AMERICAN UNEMPLOYED

Evening Star, Issue 22807, 16 November 1937, Page 9

AMERICAN UNEMPLOYED

PERMANENT CURE SOUGHT VOLUNTARY CENSUS TO BE TAKEN Press Aaiociation—By Telegraph—Copyright WASHINGTON, November 14. President Roosevelt, in a radio fireside chat, urged citizens to contribute to a permanent cure for unemployment by registering in a voluntary unemployment census, starting on Tuesday.

The'President indicated that first of all the Administration will carry out as far as possible a pledge to prevent starvation duo to lack of aid; secondly, that the Government will attempt to stimulate private industry sufficiently to reabsorb, the idle; thirdly, a longrange programme embracing these objectives will be launched after the compilation of a- census data. “ Unemployment is one of the bitter, galling problems at present afflicting mankind,” he said, “It dates in a measure fromi the beginning .of the industrial era, was accentuated by the increasing complexity of business and industry, and has been sharpened by the depression. It is a problem of every civilised nation; not ours alone, Some countries are salving it by huge armament programmes, but Americans do not want to solve it like that. A permanent cur© is only possible by finding jobs in industry and agriculture for all willing workers. First, however, we must possess all the available facts.”

Observers pointed out that the number of unemployed has been bitterly disputed since the start of the depression, estimates varying widely. For example, the American Federation of Labour at present claims that the idle total 8,000,000, which is increasing due to lagging business. The most recent Administration estimate is only 2,000,000, but it was made before the present business recession. Lack of definite data concerning unemployment is one of the chief weapons used against the Administration.