16 SUMMARY ANNUAL REPORT 



division has been appointed federal director of the U. S. Employment 

 Service for Montana at a salary of one dollar a year. A number of the 

 municipal employment offices have entered the federal service. The 

 U. S. Employment Service, under the terms of the arrangement, pays 

 the salary of the clerk and stenographer in this division, and also 

 makes an allowance of not to exceed $30 a month for traveling expenses 

 in connection with the employment work. 



The most constructive accomplishment of the labor division was 

 the effort to secure laborers for the 1922 grain harvest, particularly in 

 the counties of northeastern Montana, in the Judith Basin, and to a 

 lesser extent in the southeastern part of the state. The need for men 

 was greatest in northeastern Montana. The U. S. Employment Service 

 agreed to assist in northeastern Montana, in connection with the North 

 Dakota harvest labor campaign, if arrangements were made to clear 

 the men after they were obtained. This department agreed to pay the 

 salary of a clearance agent to co-operate with the U. S. Employment 

 Service. Bainville, permitting distribution in three districts — west over 

 the main line of the Great Northern, north over the Plentywood branch, 

 and south over the Sidney branch — was selected as the location of the 

 main clearance office. Mr. W. B. Shoemaker of Glasgow was placed in 

 charge, and distributed harvest hands in Valley, Roosevelt, Sheridan, 

 Daniels, Richland, Garfield and McCone counties. 



The division of labor undertook to secure harvest hands for the 

 other districts where men were most in demand; and their distribution 

 through the municipal employment offices of Lewistown. Billings and 

 Butte. Mr. W. W. Wheaton, in charge of the Lewistown office. Judge 

 F. L. Mann, in charge of the Billings office, and Miss Anna McDonald, 

 in charge of the Butte office, heartily co-operated. Crops being short 

 in the state of Washington, a series of five advertisements was run 

 in Seattle and Spokane papers, and also in a paper at Ogden, Utah, 

 that being an important railroad junction point from the south into 

 Montana. The campaign was at least partially successful 



There is every reason to believe that farmers of Montana will be 

 confronted with a similar situation next year, and the work will be 

 continued and broadened if funds are made available. 



The effort of this division to enforce the law that requires cities 

 of the first and second classes to maintain free employment offices, 

 conducted "on the most approved plans" has been reasonably success- 

 ful. The offices started operating in October, 1921. Commendation is 

 warranted for the sincere and conscientious efforts of the officers in 

 charge of the employment bureaus of Billings, Butte, Great Falls, 

 Lewistown and Livingston. During the past 13 months a total of 5,465 

 men registered, of whom 1,655 were placed, and 1,227 women registered 

 of whom 465 were placed, by municipal employment offices in the 12 

 cities affected by the law. Of these, the five foregoing offices reg- 

 istered 5,269 males and placed 1,821, and registered 1,166 women of 

 whom 456 were placed. It is only recently that the Kalispell and 

 Missoula offices began functioning. Lewistown, Butte, Kalispell and 

 Missoula have also entered the U. S. Employment Service, which gives 

 them the mail franking privilege and the stationery and cards required 

 for the transaction of business. 



If it is the desire of the legislature to have municipal free em- 

 ployment offices, it should amend the present law, impose a penalty 

 for failure to comply with the act, and specifically require these offices 

 to report weekly to this or some other office that can act in a clear- 

 ance capacity. The law regulating private employment agencies, now 

 administered by county treasurers, should be administered by the same 

 office having supervision of the municipal employment offices. Aside 



