Evening star., 1936-09-06
IDLE IN INDUSTRY
PUT AT 3,593,00O
Remarkable Employment
Gains in '35 Reported
as Survey Ends.
Social Dispatch to The Star.


NEW YORK, September Sin 9
final report on its survey of employ.
ment in the United States conducted
| over the last 81 weeks, the New York
Sun today estimates that the number
of people employed in industry and
trade averaged 25,6180O0 in 1885 and
that an average of 3,593.00O were un-
employed. During 1886, the Suns sur
vey indicates, there were remarkable
gains in employment, with the conclu-
sion that there is now mo unemploy-
ment problem in some major industries
and in others it is not of any grave
proportions"
The survey covered only industry
and trade and did not include agri-
culture, the professions and domestic
and personal service.
The Suns poll included a total OF
1o,374,0o0 workers employed in 1929
or 81 per cent of the 28,000,000 with
jobs in industry and trade recorded by
the 1880 census. and 9,089, 900 en-
ployed in 1885 This, it was felt, was
large enough sample to permit the
application Of the percentages to the
entire 100000 and thus estimate
total employment and unemployment
Employment in 1929 was figured at IT.
968,000 and employment in 1885 at
25,618 900, a decline of 2,350,000. II
was estimated that 1,243,000 new work
ers entering the industrial and trade
fields in that period we're added to the
unemployed, making a total of $685.
900 jobless.
Observations of Director.
Charles H. Franklin, vino directed
the Suns survey, made the following
observations on its showing:
THE reports to the Sun seem tc
prove conclusively that there is no un-
employment problem in some major
industries and in others it is not OF
any grave proportion. These in
dustries are steel, automobiles, fabrics
textiles, clothing, paper, food. oil
printing. chemicals, leather, household
electrical equipment and power and
light (apart from the construction
side).
THE steel industry proper, that is
blast furnaces, steel works and rolling
mills. is case in point. The employ
ment figures for wage earners were
419,534 for 1929 and 385, 1923 for 1885. a
decrease of 34,206 workers. This de-
crease is reflected in the Suns figures
which, for iron, steel and their prod
ucts give a 1885 percentage of 92.?
per cent, as against 100 for 1929. Yet
for the first half of the year 1886
steel employment was AT 500 and for
the month of June 1t was 451 ,299, an
increase in June, 1896, of 31,750 above
1929.
"On the other hand. the survey
seems to prove conclusively that un-
employment may be traced to a few
particular classes of industry, which
are: The manufactures of heavy ma
chinery, such as locomotives and other
railroad equipment, and industrial
equipment, building construction, rail-
road transportation. communications
and mining.
Running through these figures Is
the plain evidence that business-big
medium and little-has been putting
back men to work by the millions
Already a shortage of skilled labor is
manifesting itself throughout the
country.
THE Unemployment Of But one
half of the real employables would
automatically solve the problem. In
industry that means $500, 900 to g.
000, 900 new jobs. Providing them is
no small task. It costs plenty OF
money to put one man to work, to
say nothing of 1,000, 900 men.
Money for New Jobs.
where is it to come from-this
money to put 100000 to work-to
build the homes for the 5000, 900 we
have added to our population, to re-
place obsolete factories and equip
ment?
1T can come only from the sources
which provided it in the past-from
industry and business, workers and
investors, small and large. And II
can come only If these sources are
not dried up by taxation or destroyed
by the tax collectors use of tar
money to set up shop against the
taxpayer"
(Copyright, 1898. by North American News.
paper Alliance and New York SUM-