The Ely miner. [volume] (Ely, Minn.) 1895-1986, 1938-09-15
FIGHTING 'FORTyPHOBIA'
Industry Rejects the Man Over Giving America New Worry
Science Proves There's No Reason for Such Discrimination
By JOSEPH w. LaBINE

Last January, President
Roosevelt's unemployment CEN
sus showed between 5000, 900
and 1000, 900 Americans were
out of work. Since then, recess
sion has boosted the figure. The
tragedy of unemployment has
been one thing, but the type of
people hit by this ogre is an
even greater disaster.
What hurts = and what the
best minds of America are
still unable to understanding
the predominance of middle
aged people on relief, the
great multitude of competent men
and women who have been unable
to find jobs simply because they're
cover 40"
You can see it any day in the
want ads under Help Wanted:
Plumber. experienced at fittings and
alterations Only men in young thir-
ties need apply. Z-432. Gazette Othce
It's a case of plain arithmetic
that young men can weather unem-
ployment better than their elders,
having fewer mouths to feed, fewer
feet to shod. But a cold-blooded
employer, looking only at efficiency
and economy, compares the thick
matched head with the bald pate
and takes the former. Young men
learn quicker, adapt themselves bet
ter, turn out superior work. AT least,
it's the argument.
Tables Are Turned.
The man over 40 is a problem of
the machine age. Once, in the days
of guild supremacy, the situation
was reversed. Every youth was an
apprentice whose hands were
thought unskilled, whose talents
were shaped under the guidance of
a wizened elder. Moreover, in that
simple world it was satisfaction
enough that all hands were busy;
the age of specialization had not ar
rived.
If you should look in the depart
ment of labor files at Washington,
the case of John Brown would fur
nish an example of today's dilemma.
Brown is As, married and has two
children. His wage-earning days
started after grammar school be-
cause his widowed mother needed
help. At Is he found work IN
local factory, took time out to serve
overseas in the World war, then
worked steadily until the depression
days of 1882. Meanwhile, he had
been married, had bought himself
a home, took out insurance and built
up small savings account.
But from 1882 to 1887, John Brown
could find no work. His savings dis
appeared, he lost his insurance and
his house was mortgaged. When
the factory finally re-opened, the
boss refused to give him job;
said he needed younger men. In
consequence John Brown doesn't
know where to turn. His LIES work
has been specialized and he'd have
to start as an apprentice in another
trade. With many, many years of
usefulness ahead of him, this man
has reached an age when industry
turns him out. Why?
Industry's Answer.
AS their first reason, employers
say he is a "bad physical risk"
that he's entering the period in life
when degenerative diseases will
lower his efficiency. But employers
are generalizing here; mans sus-
ceptibility to disease almost always
depends on the type of work he
does. Highest death rates are found
among unskilled laborers. Statistics
show that frequency of sickness
decreases with advancing age,
though older people have more Sc
we're illnesses. The only fair course
is to let a physician determine
whether the man over 40 is a ''bad
physical risk"
The employers second reason is
s'bad accident risk" notwithstand-
ing repeated surveys which show
the man over 40 is more careful
than younger workers. Caution is
a natural by-product of age. The