Evening Republican, Volume 21, Number 252, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 26 October 1918 — Untitled [ARTICLE]

The United States employment service is “getting down to cases.” in finding unskilled labor for essential war work. It has served notice that employment that is simply personal service or for personal pleasure will not be regarded as war work. Also the employment service makes an appeal to automobile owners to release chauffeurs, whenever possible, and to consider well before they buy accessories for their machines, whether they need the work required to produce them as muoh as the country needs it to help win the war. In an authorized interview. Nathan M. Smyth, assistant director general of the United States employment service, gives the program and purpose of that department as follows: “The community labor boards are .charged with the responsibility of determining the methods which shall govern the employment service in attempting to recruit for war work men from industries which are not directly connected with the prosecution of the war. The power to determine priority among Industries and to close up nonessential industries by shutting off supplies rests with the war industries board. , “The United States employment service ■will follow the priorities determined by the priorities board of the war industries board, and the employment service through all its agencies will keep in systematic and constant co-operation with the man power and material program. “It is within the province of each community labor board to list those nonwar industries in its community which will first be called upon to contribute men to war work. . “This does not mean-that such Industries will be compelled to close up or to discharge their rryde employees at once, but that with as much speed as may be necessary to national emergency, they will release male workers. ' “We may as well face the facts. Much work essential to our program is being seriously retarded by lack of unskilled labor. In this- situation it is obviously wrong to have able-bodied men continuing to sell candy, cigars and like articles, to be doing work in shops and stores which might with reasonable effort on the part of the employers be intrusted to women, and to be dancing attendance in clubs, barber shops, soft-drink establishments, bowling alleys, dancing academies and elsewhere. “Our war Industries are suffering severely for lack of skilled mechanics. It therefore becomes a burden upon the conscience of every person who employs a chauffeur to determine whether such employment is necessary or merely for the gratification of personal pleasure. “Moreover, evefy owner of an automobile should realize that every time he spends five dollars for automobile accessories, supplies or repairs, he is in effect determining whether the working energies of the country shall be devoted to winning the war or to his own personal uses. “The time has come when, from the standpoint of conservation of labor, we must all of us limit our expenses to those things which are essential.”