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by the President, and who shall receive a salary of $5,000 per annum. There shall also be in the said bureau a chief clerk and such experts, special agents, clerks, and other employees as may be authorized from time to time by appropriation or other law. It shall be the province and duty of such bureau, under the direction of the Secretary of Labor, to provide facilities whereby employers may obtain the services of persons seeking employment and persons seeking employment may obtain such employment; to provide for giving publicity to applications and demands for employees and applications and demands for employment, and to procure and disseminate such information on industrial conditions as may be pertinent to the purposes of this act: Provided, That such applications and demands for employment shall contain a declaration stating whether a strike or lockout is in progress or pending in the establishment wherein the work is to be done.

SEC. 2. That to this end the bureau may establish and maintain in such places as may seem desirable to the commissioner free labor exchanges, and may assist and cooperate with any other labor exchanges maintained by any State or other authorities or persons having powers for the purpose.

SEC. 3. That the duties required by law to be performed by the Division of Information of the Bureau of Immigration, Department of Labor, authorized by section forty of the act of February twentieth, nineteen hundred and seven, entitled "An act to regulate the immigration of aliens into the United States," and all that pertains to the same, including all officers, clerks, and other employees occupying statutory positions in the said Division of Information, shall be transferred to and combined with the national employment bureau hereby created, at such time and in such manner, arrangement, and organization as the Secretary of Labor may determine: Provided, That all appropriations and all allotments of appropriations heretofore or hereafter made for the Division of Information shall be and remain available for the said division until such time as the said Division of Information shall be trans-. ferred to the national employment bureau as herein provided.

SEC. 4. That the Postmaster General is hereby authorized and directed to extend to the Secretary of Labor the use of the post offices and postal facilities, including postal employees wherever they can be used, and the Secretary of Labor is authorized and directed to use the post offices and postal facilities and such postal employees wherever practicable for carrying out the purposes of this act.

SEC. 5. That the Secretary of Labor is hereby authorized to make all necessary rules and regulations for carrying out the purposes of this act.

At the hearings held by the committee on the bill presented, H. R. 5783, statements were made by the Secretary of Labor, Hon. William B. Wilson; Dr. B. A. Sekely, representing the National Liberal Immigration League; Mr. Royal Meeker, Commissioner of Labor Statistics, Department of Labor; Hon. John I. Nolan, of California; and Mr. D. B. Wheeler, of Washington, D. C.; all agreeing on the necessity of immediate legislation to take care of the problem of unemployment. No one appeared in opposition to the legislation although the fact that hearings were to be held was given the widest publicity.

Secretary Wilson reviewed the work of the Division of Information of the Immigration Service during the short time it had to attempt to work out this problem since taking up the work under the direction of the Secretary of Labor and Commissioner General of Immigration Anthony J. Caminetti. The statement of Secretary Wilson is included in the report for the benefit of the membership of the House.

STATEMENT OF SECRETARY OF LABOR, HON. WILLIAM B. WILSON.

Secretary WILSON. Mr. Chairman and gentlemen of the committee, I understood from the chairman of the committee that there was a desire on the part of the committee to have a statement from the Department of Labor concerning the subject matter of this bill.

Section 40 of the immigration law creates a division of information, which is authorized to gather and disseminate information for the benefit of admitted aliens and others relative to opportunities for employment and opportunities to go upon the lands.

The organic law creating the Department of Labor authorizes the department to advance the opportunities for profitable employment of wageworkers. Taking those two authorizations together and utilizing them through the division of information in the Bureau of Immigration, the Department of Labor has undertaken and is at present building up a system of cooperation between municipal labor exchanges, State bureaus and departments of labor, and the Federal Government, so that the entire country may be covered by a system of labor exchange.

The municipal labor exchanges and the State labor departments and bureaus are limited in their activities by their geographical limitations. We have undertaken to connect those departments and exchanges up with a Federal labor exchange, and have organized 18 zones throughout the country, to be superseded later, in accordance with our present plans, by a zone for each State, with a chief office in each of those zones-the officials in charge of the zones being in direct communication with the division here in Washington. We are seeking to make arrangements, and, in some instances, have about completed the arrangements by which the municipal labor exchanges, the State labor exchanges, and the Federal division of information wiH have their offices located in the same suite of rooms, cooperating with each other in carrying on the work. The municipal branch being in closer touch with local affairs, utilizing that closer touch in dealing with municipal problems; State branch dealing with the problems that arise within the State in which it is located; and the Federal division carrying the information which it is necessary to carry beyond the State line.

We have also made arrangements with the Post Office Department by which we are able to utilize all of the post offices throughout the country for the gathering and disseminating information. Certain forms have been placed in the possession of postmasters. One form is to be filled in by employers who require workmen, stating the terms upon which they are willing to employ, the kind of workmen they want, whether or not a labor dispute exists, and information of that kind.

The second blank to be filled in by workmen desiring employment, stating his qualifications, what he desires, and information of that character which an employer would usually want to know in employing a workman.

These blanks may be had from the postmasters on inquiry, and filled out by the person making the application and forwarded by the Post Office Department to our zone center, without cost.

Mr. DENISON. You say that is being done now?

Secretary WILSON. It is being done now.

Mr. DENISON. Does the Post Office Department approve of that?

Secretary WILSON. It is through a mutual understanding with the Post Office Department that that arrangement has been carried into effect.

Mr. SMITH. Has the public, Mr. Secretary, been informed that that arrangement has been made?

Secretary WILSON. We have been giving as much publicity as we could to it, but it takes considerable time before the activities of the Government become generally known. We are doing that now. We have also made arrangements with the Agricultural Department through their agents throughout the country, and they have agents in every county in the United States, to keep us advised of any opportunities for employment which may come under the observation of their agents or any desire of workmen for employment which may come under their observation. These arrangements have already been completed. In carrying out the work and arrangement with the States our first experiment was carried on a year ago last summer in the great wheat belt. We made arrangements with the State labor officials in the wheat belt to cooperate withi them in furnishing workmen to harvest the crop. By the mutual arrangement entered into we were to carry on the publicity necessary to convey the information to workers outside of their respective States; to direct any workmen who might be seeking such employment to the points within the States designated by the State labor officials or agricultural officers, as the case might be; to persons who were to be located and who were located at those points by the State labor officials; in carrying out this work and in carrying out the idea of publicity in that work we utilized the post offices for the first time.

We made arrangements with the Post Office Department to have the postmasters put up placards for us, stating that such men were needed for the wheat harvest in Kansas and Oklahoma, and so on, the rate of wages that was being paid or what was to be paid, the conditions of employment, the place to which they might report, and the name of the person to whom they might report, and then, in order that they might not have more workmen apply for work than there was work to give them, we made arrangements with the State officers that when it was nearing the time that they were about fully supplied with workmen that they would notify us, and when they did that we again utilized the post offices and placed placards there, notifying workmen not to proceed to those points which we had formerly advertised, unless they had first communicated with the officials named and had secured employment before leaving their homes.

In that experiment we found that to some extent and in some localities, principally through the activities of private agencies, which had not made the same arrangements which we had made, we had more men supplied than were actually needed. That did not occur to any great extent, but it did occur, and caused us to use greater care during last summer, when we undertook to carry through the same policy.

One other difficulty which we found was this, that after having supplied approximately 110,000 workers to harvest the wheat crops, and the crop had been harvested and thrashed, and the immediate necessity for that particular seasonal labor was over, that we had 110,000 men who were away from the centers of industry and commerce, with no way to get them back.

With that experience—and, by the way, they had to find their way back as best they could-we took up the matter with the railway corporations and with the Interstate Commerce Commission for the purpose of endeavoring to arrange for special rates for workmen going to seasonal occupations. The railroads hesitated to consider the proposition for a considerable length of time. We discovered that the principal reason for their hesitancy was that when men went into and returned from the wheat fields as hoboes or tramps, they did so as their own risk. If accidents occurred, the railroad companies were not responsible, but if they entered into any such arrangements as we suggested-carrying these men to and from the wheat fields at a very low rate there was just the possibility that the damages which might accrue from accidents would more than take up the amount they received from the small rate of transportation which we suggested, and so they hesitated about entering into such an arrangement, even though they had the power. I think that they are now in a different frame of mind.

Mr. SMITH. Don't those men earn enough to pay their fare back home after they are through work? How long do they stay?

Secretary WILSON. They stay from one to two or three months, and the compensation, as I recall it-I am saying it offhand-ran in the neighborhood of from $2 to $3 per day and found-that is, food and shelter was provided in addition to the $2 or $3.

Mr. SMITH. You say there was a considerable number that did not have enough money to return to their homes after their employment?

Secretary WILSON. Complaint was made that a considerable number did not have the funds to return to their homes. Some of those people had traveled there from as far east as Washington, from the State of Pennsylvania, and the State of New York; they had gone out to the wheat fields and they were being found and sheltered out there, but they had homes to provide for which they had left behind, so there were many of them that complained of not having the means to get out.

Mr. SMITH. And they were good, saving, and thrifty men?

Secretary WILSON. Yes. In order to overcome the legal obstacles which were found, we suggested in our annual report-in our last two annual reports— that the Interstate Commerce Commission be given the power to make authorizations of reduced rates. It is not contemplated that there would be any compulsion in connection with that matter. It is not contemplated that the railroads would be compelled to give reduced rates, but simply that they may be authorized to do so without violating any of the interstate regulations, and we are seeking legislation along that line.

We have also experimented in the same line in the fruit-growing industry in the State of Washington, beginning with the strawberry crop and going on up through a wide field with the experiment, and these experiments have justified us in extending the operations of the work.

We have also in emergency cases had some experience. On the occasion of the Salem fire, when the entire city of Salem was destroyed and the workmen and the workwomen were thrown out of employment, particularly in the boot and shoe industry and in the textile industry, the State officials of Massachusetts communicated with us and asked our cooperation in placing the workmen and workwomen who had been thrown out of employment.

We immediately placed ourselves in communication with other boot and shoe manufacturers in New England, New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, and Virginia, and every textile manufacturer in those States, stating the circumstances and asking them how many of those people they could place of the class of labor they needed, and within 10 days from the time that we had made that statement to the manufacturers of the need of taking care of these workmen we had placed every worker in Salem who was willing to leave Salem to accept employment. There were some a large number-who preferred to remain in Salem and take their chances in employment when the reconstruction of the city was completed.

Mr. BROWNE. How many workmen in that instance did you place? Secretary WILSON. We placed somewhere between 3,000 and 4,000 laborers at this time. I am simply showing this as an example of what can be done in an emergency.

Mr. LONDON. Where did you place them?

Secretary WILSON. We placed them at various factories throughout those States that I have mentioned, in the lines that they were following. Those experiments that we have made have demonstrated to us the real value of work of this character. One of our difficulties in carrying on the work has been that it is carried on through the division of information in the Bureau of Immigration, and there has gone abroad the impression that the only thing we are permitted to do and the only thing we are authorized to do is to endeavor to find employment for those who are aliens, for immigrants residing in the United States.

There is a very general impression of that kind which we find expressed in letters coming to us, some seeking information, others protesting against the activities of the Government being confined solely to seeking employment for immigrants; the fact being, however, that we have been endeavoring to place the unemployed and have authority under existing law to place the unemployed, irrespective of whether they are aliens or are natives and citizens. Mr. SMITH. Does your arrangement include the fare of the person to the places of employment?

Secretary WILSON. No. We do not undertake to carry through a system similar to that which exists in some European countries. We have no authority under existing law to do so.

We can not say, and it would not be wise for us to say, "Here is a job you are fitted to fill, and you must take it." We simply say to the men, "Here is

a job of the kind that you feel that you can fill. This person wants an employee. Here is the information as to where you can find a place," and we leave it to the further initiative of the workman to determine whether he will accept the information.

What we are seeking, however, in addition, and that is not covered in this bill, and it is not asked to be covered in this bill-what we are seeking, however, is additional authorization for the railroads and the Interstate Commerce Commission to provide a low rate of transportation for those who are taking care of our seasonal work. By so doing you will very much increase the mobility of labor, and it may be said, in parentheses, that you can not have a thorough mobility of industry or a thorough mobility of commerce unless you have first a mobility of labor.

The CHAIRMAN. Can you give us any information as to the system in vogue in foreign countries relative to the unemployed?

Secretary WILSON. I would not want, Mr. Chairman, to go into details with reference to those systems without first refreshing my memory in connection with them.

Mr. LONDON. I suppose you would prefer not to be interrupted in your statement.

Secretary WILSON. That would not make any difference. I have about reached the conclusion of what I intended to say directly upon the bill.

Mr. LONDON. Is it not your object to ultimately establish a bureau where you would be in a position to give information as to the state of employment or unemployment in the country?

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Secretary WILSON. That is a part of what we have in mind, and I was coming to this particular bill at the moment I was interrupted.

Now, we believe that information as to the state of employment ought to be available. For instance, it is very frequently the case that you will find published in the trade journals throughout the country this information: “Workmen are being induced to come to this section of the country by statements that there is a shortage of labor and that the compensation is great. Workmen are warned that those statements are not true."

That has been particularly true with regard to the Pacific coast. It is also a weekly occurrence in the trade journals East that you will find a warning contained in them to people to stay away from the Pacific coast, because the statements about the opportunities for employment out there are without foundation in fact.

It is advisable that we should have the facilities for gathering information not only with regard to the opportunities for employment in a specific way— although to my mind that is the greatest advantage-but also with regard to opportunities for employment in a general way, and information concerning congestion at different points.

We are seeking to overcome the latter phase of it through our Bureau of Labor Statistics. We have inaugurated a semiannual study of the question of unemployment in the principal industrial centers. Unfortunately, there have been no such studies made heretofore on any definite basis upon which a comparison could be made with the unemployment existing now and the unemployment existing in periods in the past. The nearest we have come to that has been in our census reports and in our census investigations.

The last census investigation undertook to show the number of unemployed, but unfortunately it was not secured in such a manner as to give any definite information as to the number of unemployed. It showed, for instance, that the number of unemployed during the year preceding the date upon which the census was taken amounted to over 6,000,000-I am speaking in round numbers that the number of unemployed amounted to over 6,000,000 during that period.

Mr. LONDON. In 1910?

Secretary WILSON. In 1911; the year preceding that. That conveys the impression to the casual reader that there were 6,000,000 unemployed people at that time. Yet such was not the case. What did happen was this, that the census made an inquiry as to the number of people who had been unemployed at any period during the preceding year, and it found that there were 6,000,000 who, during that year, had, at one time or another, been idle, and there was no attempt to subdivide that time to find out what the number were that were unemployed at any one given period. So that the statement of there being over 6,000,000 unemployed in 1910 is very often quoted as upon the assumption that there were 6,000,000 idle people at one time in 1910.

Mr. LONDON. And it really did mean that these 6,000,000 people were separated from their jobs at one time or another?

Secretary WILSON. At some period. It may be possibly for days with some, and with others possibly for months, but there were 6,000,000 people who at one time or another and at one length of time or another were out of work or were without jobs during 1910, but no attempt has been made to segregate that number of unemployed into its different elements. We feel that that should be done, and we are endeavoring to do it as best we can with the limited means at our disposal in the Bureau of Labor Statistics, but the authorization would not be fixed in a bill of this character, because we already have that authority in the Bureau of Labor Statistics and are endeavoring to work it out.

Mr. LONDON. And you will be able to reach a state where you will be able to give every day a statement as to the condition of employment or unemployment?

Secretary WILSON. That would be a long time in the future, Mr. Congressman, because we have a tremendous territory to cover, as well as an immense population, and it would require an immense amount of machinery to be able to state the number of unemployed from time to time and from day to day. Mr. LONDON. Is not that the object which we seek in establishing this bureau, ultimately, in seeking to establish such a bureau?

Secretary WILSON. I think that we might ultimately reach that condition, but I do not expect that we shall reach it in the immediate future. I think. however, that the organization should be so constructed that Congress may from time to time extend the machinery as the experience gained determines

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