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UNEMPLOYMENT IN THE UNITED STATES 167 
Mr. Yares. Then some one else, in answer to other questions, said 
the total number of workers in the country was about 35,000,000. 
Senator WAGNER. Yes. 
Mr. Yates. Now, 3,900,000 is nearly 10 per cent of 35,000,000. 
You see what I am driving at. There is something wrong about 
that; because if the normal unemployment would be 3,000,000 and 
shere are now only 3,900,000, we are only 900,000 worse off, and I 
think those figures ought to be corrected. 
Senator Waener. Well, I stated, before you came in, that we had 
no figures on unemployment. That is one of the tragedies of this 
situation, and the first bill, which is not before this committee but 
which has been introduced and already reported in the House—— 
Mr. Yates. Mr. Green did give that figure of 3,900,000. 
Senator WaeNer. It was more or less conjecture. There are no 
accurate figures. That is the thing I am insisting upon. In the first 
5ill, which is not before this committee but which has been reported 
favorably by another committee of the House, it provides for the 
sollection of accurate statistics. 
Mr. Yates. You understand I am not contending the number is 
less; I think, if anything, it is more than 3,900,000. 
Senator Wagner. Yes. Miss Perkins volunteered there were about 
3,000,000 out of employment, but we ought to know. 
Mr. Yates. Yes; we ought to know. 
Senator WAGNER. But we do not know, and that is one of the things 
[ am trying to do—to provide for the collection of accurate statistics. 
And I said before you arrived, Governor, that ours is the only indus- 
srial country in the world which has not those accurate figures collected. 
(At this point, there being a roll call in the House, a recess for 15 
minutes was taken, at the conclusion of which the hearing was resumed, 
as follows:) 
Mr. CHRISTOPHERSON. Senator, you may resume. 
Senator Waaener. I just want to emphasize one point before I 
eave the so-called advance planning bill. One of the opponents said 
this morning, undoubtedly because of a misapprehension of this whole 
subject, that my proposals are temporary proposals. Quite the con- 
srary. They are to erect a permanent instrumentality of Govern- 
ment to deal with this subject at all times. It is not at all a temporary 
proposal. 
I want to emphasize, too, the fact that after this conference in 
November, because of the fact we had not planned ahead and were 
aot prepared for this slump, in spite of all the edicts that were issued, 
employment kept going down in January, further down in February, 
further down in March—which, by the way, was the first time in 
the history, that is, since we have collected any kind of statistics, 
that in the month of March there was a further recession in emnlov- 
ment—a gain in unemployment. 
Then comes April, a further drop in employment, and now May 
another drop. I say this to impress upon you the seriousness of the 
economic condition which is confronting us. Men working on the 
public construction are able to buy the goods of the other factories. 
There are about 27 different industries that are affected by public 
construction directly, and, in addition to that, the man who works 
buys shoes, buys clothes, buys hats, and so on, and in that way 
employment is stabilized. I have talked to large industrialists: they