Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1931-02-16
RALLY SIGNS NOTED
UNEMPLOYMENT IN
CAPITAL INCREASES
.$4,O 900, 900 in Road Projects
and $4,000 Red Cross
Building Will Aid.
COMING OF SPRING SEEN
AS BIG HELP IN UPTURN
IA, 900, Record Figure, Registered
Here on Rolls of Federal
Job Service.

Employment in the District of Co.
lumbia has reached the bottom of the
depression and is definitely on the up
grade. With more than $4,000 names
! OF JoblesS persons on the registration
roll of the United States Public EN-
! ployment Service, the maximum num-
Der in the history of the bureau, George
j. Adams, secretary of the District OF
Columbia Committee on Employment
announced today that by every indica-
ton unemployment in Washington now
Is decreasing and will continue pro-
gress1vely to decrease as Winter moves
toward Spring.
With this definite upward trend in
employment already making itself felt
Chairman Delano of the District COM
mittee has called meeting of the COM
mittee for Thursday afternoon at
o'clock in the District Building.
In all lines of activity in the Nationa
Capital Mr.. Adams today sees signs o.
renewed vigof and life. Construction
work is being speeded up. new work or
Government buildings is soon to bt
started. activity is to be enhanced alone
the water fronts of the Capital, i'm.
provement has been noted in automo-
tive repair lines, and along the farm
and home fronts there soon will be in
and in connection with house cleaning
Reasons for Decrease.
Mr.. Adams gave the following reasons
why unemployment is decreasing and
will continue to decrease as Spring ap-
proaches:
Capt. H. c. Whitehurst, District high.
way engineer, announces that between
the present and April 20 contracts fol-
~. Nf 1fnxk, oIa{ A
600 will be let. This work, Capt
Whitehurst says, will provide employ
ment for 1000 men.
The work of painting the walls and
ceilings of the new Internal Revenue
Building Is to begin at once, and the
District Employment Committee under
stands that work is to begin in the
near future on the 100000 Red Cross
Building. From the Office of the archi-
tect of the Capitol comes word that
$4,000 is to be spent in repainting the
dome of the Capitol, and in addition
to these projects work will continue
on the new Commerce Department
Building. 1t is also natural to suppose,
Mr.. Adams said, that all other Govern
ment buildings will be subjected to the
usual repairs and cleanup.
Breaking Of ground for new construc-
ton jobs is certain to result in employ
ment of a large number of skilled and
unskilled building tradesmen, Mr.
Adams said, while painting, gardening
seeding, roof patching, plumbing. grad
ing, all of which involve the private
householder in expenditures for addi-
tional wages, already has begun.
The manager of large automobile
service concern states that improvement
already has been noted in automotive
repair lines.
Spring Flowing to Begin.
Spring blowing in nearby rural dis
tricts will soon begin, the committee
secretary said, with farmers scheduled
to hire extra hands, some of whom will
be drawn from the metropolitan area.
One of the major ectivities of the
Capital-taking care of Spring tourists
is just in the offing, Mr.. Adams said
which means increased employment in
hotels, restaurants. lunch stands and
in dry goods and other stores.
In conclusion, Mr.. Adams says at is
quite apparent that due to the ordinary
laws of economics, conditions cannot
grow worse. improvement Is already
noticeable on all hands and this fact
Is reason for the statement that the
peak of unemployment has been
reached.
Better days are ahead and it Is
sincerely hoped that all classes of en-
ployers will readily acknowledge this
fact by increasing the number of their
employees"
Seasonal Decrease in U. S.
In the national field, the Labor De-
partment today announced decreases in
both employment volume and pay roll
totals in January, 1881. as compared
with December, 1880, based on returns
from 4l,l18 establishments in Is major
industrial groups. The employment de:
creaSeS, totaling 40 per cent, was said
to be largely seasonal. Pay roll totals
dropped off by 80 per cent. Increased
employment was shown in January in
3 of the Is industrial groups, with BIZ
luminous coal mining gaining is per
cent and hotels and laundries eight
tenths of ! per cent each. Decreased
employment was shown in January
in manufacturing. anthracite mining,
metalliferous mining, quarrying and
non-metall1c mining, crude petroleum
producing, telephone and telegraph,
r-light-water, electric railroads,
wholesale trade, retail trade, canning
and preserving and dyeing and cleaning.
In the manufacturing group employ
ment decreased 81 per cent and pay
roll totals dropped of 7.6 per cent in
January, as compared with December.
THE latter part of December and the
first part of January" the Labor De-
partment said, "habitually show marked
and rapid fluctuations both in employ
ment and pay roll totals due to the
holiday season and the custom of taking
inventories and making repairs at that
time. These conditions usually notably
affect pay roll totals in the large iron,
steel and automobile plants"
Increases were shown in January in
II Of the 81 separate industries and in
creases in pay roll totals in eight of