175. DECREASING THE SUPPLY OF LABOR.—Hand in hand with measures deigned to increase the demand for labor should go consistent efforts to decrease the supply of unskilled and poorly paid labor. One of the most effective means of accomplishing this is to restrict by law the immigration to this country of masses of unskilled workers which glut the American labor market and force down the wages of unskilled workmen already here. The general problem of immigration will be discussed elsewhere; here it is only necessary to note that as an economic proposition unrestricted immigration is undesirable.
The supply of unskilled labor may be somewhat restricted by additional laws. It is clear that we ought to pass and enforce laws which would prevent the propagation of mental defectives. There ought also to be laws which would discourage the marriage of individuals who show no promise of being able to rear and support children who are physically fit. It might not be expedient to pass legislation requiring a certain minimum income of persons intending to marry, but from the purely economic point of view, such laws would certainly be advisable.
Much in this general field can be done by non-legislative methods. Young people can be taught the desirability of postponing marriage until their earnings justify the acceptance of such a responsibility. Just as the well-to-do should be encouraged to prefer family-building to social ambition, so the poorer classes ought to be encouraged to postpone marriage until, through education or training, the proper support of a family is assured. This end must be secured through moral and social education, rather than through legislation.
The encouragement of thrift among the poorer classes of the population is an important factor in decreasing the supply of unskilled labor. Thrift increases savings, and by making possible education or apprenticeship in a trade, it enables the children of the unskilled worker to pass from the ranks of the poorly paid to the ranks of the relatively well paid. Thus not only does the practice of thrift by the poor add to the amount of capital in existence, and thus indirectly increase the demand for labor, but it helps the poor directly and immediately.
Vocational education is of fundamental importance in decreasing the supply of unskilled labor. It renders higher wages economically justified by training individuals away from overcrowded and hence poorly paid jobs, and toward those positions in which men are scarce, and hence highly paid. If vocational education turns unskilled workmen into entrepreneurs, such education has the doubly beneficial effect of lessening the supply of unskilled labor, and of increasing the demand for labor. The importance of trade schools, continuation schools, and other agencies of vocational education can hardly be exaggerated.
Employment bureaus and labor exchanges are essential to the democratic program of industrial reform. Just as vocational education must move individuals from overcrowded to undercrowded occupations, so the employment bureau should move laborers from places where they are relatively little wanted, and hence poorly paid, to places where they are relatively much wanted, and hence better paid. A co÷rdinated system of national, state, and municipal employment bureaus is a valuable part of our program of industrial reform.
176. IMPORTANCE OF PERSONAL EFFICIENCY.—We have seen that the bargaining position of the laborer may be strengthened by any and all measures which would increase the demand for his labor, relatively to the demand for the other factors of production. As a general proposition, this strengthened position would tend automatically to result in higher wages.
Along with these measures it should not be forgotten that the industrial position of the individual worker tends to improve in proportion as he increases his personal efficiency. It is of the greatest importance that the individual should strive to secure as thorough an education as possible, and that he safeguard himself against accident and disease. He should realize, also, that employers seek men who are not only competent, but whose personal habits are attractive and trust-inspiring. Regardless of the scarcity or oversupply of labor, personal efficiency will tend to enable the worker to receive larger wages than would otherwise be possible.
177. SOMETHING MORE THAN HIGH WAGES IS NECESSARY.—We have taken some time to point out how wages might be increased without violating economic law. But high wages do not necessarily mean the abolition of poverty, indeed, actual investigations have proved that often poverty exists regardless of whether wages are high or low. A family of four, for example, might be well fed, comfortably clothed, and otherwise cared for in a normal manner, on, say, three dollars a day, provided that sum were utilized wisely. A second family of equal size, however, might spend six dollars a day so carelessly that the children would be denied such vital necessities as medical attention and elementary education, while neither parents nor children would be adequately provided with food or clothing.
178. INCOME MUST BE UTILIZED WISELY.—Thus an indispensable factor in the abolition of poverty is the economical utilization of income. Aside from the fact that it increases the amount of capital in existence, thrift is imperative if a family is to get the full benefit of its income. In both the home and the school the child should be taught the proper care and utilization of money. He should receive, in addition, fundamental instruction in such matters as expense- accounting and budget-making. Of similarly great value is the training of boys and girls to a proper appreciation of the home-making ideal, to which subject we shall return later. [Footnote: See Chapter XXIII.]