There are times when many men are “out of work.”  In times of business depression the number may become very great, while in prosperous times the number dwindles; but always there are some.  It is often through no fault of their own; it is another result of the imperfect adjustment of our community life.  It often happens that while large numbers of men are unable to find work in industrial centers, the farmers may be suffering for want of help.  This may be merely because there is no way by which to let workmen know where they are needed, or of distributing them to meet the need.  Or, many of the unemployed may be unskilled, while the demand is for skilled workmen; or they may be skilled in one line, while the demand is in another line.  Whatever the causes, the “problem of the unemployed” is one of the most serious that the community has to deal with.  During the war the national government sought to overcome these difficulties by the organization of an employment service in the Department of Labor, and state and local communities established employment bureaus.

Who have been some of the builders of your own community by reason of their business life?  Explain.

So far as you have observed, what boys have been most successful after leaving school—­those who make it a practice to do all they can for their employers, or those who have tried to do the least possible?

Is it true in your community that the most useful citizens are those who care more about the excellence of their work than about what they receive for it?

Are there many vagrants in your community?  Are there laws against vagrancy?  If so, what are they?

Are there often many men out of work in your community?  If so, why is it?

Is it ever difficult to get farm labor in your locality?  If so, how do the farmers explain it?

What experience have the farmers of your locality had during and since the war in getting labor when it was needed?  Did the government help them at that time?  How?

It is of the greatest importance both to the individual and to the community that every citizen:  (1) should be continuously employed in a useful occupation, (2) should be free and able to choose the occupation for which he is best fitted, and in which he will be happiest, and (3) should be thoroughly efficient in his work, whatever it is.

THE RIGHT OF THE COMMUNITY TO INDUSTRY

(1) The community has a right to expect every citizen to be industrious and productive, for only in this way can he be self-sustaining and at the same time contribute his share to the well-being of the community.  Doubtless all who read this chapter are desirous of doing useful work.  At the same time, it is easy for any of us to fall into the habit of thinking more about what we can get than about what we can give.  There are people who habitually