Evening Star Newspaper, May 12, 1929, Page 5

NAVY PERSONNEL | LAUDED BY ADAMS Davis, Addressing National Radio Forum, Is Hopeful of Unemployment Relief. ___ (Continued From First Page.) gested J:lan of holding up public works for bad times he thought would only help to bring on bad times. Still an- other plan to expand public works dur- ing times of unemployment he criticized as being “only a drop in the bucket.” Even a fund of $150,400,000 as pro- posed, he pointed out, would only pro- vide 60 days' work for 250,000 men. Immigration Ban Approved. “Any effort to cure unemployment.” he said, “is laudable. But it must be clear that if we are to meet unemploy- ment in any practical way nothing short of the Federal and State re- volving fund of several hundred mil- lions suggested by President Hoover will do.” One great move by the Government to prevent unemployment, Secretary Davis said, was the restriction of im- | migration, which he defended as thor- | oughly American, justified, and not de- serving of the criticism which it had provoked. “If we had gone on during the last | efght years admitting aliens at the rate of a million and a half a year,” he declared, “with 80 per cent of them wage earners, unemployment in this country might have become a horror.” Referring to complaints, which he said were still being registered against America’s 1estricted immigration, Sec- retary Davis said the people of other countries sometimes thought the United States “harsh and severe.” “But let me tell you,” he said, “that we are the most liberal country on immigration in the world. No country excels us in humanitarianism. We have people in America who migrate to_other countries. Within a recent period, 25,000 Americans emigrated to Canada. ' Fifteen thousand of them were turned back. Did you hear any complaint about that in the Canadian newspapers? But when we turn back 150,000 out of the many millions from other countries, you hear a roar that Koes around the world.” Arbitration Work Reviewed. Other branches of the work of the | Department of Labor were described, especially the Federal conciliation ser ce. fecting a large number of workers, the secretary said, it was impossible to calculate what this “hes saved em- ployers from loss by stoppage of their factories, or what it has saved these millions of workers in the loss of their .” He also touched on the natur- alization, statistical, women’s and chil- dren’s bureaus, the housing corpora- tion;, employment service and other phases of work of the department. Secretary Adams, while stressing the vital value of “the’ man” in the Navy, declared it was the mission of the or~ ganization to be “ready for battle—to be always ready—ready with the weap- ons that are the best now, today—not the weapons that may be the best eventually 10 or 20 or 50 years hence. “The Navy,” he said, “can take no chance with the security of our Mr. Adams spoke as follow: The Constitution of the United States in its preamble sets forth in simple terms the objects that our fathers sought to attain by its adoption. Ope of those fundamental objects was “to provide for the common de- fense.” The necessity for this provision as a measure of common prudence for the protection of our citizens and our commerce, abroad as well as at home, and the knowledge that any attack that our country might ever fear could come | only by way of the sea, led us inevitably to the creation of a Navy. The Constitution conferred upon the | Congress the power to create and main- | tain this Navy and to make rules for the government of the land and naval forces. Not only was the maintenance, organization and control of the Navy kept carefully in the hands of the rep- resentatives of the people, but it was further provided that the Commander- in-Chief of the Army and Navy should be a civilian, the President of the United States. Throughout our history the Navy has served the country with distinction and honor, and never has there been ap attempt to evade these legal and constitutional restrictions in order that our fleet might be made the instrument of tyranny or the tool of TUNDAY STAR. WASHINGT T | next question would be, when to start | this building expansion. According to this plan, that was to be “when the in- dex of employment prepared by the United States Department of Labor or by the Labor Department of any State shall show a decrease of employment for three consecutive months, in com- MAY 12, 1929—PART 1. ON, D U 1 | hines and had not had time to be help employers and workers in settling | { reabsorbed in the newer work which |their occasional industrial differences. these machines indirectly create. Em- | The Government cannot interfere in ployers who plan the installation of new private business. but where a dispute | automatic machinery will some day pro- | vide new jobs in advance for the work ! ers they are about to displace. They will do it for business as well as humanita- has arisen it can offer its services as a | disinterested and impartial mediator. Since this service was started it has | adjusted nearly 9,000 of these minor For Impaired Vision parison with the corresponding periods of two previous calendar years.” A board of control would then notify the President that business depression ex- isted and to start the works. The $50,000,000 for river and harbor work and the $10,000,000 were to be released when “the volume, based on value, of contracts awarded for con- struction work had fallen 10 per cent | for a three-month period below the average of the corresponding three. month period of the three preceding years.” You will see how disappointing these plans would be when I remind you that the Government has no agency for col- lecting such information on building contracts. It would be difficult to do. And that is not the only or the real defect in such a plan to cure unemploy- ment. Suppose there is unemployment in the ore fields of Hibben, Minn., or in | | the shoe and textile factories of New England. This will not be shown in any falling off in bullding contracts. Unemployment is rarely ~ distributed evenly and might occur at points far (away from where public works were | needed. difficult of all professions. For success it demands the ability to co-ordinate | the most intricate and scientfic instru- | ments of destruction, and apply them |in batile under the most adverse | psychological conditions: conditions so difficult and terrifying that in the un- trained and undisciplined, all reasoned | action would often cease 1t is the mission of the Navy to be ready for battle—to be always ready- | ready with the weapons that are the | best now, today—not the weapons that may be the best eventually 10 or 20 or 50 years hence. The Navy can take no chance with the security of our country. Study, training, experimenta- | tion, target practice, actual operation of } neuvers, constant study and thought in | analyzing results to assure that we are keeping abreast of the times in actuali- | ties and ahead of the times in viston— always an open mind in search of the | lieve the unemployed shoe or every element of the fleet in war ma- | In adjusting minor differences af- | Secretary of Labor Davis (above) and | Secretary of the Navy Adams (below), who spoke last night in the Washing- tion Star | carried to the Nation over the Columbia | Broadcasting System. —Star Staff Photo. Our people are becoming familiar with the details of our battleships, our cruis- ors and aireraft, our guns and torpedoes, but they know little of the officers who control them, and less of the men with- out whose skill these tools would be useless. In civil life, where opportunities for wealth and fame are open to men in every fleld of endeavor, the great sur- geons, the great statesmen, the great lawyers are known and honored for their demonstrated ility and skill. But he whose sole duty it is to defend | his country spends his life training himself and others for some fateful | hour; an hour that we all hope may | never come, when he is to stake his | accumulated wisdom, training, skill and | jJudgment on the hazard of a battle | that may mean victory or defeat, honor {or disgrace, not only for himself, but | perhaps for all his fellow countrymen. It is this human side of the Navy that | we are apt to forget. We are apt to | forget the life of struggle, of self-denial; | the constant sacrifice of self for the | ideals of service, with little or nothing ! remaining at the end for the depend- ents left behind. That is the story of the great majority who uncomplainingly bear this burden and regard the service | of their country as an honor. Praise as Well as Censure. Let us remember that it is our Navy It belongs to you and to me and to every citizen. To a certain extent its morale is in our hands. Hostile or de- | structive criticism is as hurtful of morale as merited praise is helpful. In | our own interest as shareholders and | part owners of our Navy let us try al- | ways to be fair in our attitude and give | as readily of our praise as of our cen- sure. | I believe, as time goes on, our people | will come more and more to know and | eppreciate our Navy and to regard it | with ever-increasing. interest and af- | fection. ‘The safe handling of the con- | voys, with 2,000,000 of our boys, over- seas and back, produced a profound im- pression in every home. Then, I think every landsman feels in his blood a little of the romance and mystery of | the sea. While in his inner heait he is | confident that without further training | personal ambition. For the necessity of armed force T am not here to plead. The illuminating debates we have had in the Congress in recent years and especially the over- whelming majority of the last Congress in favor of adequate cruiser construc- tion are a sufficient answer to those who would take for granted that be- | ! cause we are ever ready to seize upon any honorable means to avoid war. we have become 50 fatuous as to belleve that our influence for good would be he would make an excellent soldier, he | | is not so confident of his ability on the | water, and is willing to concede to the | mariner the respect due to one who | matches his skill and courage against the dangers of the unknown sea. radio forum, which was, It is of these I would speak. | best, but holding fast to the best known | till displaced by proven superiority— that is the Navy of today and the Navy we shall keep in the future. A Nav whose efficiency will not_only provide | for the common defense. but. by insur- { ing peace, will do most also to promote | the general welfare and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity. Secretary Davis opened his address by referring to the various activities of the department, which he said “deal with human beings.” His address, in | full, follows: | I am to tell you tonight about the Labor Department and its work in handling the Immigration, Naturaliza- | tion, Statistical, Women’s and Children’s | Bureaus, the Housing Corporation, the | employment service and the conciliation service for_the adjustment of industrial | disputes. I am to have only 15 minutes, | but I will do my best to tell you a little about immigration, employment and | | conciliation. The activities of the Labor Depart- | ment deal with human beings. It is | the one purely human arm of the | Government, We are now especlally | busy. This is the time of the year | when annual wage agreements between | employers and workers terminate and | | new ones are negotiated. The building | trades especially have kept us occupled | recently. During the past 30 days we | have had more than a hundred trade | disputes, but we have been fortunate | in keeping most of them from stopping work during the adjustment period. | Yesterday & two-year agreement be- | tween the bakers of Washington and their employers was closed, so that my | | Washington friends and those who con- | template visiting the city can be assured of their regular bread and butter for | | the next two years. Employment Backbone of Présperity. After all, the great issue in'the lives | of most of our people is this matter of employment. Employment is the back- bone of our prosperity. Unemployment | | months. More than that, you can see from our annual building expenditure of seven billion dollars that any “prosperity re- serve” of only $150,400,000 to stimu- Tate public works could hardly be more | ‘The $60.- | than a drop in the bucket. 000,000 spent on rivers and harbors and flood control would help unemployment in the Immediate neighborhood of these works. But even though Congress were in session and ready to start this money to work, what good could it do to re- workers of New England? Only what is reflected back to us as a result of purchases made by those who are at work elsewhere. ‘Works Out Plan, ures. One hundred and fifty million four hundred thousand dollars would provide 60 days’ work for 250,000 men— about 12 per cent of the number nor- mall employed in the building industry. Yet in 1921 nearly 6,000,000 people were off the payrolls. AS a rule, periods of un- employment run_from three to four Many are unemployed for six months. The one beginning in 1893 ran for nearly four years. To have given 6.000,000 people 100 days’ work at $3 a ay would have cost $1.800,000.000 in 1921, This $150,000,000 prosperity re- erve would. therefore, cover less than 10 per cent of the situation of 1921. This is not spoken in criticism. Any effort to cure unemployment is laudible. But it must be clear that if we are to meet unemployment in any practical way, nothing short of the Federal and State revolying fund of several hun dred millions suggested by President Hoover will do. To show you why this is so. let me cite what is going on here in Washing- ton. Congress appropriated_$50,000,000 for the erection of new Government buildings. The Commerce Building, now under way, will cost $17,000,000, and | will be three years in construction. The contract for the stone has been let to the Indiana Limestone Association, and amounts to $3,000,000. What does this do to stimulate employment among the granite workers in Vermont? Bringing this stone from Indiana will require 1,280 freight cars, where our annual loadings in 1928 were more than 50,000,000 cars. In hauling this stone from Indiana, probably not an extra train will be needed. A few trains will have extra cars for hauling this stone, without adding to the train crews or raising their wages & penny. If you really look into unemployment you see the President’s proposal is the only one that measures up to the size of the problem. His plan of a revolving fund of several hundred millions does not assume that normal public build- ing programs shall be held in reserve. It does not mean that needed schools and hospitals shall not be built. It would not hold up public roads for some emergency. Last of all, the President’s plan to cure unemployment does not aim to compel great numbers of our |rian reasons. Leading employers tell |differences, affecting more than 12,000, me now that every worker thrown out 000 workers, It is impossible to cal- | of a job is thrown out of the market, | culate what this has saved employers and we are all in accord with this | from loss by stoppage of their factories, | textile | Let me work it out for you In actual | statement. When this thing happens to | several millions at the same time, the | {10ss of their buying power hits business | a blow that is felt, If our prosperity | is to continue, every possible worker ' | must be kept at regular employment at | | Bood wages. | Our Government itself made one great | o prevent unemployment when | it resiricted immigration. If we had | gone on during the past eight years admitting aliens at the rate of a mil- lion and & half a year, with 80 per | |cent of them wage earners. unemploy- | ment in this country might have become I horror. Competition for jobs would have been terrific. There would have | been at least two or three seekers for | | every job that was open. I leave you to | figure for yourselves the misery that would have followed not only to the | American-born but to the foreign-born Ias well. | We still hear complaints about re- | | stricted immigration. The people of j other countries sometimes think we are | harsh and severe. But let me tell you | that we are the most liberal country | on immigration in the world. No coun- | try excels us in humanitarianism. We | have people in America who migrate to | other countries. Within a recent period | 25,000 Americans emigrated to Canada. | Filteen thousand of them were turned | back. Did you hear any complaint {about that in the Canadian newspapers? | But when we turn back 150,000 out of many millions from other countries you | hear a roar that goes around the world. | Every one wants to come to America, | and we still admit in the neighborhood of 300,000 a year, besides many visitors. | But we do not want cheap labor here | { competing with American well paid | labor. We want only efficient, well paid labor, and only so much of that as we | can provide with employment, and we | do not want to make this unemployment | problem more serious than it is. If Jow wages made for prosperity all America would be migrating to the rest of the | world. We are not doing that; we want | to maintain and improve our own pres- ent standard of living These are some of the things we do in the Labor Department. Nearly all questions are of & controversial nature. Which side of the controversy are you on? You can see now why I call it the most human of all Government, activi- ties. ‘Through the Bureau of Labor Statistics we gather and publish all the facts and figures on the cost of living. The same bureau keeps the workers of the country informed as to the prevail ing rates of wages in their various crafts and callings. We study the facts on unemployment, through this bureau. In millions of American homes three main questions are ever uppermost— What should it cost me to live? Am T getting the proper wage? Am I safe in my job? We answer these questions in_the Labor Department. We touch the very life of our country at still another point—in the Federal Conciliation Service, which exists to [l or what it has saved these millions of workers in the loss of their wages. This | is one of the finest human services we perform, | The United States Employment Serv- ice is constanly and practically battling | the problem of unemployment by help- ing the jobless man to find a manless job, wherever either happens to_be. The Women’s and Children’s Bureaus watch the health, welfare and prosper- | ity of our millions of woman and child workers of the country. The Naturalization Bureau extends a helping hand to the thousands of our foreign-born to enable them to learn our language, our history and the na- ture of our institutions, in fitting them for citizenship. I have had time only to skim the sur- face of the work in the Department of Labor. But what & glorious country we have. The next census will probably tell us that we have 50,000,000 gain- fully employed; vet last year when we | had a shrinkage of employment of | 1.874,000, most of whom are now em- ployed, it gave us some concern. What a tremendous machine to keep running. If a proper readjustment of the tarif made at this session, as it probably will be, I am sure the demand for workers will equal that from 1922 to 1027. The happiness of America is wrapped up in its gainfully employed. and every man should do what he can to foster, promote and develop the wel- fare of the wage earners of the United States and to advance their opportuni- | ties for profitable employment, for when we have profitable employment for | those we have prosperity for all. i I’'M ALONE DISCUSSIONS WITH CANADA DELAYED Stimson Does Not Believe Taft Can Be Induced to Act as U. 8. i Arbitrator. . Discussions between the Canadian Minister, Vincent Massey, and Secre- | tary Stimson concerningthe arbitra- tion of the sinking of the rum runner | I'm Alone have not yet been begun because of the pressure of various other ; important matters in the State Depart- ment. i | Secretary Stimson when asked yester- | day whether he felt he could prevail upon Chief Justice Taft to act as the American arbitrator, sald he thought not. He indicated, however, that the | question of asking’ Mr. Tafi had not | been determined finally since the | | matter of the arbitration had not vet reached the point of naming the American representative. | Among other names suggested has . | been that of Frank B. Kellogg, former | Secretary of State, who on Friday con- | ferred with Mr. Stimson upon his re- turn from Europe. —cont s E'ye Physician Eyes properly treated to- day will be bright and sparkling in later years. Practice eyesight conserva- tion now. EDMOND =='O;PT1'C IAN—=== 915 Fifteenth Street Established 1899 Por correct time & Franklin 869 JEWELERS DIAMONDS Other Precious Stones Members of Amsterdam Diamond Ezchange oA .oflabin oIne. Thirty-siz Years et 935 F Street A Collection of Fine ANTIQUE ans SEMI-ANTIQUE PLATINUMSMITHS ’4,‘ brings human misery and loss of busi- | ness. At the present time unemployment is not such as to give us the worry it did | Employers Seen as Great Aid. a year ago. Eight years ago nearly six| Think for a moment what it would million of our people were off the pay | mean to open public works in Arizona rolls, and since that time there has been | to relleve unemployment in New Eng- much discussion of unemployment and land. Right here let me point out how how to prevent it. We had a little Jull | difficult it would be to get a plumber, in employment last year, but it is now | a carpenter, a puddler, a machinist, passing away and employment is on | shoemaker or any one else working a the increase. | @ specialized trade to take up un. A number of plans for the purpose | familiar work, It would be just as dif- of curing unemployment have been put | ficult as it would be to get a lawyer forward and our people need to know | in his dull season to take up some other more about them. | occupation, What migratory workers | First, it has been suggested that mean to the country, we see on the public buildings and works should be | Pacific Coast among the fruit picker: restricted during'good times and held in | Families there follow the harvest sea reserve for seasons when unemployment | son in the hope of a few days' work is with us. This plan has the best of |along their way. Whole families are motives behind it, but it will not fully | loaded into the family car and trundled solve the problem. {up and down In search of work. The When times are good, activity in pub- | most they can hope for is a few weeks’ lic works and buildings helps to make | employment in any one spot. And working people to roam from place to | place in search of employment. ORIENTAL RUGS carefully selected by out resident representa- tives in Persia, has just been received. It com- prises some remarkable examples, now rarely seen, and some of most unusual dimensions. | them good. To hold up public works The thought I wish to leave with you | for bad times would help to bring on this evening is one that is in the mind | bad times. ,Statistics prove this. We of every naval officer. It is this, that | spend every year seven billion dollars | to whatever size our Navy may expand. | on buildings of every sort. Nearly & | high morale and thorough training will | billion and a half of this goes into pub. | still be essential to victory. Mahan has | lic works, including military and naval warned that “Good men in poor ships | bullding. ‘To hold that amount of | that sort of life seems to be most de- moralizin, I believe one very effective way to prevent unemployment lies right in the hands of American employers. We are just now much concerned about the effect of automatic machinery in dis- placing human workers. Beyond all The collection is worthy of inspection by all interested in rare examples. promoted by assuming a position of |have always beaten poor men in good | building for bad times would only bring | question a large percentage of the un- helplessness. Nor am I asking vou this evening to Ahink about cruisers, or about battle- ‘ships, or submarines, or about the won- derful new weapon of the air that has become so incorporated into every naval activity that it is hard to imagine a fleet npe;:tlng effectively without its air- era: TImportance of Men. All of these, essential weapons though ¢hey be, are but inanimate tools. In time of peace our minds are apt to be more concerned with weapons than with the men that wield them. The impos- sibility of measuring the dimensions of such qualities as skill in battle, keen- ness of fighting edge, physical and men- tal preparedness, morale or leadership, leaves us little but the tangible by which to gauge our relative naval strength. | Nationally Known o Building Materials Take advantage Prices on New ships.” It's the man that counts—the combination of unconquerable spirit 1Wlth high technical skill. We must have the best weapons though their cost | |is great, for money can never measure ‘lhe value of victory or the cost of de- feat., But fine weapons alone or the most scientifically perfect equipment in | the hands of the untrained may be of | little more use than bows and arrows. | Complex Profession. ‘We live in a scientific age, an age of unprecedented discovery and invention. Men over 50 have witnessed in their time more material progress than the | world has known in all its previous his- |tory. The day has passed when men could leave the plow in the field and | go forth to battle. The fighting pro- fession, and, especially the naval profes- sion, has become the most complex and at Lowest Prices Always of Hechinger’s Low Building Materials. Let us estimate on your requirements. LUMBER ROOFING PLUMBING WALLBOARD MILLWORK SHEETMETAL 3 BRANCHES 3 Main Office Sixth and C Streets S W. Camp Meigs Fifth and Florida Ave. N.E Brightwood 5921 Georgia Avenue N.W. e [on the emergency it was meant w1 | remedy. I think we have got to ap- | proach unemployment from another | angle. | | Still another plan would not hold up | public works, but rather expand them during times of unemployment. It is suggested that $150,400,000 be set aside as an annual appropriation for speed- | ing up public enterprises of four differ- ent kinds. This sum of $150,400,000 is designed as & prosperity reserve, to be thus divided: $75,000,000 for the con- | struction of rural post roads, $50,000,000 | for maintaining existing river and har- bor works, $10,400,000 for flood control and $15,000,000 for public buildings. The money being appropriated, th THIS HOME WILL 1743 18th Corner, center hall, ele perfect condition, parquet flo assessor’s appraisal; one-hali employed in 1928 consisted of persons thus thrown out of their jobs by new 2001 16th St. N.W. Exceptionally attractive apartments of three and four outside rooms, re- ception hall, bath and large kitchen. Electric refrigeration. Reasonable Rentals PAY FOR ITSELF STREET ven rooms and two bath ors, beautiful living and din- ing rooms; six front bedrooms; lot 52 feet in width. Can be purchased for less than market value; below its real cost; and at a price which will insure an immediate profit to a buyer. | Almpn:t Sunday 2 to 6 P.M. WALTER A. BROWN 1400 H Street N.W. Main 1653 Store Open from 9 2. Daily Including Saturday * * We have also an abundant stock of MODERATELY PRICED ORIENTAL RUGS in Room and Scatter Sizes. All these qualities can be sold today for considerably lower prices than would prevail under the pro- posed.new tariff rates of duty. Therefore it is of distinct advantage to supply con- templated needs at once. & W. & J. SLOANE *“The House with the Green Shutters” 709-711-713 TWELFTH STREET, N. W. WASHINGTON, D..C. . to 5:30 . m. to p.-m . 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