American Ex-Soldiers Workless.

Hokitika Guardian, 26 April 1921, Page 4

American Ex-Soldiers Workless.

VAST ARMY IDLE. SAN FRANCISCO, March 29 There were 400,000 veterans of the World War out of Work in the tinted States oil March Ist this year, according to an estimate received by the American Legion. This is a reduction ut about 100,000 from the “peak” of more than 500,000 jobless ex-service men in tlie country shortly after last New Year’s Day, and the Legion reports state there is promise of further improvement. The survey of the national situation on which those figures are based was made by the “American •Legion Weekly,” official publication of

America’s former khaki heroes, an or gan which states that the unemploy ment situation as affecting the veteran

“appears to have taken a turn lor the better.” A chain of employment agencies operated by the Legion in every State lias done much to relieve Llie situation, says the Legion officials. The Legion has boon instrumental in obtaining work for veterans, in discouraging the migration of unemployed men toward the great industrial centres, and lias encouraged a movement from cities to the farms. It has demanded that workers who left, their positions to go to war should enjoy seniority rights on a par with those of military age who stayed at home.

Ex-service men have suffered more in proportion to their numbers than other workers, according to the Legion’s survey, because of the operation of seniority rules and efficiency standards. Nearly a year is required for the returned veteran to get hack to his old stride in industry, according to the testimony of large employers of labour. Another thing that has handicapped the ex-sol-dier is his restlessness and nomadic tendencies, both products of the strain and circumstance of war service.

Throughout the agricultural Middle West a general movement from the cities and towns to the fa mis is reported. The average ex-soldier had little taste for agriculture when he came back from the war. It was hard to keep ’em down on the farm after they bad “seen Faroe.” They chose to work in the small factories or stores in the neighbouring county seat, where, in 1919, jobs were plenty and wages high. When those jobs began to go there was at first an exodus toward the larger cities. The Legion strove to discourage this. That movement has about spent itself’, and farmers throughout the AA egt now report little difficulty in getting help, and except in the larger cities there are few able-bodied ex-service men reported out.of work in the Aliddle AA est. The South reports improvement. Dixie has been burdened with a larger quota of winter “floaters” than usual this year, according to reports. Some are now finding farm work in the South, others are drifting north, largely to settle on farms. The Pacific Coast, a land where there are the three great seasonal occupations of fishing, lumbering, and fruit-raising, has been able to decrease the number of jobless veterans by half in two months, according to advices from there. In AVashington State there were 7000 unemployed veterans on January Ist, and 2000 on February Ist.