Toledo union journal. [volume] (Toledo, Ohio) 1942-current, 1943-12-10

the DOyb Will SOOll NC hOAiAS'
suns shining in your heart, and
all the world is full Of lovely
people. You hate no one, not
even AID Thacher!
But even before the boys come
home, while the kids are still
screaming "Victory" on the
streets. you hasten to tell every
one the good news. AS if didn't
hear about it already. Then you
trot yourself over to the neigh
borhood cafe to celebrate with
your cronies and talk about that
new Chrysler you're going to
buy, and worry about whether or
not anyone will get their order
in before yours.
After a magnificent two-day
binge you decide, with the little
woman's influence, Of course,
that you're going to be sensible
and 90 back to work before you
lose your seniority for not re-
porting as you should have done.
So you do report, and if you
hadn't been so terrifically plas-
tered the past two days you
would have remembered running
into Bill Smith in the saloon
over on the other side of town
and hearing that the plant had
closed down one hour before you
ever knew the war was over.
CLOSED for Changes in Plant
Operations" the sign read. The
way it was written didn't really
make much difference, the re-
suit was that those shells you
were turning out wouldn't be
needed now. 1t was a case of
"How fast can we convert, to
beat the other guy?"
Now you could tell the little
lady you hadn't squandered an
opportunity to make couple
days wages after all. That was
some consolation, at least! But
you should work, though,
shouldn't you, because those three
or four War Bonds you bought
wouldn't go very far toward de-
fraying current household ex-
penser Hey, maybe you shouldn't
have spent that fifty dollars on
your little spree like you did
either. 1t was a bit foolish,
wasn't it?
The little gal hustles you off
to look for another job. You sud
denly realize that lots Of plants
have shut down and lots of
people are out of work and look
ing for jobs, too, just like your
self.
Finally you return home and
tell friend wifey that there are
no jobs to be had. She gives
you a little bit Of "helP and you
hurry down to the U. S. En-
ployment Service to register so
you can collect a few bucks
each week until the plant opens
up again.
So you stand in line for a
couple Of days with hundreds
Of other folks Of all types, sizes
and shapes, listen to their corny
jokes and profane compaints,
and suddenly realize that this
sort Of thing reminds you just
wee bit of the good old days
in 1888 and '34 and a lot of
other years, when instead of
being in the social security line
up you were then in there
hustling for your beans, rice,
prunes, flour and oranges, hop
ing they wouldn't run out be-
fore it came to be your turn.
mot much difference whether
you get tie grub or the money
to buy it," you surmise, except
ing that YOU have to put in
your waiting time" to get the
dough, whereas if they did that
with the handouts you would
have starved to death. (And
with Hoover, some did, at thatD
II thought Roosevelt was
such swell guy" you say to
the old fellow up ahead of you,
not knowing that it isn't Roose-
velts fault at all, but your own,
because your failure to vote in
the 1914 elections caused Roose-
welt to be surrounded by a Con-
gress that hates labor, the poor,
and the unemployed like you
hate measles, and wants about
as much to do with these ele-
ments as kitten does with a
showerbath.
The old guy ahead Of you
wises you up a bit, and reminds
you that you were warned about
unemployment for about three
years before this time, and you
ask him What the hell's he
doing here il he knows so
much, all of which gets you
nowhere, excepting to raise the
old fellows blood pressure a
few degrees.
But by and by the plant opens
again, and takes the folks back
to work-some of them, that is.
And intelligent people recall the
hullaballoo about postwar plans
and decrY the lack of interest