The Washington times., 1936-05-09
Edwin c. Hill

own hook I went into a deep study
of an interesting book, Abstract
of the Fifteenth Census Of the
United States, 1890" This is an
official Government publication.
and my purpose was to get some
line on what it would mean II H.
OO0, 1000 persons were unemployed
in this country.
To visualize what 12,000,O00 job
less workers means, all you have
to do is this:
First: Imagine that not a wheel
is turning in any manufacturing
plant in the entire United States
NOT an automobile being built.
not a cigarette manufactured, not
a button being sewed on gar"
ment, not a loaf Of bread being
baked and not a glass of beer be-
ing brewed.
Then you will have a picture
of S,s38,743 persons out of work.
for such is the number Of wage
earners in manufactures as re-
ported by the census Of 1880,
which was completed early in
that year before the depression
had set in deeply.
JUST IMAGINE
Second: For the other 100000.
odd, to bring the total to over H.
900, 900, you must imagine that
every church, theater, school, col
lege. hospital and court is closed
for want of clergymen, actors
teachers, doctors, judges and law
yers.
You must imagine that not one
Of the 225,000 engineers in the
country has job, that there are
no sports for want of jobs for par
Elephants and attendants, and
that not one dentist in our 10000
has tooth to. pull or q cavity to
fill.
In a word, not a person classi"
fled in professional Service" I'M
der the census will be employed.
The total of all wage-earners in
manufactures and all persons en-"
gagged IN professional service, was
in 1890, 12,092,618.
Now, of course, no one makes
the statement that all the persons
in these two classes are out OF
work.
only present them as being out
of work to create in the readers
mind the magnitude Of what 49,
O00, 900 persons out of work means,
if there are that many out of
work, or what it would mean if
that many should be out Of work.
Maybe 100000 persons are
out of work, but I won't believe
that until it is put down in black
and white, occupation by occupa'
ton, in front Of me.
The census tells me that the
normal employment in this coun"
try is about so per cent of the
number of persons who are 10
years old and over. That is, the
: census says that such a number
, follows "gainful occupations.
l On s. basis of a population Of
128, OOO, 900 this would mean that
81 600, 900 persons should be fol-
lowing gainful occupations. Well.
if 100000 are not that would
mean one of every four workers
: is out Of job.
BUT REMEMBER
do not think that such a con-
. dition holds for New York city.
or for the other cities have been
in in the last two years. Certainly.
it isn't true of Washington, where
+ instead Of every one out Of four
: not having q job every one in four
Z seems to have two cars and to be
} driving both of them at the same
time.
: Another table in the census
} which interested me very much
4 was one dealing with the number
l Of gainful workers in the country
A since 1880. In this connection I
4 would suggest to Harry Hopkins
r that he give up his survey of the
e effect of machinery on employ.
K ment. These census figures will
o show him that the machine age
9 has definitely created jobs.
n Take 1880 for instance, when
the only machinery one bothered
e about was the sewing machine
l. and the wheelbarrow. The popu-
e lation of the country in that year
l. was 5O,155,783, and the number
a of gainful workers was 17,392,O99.
i Thus 81 per cent of the entire
o population was gainfully employed.
j In 1880, the population of the
r country was 122,775,000 and the
r number of gainfully employed was
$3.50 900, percentage of 80 per
t cent.
e But this is the thing to con-
y slider:
The number of gainful workers
! increased more than the total
- population increased, in spite OF.
! or, rather because Of, the auto
mobile, the airplane and the cleo
h trio refrigerator.