Page:American Journal of Sociology Volume 9.djvu/640

 622 THE AMERICAN JOURNAL OF SOCIOLOGY

the German municipalities have undertaken the management of employment agencies. Hamburg has had such an agency since 1898, connected with its charity bureau. Breslau has had an employment bureau since 1896. The unemployed fill out cards, giving date, name, age; married, unmarried, or widower;

employment sought; apprenticed as ; former trade; last

place of employment ; references ; how long in last position. The last three points are required without exception. In 1902 there were, for 6,061 men seeking work, 2,678 places offered, of which 2,333 were filled through this bureau. In the same year 4,669 women sought employment; and of the 5,138 places offered, 3,958 were filled. Dortmund founded a municipal employment agency in 1897, which is operated at the expense of the city. Its services are free, and the management is directed to co-operate with the other employment agencies in the city. Unless the other bureaus answer to a need of the city, they will probably be crowded out by the competition of the free services offered by the municipality. In any case Dortmund is assured of an excellent, centralized, complete, disinterested, free employ- ment agency. Leipzig has a society for the furtherance of employment, the " Paritatische Arbeitsnachweis," which has many good points. Judging merely from a pamphlet given out by the society at the exposition, however, its plan is not so con- crete and practical as the one just cited. For the sake of maintaining disinterestedness, equal numbers of employers and employees have seats in the managing council. The manage- ment consists, then, of four employers, four employees, eight members of the society, and a member of the city council. The services of the association are for men and for women, for employers and for employees, and are gratis. The work is cen- tralized. Thus the society attains the three points it deems necessary for its work : impartiality, free service, and centraliza- tion. The members of the association pay a life-membership fee, or yearly dues. The association is recognized, and aided financially, by the municipality.

Those who seek positions must present some means of identi- fication such as birth certificate, certificate of citizenship,