Evening star., 1932-05-01

even in a steam-heated flat-as
symbol of helpful family relationships?
Who ever heard of the National As
sociation for Mental Hygiene, with all
its agencies for cultivating mental
health throughout the homes-indeed,
through the minds and hearts Of all our
| people?
Answers Given.
I could ask hundred more similar
! questions. But America has already
/ begun on an immense scale to answer
/ them. Here are three answers to these
! great questions that have come to me
/ personally with peculiar force within
the last few weeks.
! I stood the other day across the
/ street and looked at the great build
! ingS. occupying almost an entire city
! block, of the Institute for Juvenile Re-
! search of Chicago. after having spent
! week surveying its vast scientific
/ agencies for promoting the mental
/ health Of children-and homes and
| parents too.
/ l have visited within the last few
weeks the personnel departments, de-
/ voted not only to job finding, but to
promoting the mental health OF col
/ lege students. in half a dozen univer-
sites from Yale and Harvard to Stan
! ford and the University of California.
l have just gone through the mental
| hygiene departments of three of the
greatest department stores in the world
and been amazed at the marvellous sci
entific work they are doing for the
mental health and happiness of their
10000 employees
These are only three small straws
that show which way the wind is blow
ing; but when 1 reflect that these are
only typical of vast numbers of SIM
liar agencies everywhere I say to my
self that America. for all its temporary
economic depression, is more firmly on
the high road to health and happiness
than any nation has ever been before
in all human history.
Cites Personal Experience.
I firmly believe this and want next
to point out another reason for think
ing so. 1t is a thing that has grown
out of my own life experience, and
since I know it is the experience Of
hundreds of thousands of men and
women, I believe it is an experience
that may prof1tably be set on this May
day before the hearts and minds of the
children and youth of America who are
already, or else soon will be, starting
out to find their life jobs. Young peo-
pie will find 1t hard to appreciate it
now. but the time will come when they
will be thankful, as I am and many Of
my friends are on this May day Of 1882,
that it was an experience that hap
pened to them.
The experience for which I am
thankful today is that I went through
the task Of finding my life job in the
years Of great economic depression.
am thankful now that back in those
terrible times of 1894, 1895, 1896 and
1897-more terrible in some ways than
this present time-I had to work at
anything and everything I could get to
do. 1t called upon every resource Of
strength, courage and ingenuity
possessed. Ever since then such
things as hard times and losing my
job, while disagreeable, of course, have
had no great terror for me. know if
I should lose my job now-and may,
any day. could make a living at five
or six different occupations.
Creating Jobs.
One may say, Perhaps there are no
jobs open for you in any of these" Very
well, then l shall make job of some
sort of my own. I don't want to do it,
of course, but I will do it if I have to.
have lived on short rations, and worn
thin and patched clothes many time
before, and with it all either found or
made a job for myself; if it becomes
necessary, l can do it again.
The hard lesson for young people to
learn about this is that vast numbers
Of them have either lost the technique
or have never learned the technique of
finding a job. But the encouraging
thing is that they can go a long way
toward learning the technique of Job
finding 1 talked about this the other
day with Albert M. Jones, head of the
personnel department of the Chase Ma
tional Bank. with its 10000 employees,
and he said to me:
"The trouble with the young people
in this country-even people 35 or 40
years old-is that most Of them have
never learned how to find job. Out
side of the brief depression of 1921 tobs
have been so plentiful since 1907 that
1t has not required much ingenuity or
preparation TO get one. Either dad or
Uncle George took boy into his line
of business, or else asked some friend
to make berth for him. The tragedy
now Is that after spending years in one
little niche as filing clerk or book
keeper or speciality salesman or stenog-
rapher the youngster finds that there
are not enough of these jobs to 20
around
Abilities Discovered.
"a group of us have organized under
the leadership OF Mr.. Richard whitney.
president of the Stock Exchange, to aid
people to learn how to change their
jobs. Many have suddenly discovered
entirely unsuspected abilities.
Often losing their jobs has proved to
be their great opportunity. One man
who thought he could do absolutely
nothing but sell a certain line in a big
city to special customers, we induced
to go out through the farms and study
what farmers and small-toWn people
might want to buy As a result he and
MS WIe developed solution for killing
ice on poultry that she remembered
from her former farm days in Iowa
and for two years he has been making
an excellent income from this. Another
young man read in a newspaper where
oaoy mad rolled over on the floor and
Deeh nurneo quite badly by q worn out
MOOR lamp cord. He reasoned 1t would
not pay a regular electrician to go about
10 meet this need, but he has developed
quite business selling ready-made
lamp cords"
Living Examples.
think We can do no greater service
on tnls May day than to spread this
goSpel and to reinforce it by the living
examples OF some of Americas leading
men ana women. Just at the moment
Ihere comes to my mind the career of
David Sarnoff. nresident of the Radio
Cooperation III America.
AT years of age he came to America
with his mother and four brothers. on
money sent by the father, who had pre-
ceoed them. Within a year he learned
English well enough to get a job in
butcher shop, and In the evenings he
sold Jewish newspapers in the Ghetto.
During the day he went to school where,
to his surprise, he learned he had fine
singing voice
1 wish I could post up in every school
and college, and in every office and
workshop where young men and wom-
thinLE II kara.L,I.. 80 4. -.