Evening star., 1937-01-19
D. c. J0BLESSDATA
TO Be PUBLISHED
Plans for Book to Give Pub.
lie Figures Discussed
at Meeting.

Members of the Monday Evening
Club heard three speakers outline the
unemployment problem in the Dis
trict and its relation to recovery last
night and then proceeded with their
own plans to play part in its solu-
ton.
william A. Roberts, former peoples
counsel, and E. Barrett Prettyman.
club president, presided over the
meeting in Barker Hall at the Y. w.
C. A. Roberts outlined plans for
publication of a brief and concise"
book by the clubs Unemployment
Committee, its purpose to make public
facts and figures of unemployment
and to 'let the people Of the District
known what they can do about it."
I'VE want to get job for the man
who doesn't have a job" Roberts as
serted following conclusion Of the
three addresses on the program.
Measures to promote investment in
capital goods and clear the channels
Of trade for the exchange of goods
and services constitute the best ap.
proach to recovery, Leifur Magnusson,
director Of the Washington Office Of
the International Labor Office, told
the club.
Lamson and CaSs Speak.
The other speakers were c. E. LAM
son, director of the District Public
Employment Center, and o. j. Cass,
director of operations of the District
Works Progress Administration. Cass
substituted for Maj. Daniel j. Dono-
van, budget officer of the District, who
was unable to appear, while Magnus-
son spoke in place of Assistant Sec
retary Of Labor Edward j. McGrady.
Channels for the exchange of goods
and services can be cleared, Magnus-
son said, "in two Notwithstanding
costs Of production or lowering prices
to the purchasers. The crux Of the
difficulty lies in the production and
exchange of goods and services. The
obstacles in the channels where goods
and services are produced and which
must be cleared are monopolistic con-
trols of various sorts, tariffs. monetary
and credit problems. international
trade and raw material markets"
While Magnusson expressed his sup
port Of shorter hours in industry. un.
employment insurance, relief work and
minimum wages for their social bene-
fits, he said they were not the remedies
for recovery.
$4,000 Registered Here.
Lamson quoted q number of figures
showing the trend of registrations for
employment in the District. More
than $4,000 persons are now registered
with the Employment Center. OF this
number, almost $4,000 are unemployed
applicants, IL ,406 are certified relief
applicants, while 1859 are men and
1904 are women; 11,035 are white and
1854 colored.
In 1885 the center received 23,980
new applications for employment,
against 1886 in 1886, a decrease of
24l per cent in new applications.
There were about $4,000 placements by
the center in 1885 and $4,000 last year.
OF the total registrants, 1926 are
listed for the building and industrial
work, $50 for hotel and restaurant
work, 5,701 for commercial and pro-
fessional and 4,742 for domestic
service.
Cass told the club that w. P. A.
operations were now confined to quotas
of $500 workers on public buildings
Of the District government and 5000
on Federal buildings or property.
The greatest problem, he said, is to
obtain a sufficient number of skilled
workers on w. P. A. projects in order
to employ q far greater group Of the
unskilled.