Evening star., 1944-03-05

parable has ever been known before
but 1t declares that the adjustment, If
soundly made, should be an adventure
in prosperity"
Tremendous Opportunities.
ut is our conviction" says this report,
"that we will emerge from the war with
the greatest opportunities any people
ever had. A postwar depression Is not
inevitable. One-half the world will need
rebuilding. Enormous demands, put
aside during the war and added to pre-
war demands, await satisfaction. Much
depends on the settlement of the peace.
If 1t be one under which men and
women can look forward with hope
not fear-there will not be enough hands
to do what needs to be done"
The American economic system, the
report points out, has shown that it can
outproduce the world; it can perform
still another miracle in fine and lasting
peace"
That is the bright side of the picture.
The possibilities are indeed limitless.
plant and the tools. We have managerial
daring and ability We have as result Of
the war, the most highly skilled body of
workers that this or any other nation ever
possessed. We have population eager to
improve its standard of living. We have,
in fine, all the physical ingredients for
an unexampled degree of national we'll
being.
But it must be remembered that we
had all these in ample measure in 1929
and out of them got the bitter brew Of
depression. Thirteen millions were un-
employed in the winter of 1928 and
other millions were on part time. Despite
all the Government effort and money
that went to the rescue of sick econ
omy, there were still more than 1000 900
unemployed at the end OF l940 An
estimate quoted by Stuart Chase places
the cost of the idleness in the decade
of the 1905 at 10O.0O0,OO0 man-years
Of work. 1t took the war, ultimate ex-
preston OF what Chase calls disaster
economy" to sweep the ugly problem Of
unemployment temporarily out Of sight.
A Staggering Problem.
high adventure in prosperity"
beckons, to be sure. Full employment
Jobs for all who are able and willing
to work-will set us on the way. But
full employment, or even an approxi-
nation that will stave off disaster is
not something that will come about
easily; it will have to be worked for.
A few figures will show the staggering
size of the problem and its challenging
nature
Including more than 100000 in the
armed services, there are now some
62000,0o0 Americans gainfully employed.
In 1910 the total was about 46, 500 900,
including 100000 in the armed services:
there were also between 100000 and
100000 unemployed workers.
There will be deductions, of course,
from the present total labor force when
the war ends Many women will 20
back to their home duties, older workers
will retire, many young people will re-
turn to school. Even so, experts of the
Department of Commerce calculate
and their figures appear to be generally
accepted by industry-that the total
number of those seeking work after the
war assuming 1916 to be the first post
war year. will be about $500, 900. On
the assumption that 2,5OO,000 of these
will remain in the armed services pri-
vate enterprise and Government will
face demand for 57,0O0,OO jobs.
Now full employment" as the Brook
ings Institution points out in a recent
study, does not mean absolutely COM
plete employment, for at any given
moment there are not only the chronic
unemployables, but many workers who
are shifting jobs or are idle for various
other reasons, such as seasonal slack.
prolonged illness, chronological changes
Continued on Page C-3, Column 81