SINCLAIR.
~ Special Dispatch to The Star.
o NEW YORK, April 25.-"The United
States is rapidly building up an army
OF permanently unemployed" says
Charles H. Hatch, New York industrial
engineer.
In explaining this statement, Mr..
Hatch makes these crisp remarks:
Recently, In an important industry
"A machine was developed which enables
IL men to do the work of 10. . .
THE new continuous rolling around
method of producing steel sheets is
= throwing out OF work thousands Of for
merly highly paid men. There Is
serious overproduction in many Of our
important basic industries and new
labor-saving machinery only adds to
the difficulty"
Mr.. Hatch contends that the solution
Of this problem lies in reducing the
ybnumber Of hours day each man shall
be employed and the number Of work.
ing days in the week.
49, But this solution will be no solution
lat all if the buying power Of the work.
~ers is not maintained. To reduce work
- and pay proportionally will not improve
the situation.
What most manufacturers pay for
snow Is not the time q man spends in
the plant, but the amount OF produc-
% ton the man turns out" says Mr..
-"Hatch. IF we can make 1t possible
for a workman to produce as much In
three days as he now does in five or
six, we can afford to give him as much
purchasing power as he now gets"
70 Only in such development can the
United States avoid serious permanent
unemployment according to this New
York engineer.
With the aim of producing in her
own territory all the food stuff France
needs, the government has begun an
intensive survey Of the agricultural
possibilities of Northern Africa. The in
~-tention is to establish extensive can
-. reries for the packing Of fruits and
vegetables that can be produced more
economically there than in France.
The rest of Europe is watching the
experiment with interest. A leading
= French agriculturist says: In another
generation, France viii be freed from
buying the necessities OF lie OUTSIDE
= her own domain"
- There is no doubt that the climate
of Northern Africa-Morocco, Algeria
and Tunis-is excellent for the growing
of fruits and that labor conditions there
are ideal.
.. acres under grape cultivation. In 1927,
some 100000 gallons OF wine were
produced in that country. Tun1S ana
> Morocco have about 5000, 600 acres cap
able of producing the sort OF 1000 STUN
r. France now needs.
When the Department OF Commerce
announced that at the end OF 1923, for
eign short term funds put into bankers
acceptances Chiefly at New York; had
reached the record-breaking total OF
$S9l, 1872, O0O it came as distinct shock
to many people, who believe that the
foreign bankers and business men have
all they can do to finance Europe.
But the item was not news to many
well informed banking and business
leaders in the United States, because
the acceptance is better known to them
and 1t has been customary Tor years
for foreign central banks to purchase
large holdings of dollar acceptances In
the United States.
The Federal Reserve Banks, in their
weekly statement, show the item under
the heading, Contingent liability on
bills purchased for foreign correspond
ence.". Not all of these acceptances are
Shown here, but q very SUBSTANTIAL
amount is so recorded. For this item
/ At the end of 1929 showed on the
Z reserve statement at $547, 1862 900.
"" The rest of the foreign-held accept
ances were taken on by foreign groups
Through about eight Of the larger New
DR.. raw Hail Of the Department Of
! Commerce, commenting on the ngureS,
made this significant statement: They
show also the limited use that Amer1-
can bankers make Of the outside world
when they have an excess OF loanable
funds"
what would happen should the Euro
. means decide to withdraw this huge
. fund from the United States? The
answer is that it would be Impossible
to do 50. For much Of this large amount
. Is part Of the cash reserves OF ABOUT So
: central banks that legally count foreign
exchange holdings as cash reserves.
Yes, the old world Is a complicated
piece Of machinery-in its financial
!, department especially.
:; Fertilizer is being consumed in larger
quantities every year. 1t Is becoming
:, IN some sections 1t has already become
the farmers best friend.
" "If all the fertilizer-7, SOC, 900 tons OF
j. fused annually by farmers Of the
: United States was sold in bags, 1t would
- take nearly q hundred million bags 70
!. hold it." says DR.. Oswald Schreiner OF
:, the United States Department OF
Agriculture.
. The department estimates that for
every dollar which the farmer invests
IN fertilizer now he receives an average
return of about So. That's why ne Is
buying about $3.50, 600 worth OF fer:
GllZcT q year dIlQ BCItAA16 boOA GSSNS
$75O,000, 900 In return.
IAN acre of underfed plants strug-
Cling for growth and reproduction means
|. not more, probably less, than an aver.
age yield of crops, the selling price OF
which Is absorbed to meet the costs OF
interest, taxes, cultural operation and
seed. II there be any pro11t 1t must
come from a higher yield"
This is where fertilizer comes in. DR..
'--echreiner warns farmers that they must
not expect it to make up for all the
shortcomings of crops, soils, poor seed,
insufficient spraying, poorly cultivated
land bad drainage, acid soil or multi
tude of other ailments.
But that fertilizer will be used in
increasing amounts as American agrt-
culture becomes more intensive there
Is little room to question.
(Cooyrtsht. 1890. by North American News
paper Alliarce.)