78 UNEMPLOYMENT IN THE UNITED STATES
which the employer can go to find people out of work. The workers’
time is lost and the time and money of the employer is lost by this
large number of unproductive interviews.
Now, my suggestion is to have central employment offices to do this
first sifting; and by that means you can reduce this ratio of applicants
to those who get work from 10 to 1, down to 5 to 1. In this particu-
lar establishment, they would have to give 125,000 fewer interviews
year than they do now and consequently make that big saving.
You say, now, if all those are advantages for the employers, why
do some employers oppose these bills? Well, I wish I could be here
later in the session to listen to the distinguished counsel of the Na-
tional Manufacturers Association, who, I am sure, will pardon me if I
forecast some of the reasons in his mind.
Mr. SumNEeRs. Let me ask you one question, please: I ask the
doctor if I correctly understood his statement to the effect that if the
Federal Government could find through its consular agencies and
commercial attachés abroad, the markets for the products of America,
was it his theory that the Government could, on the same principle,
find a market for labor?
Mr. Doucras. Of course, the government also helps in finding
domestic markets, because the bureau in the Department of Com-
merce is not merely the Bureau of Foreign Commerce, but the Bureau
of Foreign and Domestic Commerce. The point that I wanted to
make 1s that the Government does take an actual concern in finding
markets for commodities; should it not take concern also in finding a.
market for labor?
Now then, is the objection to this system really based on a fear, an
opposition to Federal aid? May I point out that the Congress has
passed at various times Federal 2id bills providing for the protection
of the forests against fire, and that that appropriation has been
increased since the original Weeks Act.
Mr. Hammer. We have got one up right now.
Mr. Montague. Does that mean forests on the public lands belong-
ing to the United States?
Mr. Doveras. It is not merely reforestation.
Mr. Montague. No, I am talking about fire protection now.
Mr. Dougras. No, 1t is not merely protection from fires on
Government land, but protection from forest fires on private land.
It has passed a Federal aid act providing for vocational education; a
Federal aid act providing for agricultural extension, upon which the
great system of county agents has been built up, and which really
gave birth to the American Farm Bureau. It has passed vocational
rehabiliation acts, and perhaps most important of all, it has passed the
Federal aid to highways act, and for a number of years you have been
appropriating $75,000,000 a year for hichways, and upon that system
of Federal aid the American automobile has moved, and recently I
believe Congress has increased that appropriation of $75,000,000 up to
$125,000,000. So I can hardly believe that while Congress is affirm-
ing sit faith in the principle of Federal aid and increasing it with a
generous hand in the matter of highways, that there can be a real
reason for denying the passage of this bill.
Mr. Montague. Do you believe that the aid of the Government in
the construction of public highways is analagous to this bill?
Mr. Dovgras. Yes, sity Why not?
