DISARMAMENT AND UNEMPLOYMENT.
The fear that as a consequence of disarmament policy More employees in Government Navy Yards would be thrown out of employment before Christmas is partially allayed by the assurances which Senator Wagner, of New York, announces that he has received from Mr. Hoover. About one thousand men have already been dismissed from the yards and twice that number were expected to follow before the end of the year, the naval authorities having stated that existing building and repair work was completed. Even now the Navy Depart- ment states that it has not received instructions from the White House to alter the position, but it appears unlikely that such instructions will be long delayed. While the position in the Navy yards has no relation to the present economic situation generally, it is felt that after appealing to private employers not to dismiss men at this juncture the Government cannot well set the opposite example. The difficulty may be met by having work done now which normally would begin in the New Year. Later it is expected that the cruiser programme will keep the men busy since the decisions of the London Conference are unlikely to be so far reaching as to entail complete cancellation of the programme. For this reason the Naval Department has gone ahead with its plans and they are ready for immediate execution.
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