Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 19.djvu/723

* UNEMPLOYMENT. 629 UNEMPLOYMENT. mcnt; and (4) work which is not likely to inter- fere with the resumption of regular employment in their own trade by those who seek it. In ac- cordance with the foregoing principles, munici- palities were advised to undertake spade in- dustry on sewage farms, the laying out of open spaces, recreation grounds, and new cemeteries, the cleansing of streets not usually undertaken by local authorities, the laying oiit and paving of new streets, and the extension of sewerage work and works of water supply. These forma of work, however, do not meet the needs of all — the experience of cities and towns in the United States in 1804 showed that many mill hands and artisans were physically unable to endure out-of-door work in the winter or during in- clement weather — and, of course, women are not provided for. As _vet no satisfactory scheme which will meet the capacities of all lias been suggested ; the most that has been done is pro- vision for the less skilled laborers who on the whole are less provident and less able to meet unexpected strains. The agencies to relieve distress among the un- employed are of five classes: First, special citizens' relief committees, organized primarily to aid the unemployed ; second, municipal de- partments having charge of public works upon which it is possible to give employment; third, labor organizations giving aid either by the usual out-of-work benefits or by extraordinary methods: fourth, private charities, including all permanent relief-giving organizations not con- nected with State or municipal governments; fifth, the permanently established relief agencies administered for the State and for municipali- ties, such as poor departments, No one of these agencies is complete in itself. The organization of a special relief committee is too apt to be delayed until suffering has been acute, and its methods are likely to be ill-considered if not injurious to society. The undertaking of new public works by municipalities is liable, in the present stage of political development, to be un- economical, and possibly demoralizing to the civil service. Its virtue is that it may have less of the demoralizing taint of charity. Trade unions cannot make work, and generally oppose any reduction in the standard rates of wages in fear that they cannot recover the concession ex- cept by prolonged struggle. Nor do they pos- sess adequate funds to meet extraordinary de- mand. Private charities are hampered by the cautious, and to able-bodied workmen often irritating, methods of investigation which must govern the ordinary administration of charity; and there is a natural objection on the part of laborers to receive official aid when it is accom- panied by what is termed the stigma of pauper- ism. Illustration of the work of all these agencies may be found in great detail in the I'eport of thr Massachusetts Board to Investi- gate tlw Siihjrcf of the Unemployed, made in 1805, and in the Report on the Agencies and Methods for Dealing irith the Unemployed, made by the Labor Department of the Board of Trade of C4reat Britain, in 180.3, The more permanent agencies which have been recommended for the relief of unemployment are as follows: (1) Publication at frequent in- tervals by responsible authorities, either trade or governmental, of the condition of the labor market, for the purpose of assisting workmen who seek employment, and of preventing an excessive migration from the country into the city, (2) The establishment of employment bureaus and registry offices in order to bring employers and laborers together more promptly. Neither of these agencies can greatly increase the amount of work to be performed; they <lo, how- ever, reduce loss of time and futile elVort, (3) Establishment of boards of conciliation and arbitration in order to prevent strikes and lock- outs, which tlirow men out of work. (4) Adop- tion of a shorter day of work, so as to give op- portunity of employment to a greater number of workmen. This recommendation, however, does not take into account the results of past experi- ence: either the productive power of those work- ing is proportionately increased by the reduc- tion in hours, or the cost of production is in- creased, thus diminishing the purchasing power and standard of comfort of those dependent upon that particular product, (5) Restriction of immigration. In some industries, as the gar- ment-making trade in the cities of the .Atlantic seaboard, and the mining industry in Pennsyl- vania and Illinois, there has undoubtedly been a congestion of labor owing to an excessive in- flux of workmen from foreign countries ; the restriction of immigration, however, involves so many consequences entirely apart from that of regularity of employment that its discussion must be omitted, (6) Establishment of labor farms or colonics for the purpose of training workmen for agricultural life. The most notable of these experiments are the Labor Colonies of Germany; that of Hadleigh, in England, estab- lished by the Salvation Army; the Jewish colo- nies in -Alliance and Woodbine, New Jersey; and certain land settlements in New Zealand. Nearly every country, moreover, has experimented along this line, hut the results are not as a whole en- couraging. It is undoubtedly one of the methods to be utilized, but it appears to be unfitted to serve as a complete remedy. Agricultural labor is not highly paid, and during the past half century has been subjected to enormous strains caused by the oiiening up of new markets of supply. Nor can it be expected that a miscel- laneous collection of workmen taken from the city will succeed in entirely new pursuits upon the land. Again, urban workmen who have been unused to farm life are likely to be attracted by numerous' associations to the charm of city residence. Success can be hoped for only when the colonists are inspired by an earnest spirit, can settle upon land of especially favorable quality, and are supplied with a considerable amount of initial capital. (7) Insurance against unemployment. This has been tried in a few tovns in Switzerland, as Bern, Saint Gall, and Basel. In Bern the insurance is voluntary; in Saint Gall compulsory. In each the enterprise is undertaken by the municipality. The scheme adopted in Bern in 1803 provides for the pay- ment of monthly dues of 40 centimes, to which the town adds a small subsidy of ,5000 francs. The value of the out-of-work benefit is one franc for unmarried, and one and a half franc for married men. per day. Relief is granted only during the winter months. The Swiss projects have been in operation for too short a period to