The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1934-03-20
Only go of New Orleans
.JObIess Given work"

These week-to. week figures tag
the government is collecting 50
laborioUsly do not give any indi-
cation OF how many recorded IS
having been given Jobs were slso
listed several weeks previously as
having been given Jobs
The number of repeats in this
List Of persons put to work is IN
known" the government stats
ticians said. What's the use Of
keeping figures on that? we have
all We can do to keep figures on
jobs"
whats the average wage these
persons are getting?"
The government does not know.
Anywhere from 80 cents an hour
up" Mr.. Wentz says after studying
vast numbers of sheets and data.
For how long a work day or
job? If a man gets even 81 an
hour and only works three hours
for one day week, that Is only
SO a week"
Il know says Mr.. Wentz, "but
we have no records on that"
How about those who get pro
vate jobs What do they esrn?"
Il don't know. There are no
records available. I don't believe
anyone could give these figures TO
you"
And those figures are not avail
able in other government branches,
no records available at the Asso-
citation for Commerce. organized
labor or charity organizations.
After hunting for information Of
this character and seeing every Of
flee busy with records and sta
tistics, you still find that the most
important information, the basic in
formation which you and and the
government should have to have
clear understanding Of what has
happened, is not known to anyone.
Everybody's busy though. They
rush around furiously. You walk
into a government office here and
feel that the whole place has gone
mad. Everybody sits around with a
worried look. They never know
when their own salaries are going
to be cut again; some have already
been fired By the C.W.A. huuidating
process and the rest know they will
be fired before long. So they file
papers and write letters and keep
statistics and when you boil It all
down no one knows what it is all
about.
The white collar class Is the
largest individual group in the city
and these have been affected most
by the depression-especially the
women. In most instances the ef-
feet upon the white collar class has
been even more keen and sharp
here than upon longshoremen,
power trust employees and IN
skilled workers generally.
Clerks, stenographers, teachers,
statesmen, minor business executives,
ETC., are being put to work at
manual labor chiefly. There Is APP
parent a change in the drift of
employment from the white collar"
to the manual laborer, which is
noticeable not only here but in
the other areas I visited, Men who
once had nicely manicured finger
nails now heaye pick and shovel;
and when. down here. when the
government cannot find pick and
shovel work for them. they set them
to catching rats! I met one sales
man who used to earn $500 month
and expenses who now walks
around the streets of New Orleans
with a bag Of rat traps. He places
them in homes and stores and if
any rats are caught he collects
them the following day. For this
the government pays him $40 a
week-the average wage Of C.W.A.
worker here.
Women teachers. clerks, stem
ographers, ETC., since they cannot
do manual labor, are sent to C.C.C.
camps or other places-anything to
make makeshift Job; and the work
these men and women frequently
do is absurd.
What did these people do before
the government put them to work2
What did they do before the de-
pression?"
The government statisttcian
shakes his head and shruys his
shoulders.
I'VE have no records except on
the application cards and we are
not tabulating this kind of informs-
ton, What's the use of tabulating
that? Does it make much difference
whether man was an engineer and
is now q shovel man or a school
teacher and is now welding a
pick?"
1T doesn't make any difference
but we would have a better idea
of what class Of work was the most
hard hit"
"They are all hard hit" Mr..
Wentz growled. I'VE have appl-
cants for the S94o a week from
statesmen, school teachers, business
executives, manufacturers-or for
mer manufacturers, to be exact"
TO Be Continued