PRESCOTT. [Bitter in his thoughts.] If it wasn’t for this foolery at Washington ...

BISHOP.  So was I. But I find they are not.

PRESCOTT.  We should all have been out of the slump long ago.

BISHOP.  Many of them—­the young ones—­are good American stock.

PRESCOTT.  The Administration proclaims its adherence to the profit system....

BISHOP.  They have education, in some cases, background, but unfortunately no experience.

PRESCOTT.... and at the same time it insists on unfair competition with private enterprise.

BISHOP.  As long as such men remain idle ...

PRESCOTT.  So how can private capital be expected to make commitments?

BISHOP.  I don’t know.

PRESCOTT.  But don’t you agree?

BISHOP.  Perfectly.

PRESCOTT.  Surely, James, the depression did not hit you personally?

BISHOP.  In unexpected ways, Stanley—­in most unexpected ways.

PRESCOTT.  On the contrary, the Church should have benefited.  People in misfortune turn to religion.

BISHOP.  But with empty pockets.  However, I am not complaining for the Church.  It is my son I am worried about.

PRESCOTT.  Ah, yes.  Kenneth.  An agreeable fellow, Kenneth.

BISHOP.  Of the six years he’s been out of college he has worked only four months.  Think of it.

PRESCOTT.  Is he married?

BISHOP.  No.

PRESCOTT.  That’s fortunate.

BISHOP.  Perhaps.  If he were married and had a dependent wife and children he might get architectural work in a government slum clearance project.

PRESCOTT.  Exactly what I was talking about.  The sooner the government turns the building industry back to private enterprise the better.

BISHOP.  Kenneth’s situation is tragic.  He is a mature man, long overdue to take a man’s full place in the world.

PRESCOTT. [Impatient.] Yes, I know—­I know.

BISHOP.  Yet he is classed as a dependent child.

PRESCOTT.  Well, aren’t you able to take care of him?

BISHOP.  I have kept him from starving.

PRESCOTT.  You realize, of course, that he is better off than many.

BISHOP.  Keeping him alive is not the point.  It is not enough.  His spirit is crushed, his education unused, his manhood wasted.  He is ambitious, wants to work, to establish a home of his own.  He is strong, and he is capable.

PRESCOTT.  Yes, yes, I understand.  I deplore the waste.  It is shameful.  But in any event, these conditions won’t last much longer.

BISHOP.  They have lasted a long time.

PRESCOTT.  Yes, longer than they should.—­I wish I could help you,
James, but I cannot.

BISHOP.  I want you to give Kenneth a job, Stanley.

PRESCOTT.  If I could, I assure you.

BISHOP.  Any job.  Anything that will make him feel useful and keep him occupied.—­Surely in an organization like yours ...