The Daily Alaska empire., 1938-02-10
JUNEAU AND THE PROCESSION"

Comparisons often are illusion-breeding nothings, but sometimes they in order With the persistent reports of strife trouble the Outside strikes us that they are in order in Juneau right
 Down in the States they have what they choose to call recession" They report business in slump factories shutting down for lack of orders, pay rolls slashed, great many workmen being laid off One automobile factory in Detroit recently reported laying off 3O00O men. Wage adjustments a nice name for trimming the payroll and the Income Of workers, reported from many other places, par tculary the coast But it also extends to the west in some instances. Just the other day a news dispatch carried the information of 50 cents day cut in wages in the mines of the Occur q Alenes.
 The picture probably is not as bad as pictured by many who blame the present administration Those critics have their ideas of what will result from cuIsing the New Deal, that being popular pastme of the day But aside the political aspect there is fairly convincing evidence to indicate that every thing is not bowl Of cherries Outside Much of that evidence be based the growing flood of requests coming north from workmen in the States looking for employment in Alaska and the number of men who migrate into Juneau on nearly every boat These men report that jobs many instances are at premium Outside and that wages are much lower than in the north
 Taking these reports for comparative purposes, let's look at the picture in Juneau Here we have in No. l industry the Alaska Juneau mine, more than 900 employed at what is said to be the high est wages paid in any mine the North American continent, especially since the cut in the Occur d Alenes. The average is around six dollars day pro- bahly little more Here have enormous Fed eral rayrol that compares fevoraby with the monthly ls--E C thc 4. J -nen there the scores of other businesses dependent in part at least the two big payrolls of the community Of estimated city proper population of five to six thousand all but very small percentage of the bread winners of Juneau are ganfully occupied Registration at the unem- poyment office reveals that there approximately 200 men in the community who have work. There are. in addition, seasonal workers who are idle at this time but who able to care for themselves r from their income of the past season and in few weeks will be starting out again in their seasonal occupations
 Steps already have been undertaken in the com munity to provide work for the needy of those who without employment
 Balanced against the reports from the Outside it appears to then that the situation in Juneau is not at all bad for the people who live Juneau and are employed here either in business for themselves or in the employ of one else the year around And that point cannot be ever stressed There is little chance of employment here for the transient coming to Juneau elsewhere in Alaska without funds to tide him for at least a year
 There is little or no turnover in labor here there fore the chance of the transient worker getting em- ployment immediately he steps off the boat is exceed iney slim
 The picture then to simmer down to just x this:
 Juneau is fortunately located in comparison with z industrial cities Outside
 Our workmen are getting comfortable incomes. above comparative wages in the States
 Our industries and business houses are moving along protitaby, on the whole to the fact that the community payrolls are substantial and steady throughout the year. Business in February is much the same as It IS Tn July with the exception that sea soila activity bolsers it during the summer months
 This may sound little snug Sinclair Lewis might even be inclined to include us in his Babbtt 1olk Of the countfys main streets But regardless q the sophisticated attitude Juneau is good town. and Ii we all pull together in the common good We can keep it that way regardless of te recession cries from Outside