Table 6. Estimated federal expenses, 1924 Table 7. Number of unemployed placed in position, 1921-1922 61 THE UNITED STATES ITS HISTORY, ACTIVITIES CHAPTER I HISTORY Inception. The work of the United States Employment Service may clearly be traced as far back as 1907, though the establishment of the Service under its present name did not occur until a number of years later. The Service originated in a small way with the creation of a Division of Information in the Bureau of Immigration and Naturalization, a unit in the (then) Department of Commerce and Labor. This was brought about by Section 40 of the Immigration Act of February 20, 1907 (34 Stat. L., 898, 909),' which said: It shall be the duty of said division to promote a beneficial distribution of aliens admitted into the United States among the several States and Territories desiring immigration. Correspondence shall be had with the proper officials of the States and Territories, and said division shall gather from all available sources useful information regarding the resources, products, and physical characteristics of each State and Territory, and shall publish such information in different languages and distribute the publications among all admitted aliens who may ask for such information at the immigrant stations of the United States and to such other persons as may desire the same. The Secretary of Commerce and Labor, in interpreting this section, deemed the first purpose to be to bring about a distribution of immigrants arriving in this country, thus preventing, as far as possible, the congestion in our 1 Repealed by the act of Feb. 5, 1917 (39 Stat. L., 874, 895), which, however, included provision for the continuation of this division. I larger Atlantic seaport cities that has attended the immigration of recent years; and, second, to supply information to all of our workers, whether native, foreign born or alien, so that they may be constantly advised in respect to every part of the country as to what kind of labor may be in demand, the conditions surrounding it, the rate of wages, and the cost of living in the respective localities.' As a result of this construction of the act, the Division of Information was established, July 1, 1907, as a unit in the Bureau of Immigration and Naturalization, its purposes being those outlined by the Secretary in the passage just quoted. The early work of this division formed a valuable foundation upon which the huge war program of the service was later built, and it provided an adequate skeleton organization which lent itself readily to the quick expansion subsequently necessary. The First Years. Upon organization of the Division, machinery was at once set up with the object of obtaining the widest possible information as to the incidence of unemployment throughout the country. Neither funds nor personnel available would permit, at first, of direct contact or investigation in the field, and hence the organization was planned for obtaining information by mail. First steps are well described in the report of the Chief of the Division for 1908: With a view to ascertaining where employment could be obtained by those desiring it, the various associations of manufacturers and individual employers of labor were written to, the idea being to secure information such as would be of benefit to arriving immigrants and others who desired to avail themselves of the services of the division. Through the manufacturers' associations the addresses of individual manufacturers and employers were obtained and to each one a letter of inquiry was addressed as to whether they required workmen. Information was sought as to the class of labor, wages paid, hours of employment, and conditions generally. The final question to each employer of labor was as follows: "Do strikes or other labor difficulties exist in your jurisdiction? If so, kindly state cause of same." An effort was also made to obtain the addresses of the various local labor organizations of the country, but without avail, and letters of inquiry were sent to the chief officers of the national and international trade unions. In each letter they were asked to advise as to labor conditions generally and to 2 Department of Commerce and Labor, Annual Reports, 1908, p. 25. keep the division informed regarding disturbances in the labor world, the purpose being to place before the alien, or such other person as might desire it, accurate information concerning industrial conditions in an unbiased manner and then leave it to the applicant to elect whether to take advantage of the opportunity presented or not. 3 Next, the township correspondents of the Department of Agriculture, to the number of 35,000, were informed in detail of the program and requested to relay information to the farmers. Through this channel the agrarian districts could make known their needs for labor, aid on the publicity side being given by the agricultural periodicals. Postmasters in every county seat were communicated with, inquiry being made as to whether small farms in the locality could be leased or purchased and what the price and terms of sale might be. These letters also asked for full information as to climatic conditions, kind of crops, number of crops per year, and school, church, and transportation facilities. Direct card communication with the farmers was established, explaining the new service and providing for return blanks making application for farm laborers, common laborers, or mechanics. Correspondence was maintained with state boards of agriculture, state bureaus of labor and statistics, boards of trade, chambers of commerce, and the factory inspection departments of various states. In addition, careful check was kept on all newspaper items announcing the opening of a factory or the beginning of new work, and a letter of inquiry was sent to such places regarding the need for labor. Thus, during the first year, contact was established with widespread sources of information and the resulting material was collected and collated. This gave a picture of the employment situation throughout the country which enabled the division to undertake intelligent placement, or at least direction, of immigrant labor. A technique was also developed which proved valuable in the later expansion. Expanding Service. The Division at this time did not restrict the service to aliens, however. The law specified that the information should be available to "such other persons as might desire the |