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Show WORK WANTED. The assistant director of the United States employment service, Nathan A. Smyth, declares that unemployment is the greatest danger facing this country during the next four months, and, if the facts are as stated, it is evident that soldiers being discharged from the army will need looking after. At the lime the armistice was signed there were hundreds of thousands of them in the training camps, and these men are now being mustered out of the service. According Ac-cording to the assistant director, they are given the amount of money necessary neces-sary to transport them to their former homes and turned loose. The result is that many of them have flocked to the cities, where they are said to be "improvident, "im-provident, broke, away from home, without work, applicants for civilian relief." Moreover, many of them are i said to be unwilling to undertake the day labor jobs which alone thoy can find. Mr. Smyth concludes that "there is every prospect that unless remedial i measures are promptly taken, the sight i of stranded, work less, moneyless sol-1 sol-1 titers will be common throughout the iland." This is an extremely unfortunate situation sit-uation at the beginning of winter, and it might be well if, instead of giving i the discharged soldiers money equivalent equiva-lent to the cost of a ticket home, they should be transported thither at government gov-ernment cost. If they were employed when drafted they will have little or no trouble in getting their jobs back, for the nowspapers have been filled with . assurances to that effect from the em- j ployers. If they were not working when they went into the army, at a time when labor was in such great demand, they are no worse off than they were before. In any event, they should not crowd into the cities when their prospects pros-pects for obtaining employment would be very much better if they would return re-turn to the localities where thoy are known. The united council of re-employment has passed a resolution recommending recom-mending to tho government that drafted men should be sent back to their local boards in connection with the country's re-employment problem, and we trust this will be done. The movement of troops from overseas over-seas is now in full swing. Many of these men have been in the servico ever since war was declared, and, as they have been out of the industrial field for a long time, thoy may experience great difficulty in finding work during the dead of winter unless tho government, govern-ment, the states and the municipalities take some action in the premises. All these men should bo furnished employment employ-ment as soon as they aro mustered out and reach their homes. During the coming summer the soldiers composing the army of occupation will return to this country, and they should find jobs waiting for them, for thoy wero first in the field and will be the last to go aboard the transports. Perhaps the situation is more alarming alarm-ing just now than it will be in the spring, when it is expected that the war-time plants now being closed on account ac-count of the cancellation of contracts wil again be running full blast and under un-der normal conditions. What to do with the surplus labor in the meantime is the great problem, and congress should take tho matter up and endeavor to find a solution that will prevent suffering suf-fering among the men who have been wearing the uniform of Uncle Sam, no matter under what conditions. It is unfortunate that the end came in the fail instead of tho Bpring months, but that cannot be remedied, and we must adapt ourselves to the circumstances and the conditions as they exist. Em ployment for the returning soldiers is .what is desired and it should be pro-vided pro-vided at all hazard?. |