Evening star., 1939-03-05
Negro Job|ess
Problem Cited
In Relief Study
Opportunity Limited,
Advancement Slow,
Report Asserts

OcSld1u IlldI UNEMPLOYMENT IN
the Negro race here sis high and
constitutes a major problem an
other section of the relief inquiry
report by Burdette G.. Lewis was
made public last night.
Principal findings with regards to
men in private industry included:
Occupational opportunities srs
largely limited to domestic and per-
sonal service and common labor.
Negroes are seldom given oppor-
tunities to advance; hired as labor
ers, they usually remain laborers.
Exclusion from unions-or mem.
bership discouraged-is an adverse
factor.
For women, 1t was said, little op-
portunity is offered other than in
domestic and personal service.
In the Government, "compara-
lively large numbers of Negroes"
are found in the Treasury, Post
Office. Veterans Bureau, Navy and
Government Printing Office and
Bureau of Engraving and Printing.
The report said this range of en-
pioyment covers printers, printers
assistants. inspectors, bookbinders,
mail carriers and clerks and such
other capacities as laborers Of vari-
Gus sorts and messengers.
More Opportunities Than Elsewhere.
Despite the adverse conditions,
the presence Of the center of Gov
eminent here is responsible for the
Capital offering more opportunities
to the Negro race than do other
comparable cities. it was brought
out in the testimony of C. E. Lam
son, director of the D. C. Employ
ment Center. at transient problem
discussion printed in the report. In
this same connection, Supt. of
Police E. w. Brown said of the
transients that "the majority are
not altogether anxious for employ
ment.'
The report is critical of the lack
of training under w. P. A. auspices,
emphasizing that District employ
ment center officials are agreed
that there is great shortage of
well-trained and efficient workers of
al! kinds
With the exception of the train
ing received on the sewing projects
and on the household aides projects,
very little training is received on
w. P. A. or N. Y. A. projects in
Washington it says. "On some
projects, not even good work habits
are acquired. To some extent, the
complaint that w. P. A. workers DO
poor work is not without founda-
ton. Some sponsors have stated
that the workers sent them by
w. P, A. are not efficient.
On Basis of Need.
THE difficulty in attaining ef-
ficiency on w. P. A. projects is the
necessity for assigning persons to
work on the basis of need.
Some persons assigned to projects
are not really employable. Some are
even subnormal mentally. Their
presence on the project lowers the
morale of all other workers. But. as
they have been classed as employ
able, and as there is no other means
OF caring for them, they are allowed
to remain. AS result, little disci-
pline and low standards of work pre-
vail. Poor work habits and incor-
rect techniques are not remedied.
The same workers who do poor
work under poor supervision will
often do good work under good
supervision. When such a super
visor refuses to accept an inefficient
worker, another is assigned to him.
The inefficient worker is transferred
to a more easygoing supervisor"
The District Employment Center,
the report says, has "a large supply
OF all types of registrants on the
rolls, but few whom they can recon-
mend as really efficient. With hun
! dreds of domestic service workers
registered, a really good worker is
hard to locate. The center could
place any number of good cooks and
walters in hotels and restaurants.
Qualified typists and stenographers
are al premium
Could Launch Wide Program.
The w. P. A. could, with profit,
embark on a broad-gauge training
program the report emphasizes.
In taking up this subject, the re-
port says:
Among the Negro race are manv
talented persons. In WASHINGTON.
there is great demand for all types
OF entertainment. The diplomats
here entertain on a large scale in
their homes. They could use trained
Negro talent. But Washington has
few facilities for training profess
sional artists and few talented Me-
groes can afford to pay for training,
Yet. in the District, there are no w,
P. A. dramatic or musical projects.
Negro leaders have long desired
Negro music project. Such a project
could develop talent as well as give
employment to unemployed needy
Neproes