Evening star., 1940-12-09
WorkAgency
Control Urged
To Aid Migrants
House Committee
Hears Plan to Curb
Job Advertising
By JAMES E. CHINN.

BY JAMES Z. CHlNN.
Federal licensing of all private
employment agents and agencies
operating across State lines and
regulation of interstate job adver-
tising was suggested to the special
House committee investigating the
plight of migratory workers today by
Boris ShiShkin. research director OF
the American Federation OF Labor.
The licensing of employment
agencies, he said, would prevent
fraudulent misrepresentation of job
opportunities, usurious fees "and all
other illicit and speculative traffic in
human labor" The regulation OF
interstate job advertising, he de-
clared, would put an end to many
vicious practices by labor contractors,
employment agents and unscrupu-
lous employers, practices which per-
petuate migration and suffering OF
the unemployed workers.
Mr.. Shishkin also advocated Fed
eral insurance of loans made by
private banks and other lending in
stitutions to make possible direct in
vestment of private funds into ex-
pansion of sound productive enter
prices. Partial insurance of these
private loans, he said, could be ad-
ministered by the Unemployment
Finance Corp. esta blished within the
existing framework of the r. F. G.
and utilizing the available staff OF
the Tedero1 1oap agency
Labor Standards Only Condition.
"The only condition of Federal
insurance on industrial loans OF this
kind" he declared, would be the
enforcement of minimum standards
of fair competition and OF such
minimum labor standards as have
already been established in the in
dustry in question. 1t is our belie1
that such a program which calls for
no expenditure of public funds and
for simple legislative authorization
could do much toward relieving the
distressed areas by bringing new
industry to communities which need
1t and at the same time prevent un-
balanced growth brought on by un-
fair competition
Looking toward the future, MI
Shiskin said Congress should now
concern itself with the problem OF
the "aftermath"-a condition that
will exist after the emergency is
over.
when that time comes new cur
rents of labor migration are bound
to be set off" he said. There will
be return flows of migration, new
stranded groups of workers, new
ghost towns, new distressed areas
unless immediate provision against
these things in every phase OF the
defense program is made. No matter
how urgent the problem, whether it
is one of defense housing or defense
production capacity, the action
needed is never too urgent to prevent
its being tested in terms Of our post
emergency requirements.
Study Held Needed Now.
But, in addition, study and plan
ming must be begun now OF the needs
and conditions of the days we are
approaching with deadly certainty.
To what productive peace-time use
can be put the costly equipment and
machinery now being installed to
make war-craft, shells, tanks and
guns? To what peacetime use can
be put the skills of thousands of
workers who are now being trained
for defense production? Are the
billions now being spent for defense
production to be used for factories
and equipment which can be given
full utilization in normal peacetime
production, or is this vast new pro-
ductive establishment condemned to
become an abandoned skeleton and
a silent monument to our intense but
improvident effort?
Are the men and women workers
now being given intensive training
and now being urged to achieve
the utmost in their technical abil-
ity to be given an opportunity to
make a full contribution to the
peacetime production of the Ma
ton, or are they to be thrown back
upon the scrap heap of unemployed
for whom private industry has no
further use?"
Mrs. Franklin D. Roosevelt Is
scheduled to be the principal wit
ness before the committee tomor-
row at 10 am. She Is expected to
outline her views on the problems
of the migratory workers-views
formed from personal observations
during her trips around the coun-
try.