The Waterbury Democrat., 1931-08-13
MEMBERS OF AUTO THEFT GANG GUILTY
WHAT CONSTITUTES STABLE WORKERS
Question Asked and Ans- wered at Conference in
 New York City
BY NEW HAVEN MAN

Silver Bay, N. Y., Aug 13--For- ward planning of serve funds to carry stable workers through pc. riods of reduced employment must be made by industry on the basis of records kept now, James w Hook, president of the Geometric Tool company of New Haven, Conn told the First Conference of Repre- sentatiyes of Smaller Industries here today. MT Hook, who is g member of the President Finer gency committee for employment chairman of the Connecticut Un- m p o yment commission, and chairman of the Industrial com mittee of the New England councg spoke on "The Obligation of In- dustry to the Unemployed"
 Defining industry as the section of society which employs workers MT Hook declared that it's direct responsibility is to its stable em- ployes," which represent, he esti- mated, about 40 per cent of all those at present without employ ment. To determine what consti- tutes the group of stable workers how their incomes have been ef- fected by present conditions, and the amount of reserve necessary to tide them over a major depres- sion, MT Hooks own company has kept records since the beginning of business decline in 1929 he said.
 "The experience in our plant has led us to believe that industry can without very great expense, pro. vide reserves to tide that portion of it's stable working force whose incomes are substantially limited over extended periods of depressed business and pay reasonable dis missal wages to those who are dropped from the payroll entirely, T the speaker declared.
 The records kept by the com pany include a. running weekly record of short time work and and wages to privide basis for intelligent distribution of available work, as well as data showing which are the company's stable workers, definition which each individual business must work out for itself, according to MT Hook, and actuarial data on the basis of which the amount of reserve need ed can be determined. For this particular company calculations show that a reserve of three fourths of one per cent of the payroll for the years 1923 to 1929 would have been sufficient to maintain the wages of stable em- ployes at 80 per cent of normal for those with dependents and 60 per cent of normal for those with out dependents for 52 weeks of short time work
 Safeguarding it's stable employees by such reserve funds is, in MT Hooks opinion, "the direct and pressing obligation of industry to the problem of mitigating the scOurage of unemployment. In ad- dition, of course, 1t must bear its part of the general burden of re- lief for those who do not come within the definition of stable workers. I must contribute it's share to charity and it must bear it's rightfud proportion of taxation to finance forwardly planned pub lie works" The latter, he said must be depended upon to take care of the nomadic workers.
 Unless industry will assume fits share of the burden voluntarily, 1t ie likely to have forced upon 1t a disproporionate share, through some form of public unemploy- ment insurance, MT Hook believes. Such system, as 1t has operated of the burden upon industry. and Is peculiarly liable to abuses.
 Let industry solve It's own prob I4. sary under regulatory laws that will make all units of industry ac- cept the principle uniformly" AL though the idea of such laws Is not attractive to the average busi- ness man, they would serve to les- sen the sort of competition which lowers wages and helps bring on depressions. by insuring the estab- lishment of an equal proportion of reserves by all units, and would distribute the burden more justly than could be done by public un- employment insurance which would tax all business alike for a com mon fund.
 'The machinery for administer ing a reserve accounting law Is al- ready provided in the division of audit of the Internal Revenue de- partment," MT Hook pointed out.
 The necessity for any government tai action would be eliminated, however, if each competitive field of industry would adopt voluntar- fly a uniform reserve policy, the details if which could be worked out by conferences within the in- dustry, and with the aid of trade associations, Chambers of Com merce, and other cooperative or- ganizations, MT Hook said.