68 UNEMPLOYMENT IN THE UNITED STATES 
ment in that particular industry, of finding other and suitable forms 
of work. 
On the problem of cylical unemployment, no one has dared to say 
that we will find a preventive of these returning times of business, 
and therefore of industrial depression. They are frequently due to 
world economic conditions, and are not within the control of the local 
Government, or a set of industrialists. Nevertheless, by taking 
thought of the situation, and by cooperation between the Government 
and the industrialists, it would seem we could shorten the length of 
that period of depression, and decrease the depth of that depression. 
so that we need not go so deep into it without some artificial stimula- 
tion, nor so long endured. 
This now brings us to the point of considering what value these 
three bills introduced by Senator Wagner have for carrying out the 
Government's part of the program. 
In the first place we have the bill for collecting statistical informa- 
tion. That is invaluable, as it gives everyone studying the problem 
the necessary knowledge upon which to proceed. There appears to 
be no competent objection to that particular bill. 
The bill for creating an appropriate reserve for public works is vital. 
At the exact moment when private industrial employment begins to 
falter, whether due to the recession of technological unemployment 
or other cause, the public works program can be put into play just 
as soon as the collectors of the statistics begin to see there is a falling 
off of industry in this or in that locality. They can be introduced, a 
little at a time, the construction on these public works, to take up 
the unemployed persons thrown out of employment by these periods 
seasonal or technological unemployment. And when there is a 
cyclical depression of the world they can shorten the depth of that 
Pid of depression as well as the duration of it through this channel 
of aid. 
Let us consider if out of the three million men Mr. Green said are 
now out of work to-day—I think his estimate is based on trade-union 
figures, and does not give a complete picture; I think it is nearer 
5,000,000 that are out of employment. We have no idea of what the 
true number is. But, taking his figure, out of that 3,000,000 men, say 
we can put 1,000,000 of them to work on public works for say 15 days, 
eight hours a day, and at the regular rate of wages, five days a week. 
Right away you bring into play a “spenders brigade ”’—this spenders 
brigade of 1,000,000 people, they would demand products, and in a 
moment, you would have a demand for 1,000,000 pairs of shoes, and 
probably 5,000,000 pairs of socks, and 3,000,000 shirts, and a million 
suits of clothes, to say nothing of the clothing and bedding and other 
things which their families would require. 
And can you imagine what would happen to the clothing industry 
when orders for a million suits were thrown to them, or the knitting 
industry when orders for 5,000,000 pairs of socks came to them, and 
so on down the line of the things that would be consumed by this 
spenders brigade? Incidently the mills would begin to work when 
these people started out to buy stockings and they will take their time 
to buy other necessities for themselves, and it is easy to see that in » 
short time the depression is over. 
After all, the whole thing is a circle and starting motion at one point, 
it is transmitted to the adjacent points, and then the whole circle