Correspondence: 1917, July 1 - 1918, Dec 9., 1917-1918

Under the pressure of the war effort, demands for health insurance were de-emphasized, while problems created by the emergency came to the fore. The United States Department of Labor War Policies Board sent Andrews policy memoranda for review in late August. In December of 1916, Andrews advised Senator Joseph Robinson (12/6/17) that the legislation providing for federal public employment offices which he was to introduce should be pushed as a war emergency measure. This is referred to as the Robinson-Keating Bill in later letters., Gompers, largely out of touch with the Association, telegraphed an invitation to Andrews to attend the American Federation of Labor Employment Problems Conference. A form letter to members (12/19/17) outlined the program for 1918, which included war emergency measures, Federal Public Employment Ser-vice, health insurance, and labor adjustment. In mid-January 1918, Charles Barnes, Irving Fisher, Royal Meeker, V. Everitt Macy and Edward Keating all wrote to Andrews, urging him to take the lead in the fight for the Robinson- Keating Bill. Irene Osgood Andrews became very much involved in efforts to organize the Maternity Center in New York City. Many state federations of labor wrote for advice on health insurance, and in the fall, the AALL worked for workmen's compensation in Maine, Arkansas and North Dakota.