THE UNEMPLOYED.

Dominion, Volume 2, Issue 564, 20 July 1909, Page 6

THE UNEMPLOYED.

"DIPLOMAS" FOR COLLEGE WORK. WADESTOWN KOAD. Over one hundred men put in an appearsince at the Town, Hall yesterday morning to .ballot for thirty yaeant positions in the new gang which is to commence at tho Victoria College works to-morrow. Tho whole ■ of the names were put in tho ballot box and drawn by one of the workers, each lucky individual departing, with a smilo. as I)6'received .'a "diploma" : entitling him to work. A hatch of ten men from tho previous ballot had already been marked olf for tho collego works, bringing the total up to forty. '. '■ ■ ' A further ballot was held for twenty men to commence on the Wadostown Road, which will probably be started this weok, the names of tho lucky ones being handed over to Mr. A. Paterson, of the City Engineer's staff, who will put the men on as soon as a definite scheme of work has been, planned. Towards tho end of tho week anothor ballot is to be held for the second batch of men to go on at the Mount Victoria road. Several of tho men who formed part of tho original college gang havo since obtained other employment, and havo been pajd off to enable thorn to accept the work offering. Now that the committee is providing work a fresh rush of applications has set in. Several tradosmon who refused nayvying work in tho first instance havo since intimated that they are willing to have a sharo of any class of work that is offering. A Slip at the College. One .of tho first things that .struck tho City Engineer (Mr. W. H. Morton) and ono of his right-hand men, Mr. A. Paterson, when thoy inspected tho • Victoria Collego grounds last Saturday week was tho need for oxcavating furthor at tho back of the gymnasium, where portion of tho Mil hnd already come down. It was roported yesterday that another slip had come down,, and that it would require about £200. to batter the ground off and mako it absolutely oafo. The quostion of. whether the . 'unemployed should' bo set at work in this' quarter of the grounds was referred to during the course .of tho cbiiferenco between tho College Council and tlie Ileliof Committee, and it was decided to havo tho slip removed,, tho committee spending up'to' £100 on tho. work. The Mountain Road. .A start was made yesterday morning with , the formation, of tho. road from Constable Street' .to tlio Mount' Victoria .signal- station. Twenty men are employed on:thiswork under' Ganger Kellofler, of the corporation staff, Who.has .also.a two-horsed ploughing team under him. The gang is said to be an ex- , cellent one—in fact, it has been pronounced to bo one of the best that could be picked up any where, just now. ■! . ■■' ■ •'-. •••■.. Subscriptions About £1000. . The total sum: banked to the credit of tho Relief Conimitlee up to yesterday was. £860, which, with a certain amount in hand and the outstanding lists, brings the total subscriptions to date up to four figures. As against this, however, will now Tiave to be placed the expenditure of the first week's wages to the Victoria. College gang, which is to': receive its pay : to-day. • The Mount Victoria men will have to be' paid *at the end of the week, and the'second college batch will , also have" to be reckoned with a oduple of>days jaterj bo ..that there will be a steady drain'on the fund from now on. The latest subscriptions are:fr :-.'.',■ '■•. .' :• ■ ■ ■', .■■' '■■•,•.'•• .■■ :' ■■;■ ■ ..■•■• ■'■- .•-.• ■■". £ s; d. Vivian Street ,Church of Christ ... 910 0 J; J; : Kerslake ' ::v ■..: ... 1 10 Dresden Piano Co;-;.. ... ••■ 5 5 0 Archdeacon Fancourt .;. ... 2 0 0 Westport Coal Co. ... ... ...i 55 0 Stewards, "Working Men's., Club.... 176 A cheque for £50 has been received by the Mayor from tho ■ following members. of the Warehousemen's Association:—Bing, ; Harris, and C 0 . ,, Arch. Clark arid Sons, Mackay, Logan, Caldwell and C 0.,, Ross'and Glendinmg, and Sargood, Son,-and Ewen. ~ - : A cheque for £40 has been received by the Victoria College Council towards the .sug-gested-new wing of the.college buildings. ■ The latest donations to The Dominion list are £1 Is. from E.S.P., and 2s. 6d. from J.H. .'. - ■;..■- .. - •■:,■■ . ' .■.'■.■ EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE. A SUGGESTED MIDDAY MEAL. A meeting of the Executive Committee of the Relief Fund was held yesterday afternoon, his Worship the Mayor (Dr. Newman) presiding. There ! were-.'also-, present: The Hon. J. E. Jenkinsoh, Messrs. R. A. Wright, M.P., W. Noot, and F. M. B. Fisher, M.P. ■ The Mayor reported that since 'the last meeting the matter of the Wadestowh Road improvements had been completed, and the council having agreed to subsidise tho contributions of £100 each from the.committee and the Wadestowri residents, thirty'or forty men would be put on. the work. He suggested that .'a progress payment of £100 should.bo made on\behalf of the work. The Government had increased its subsidy for subscriptions for national works from £1" to £2, .up to £2000. The. committee had over £860 in hand, and about £1100 in sight. After a discussion. as, to what further works .were to be carried out at tho collego grounds, it, was decided,that a deputation should wait on. the college authorities that evening and discues the matter. ' -.. , ..!.

Mr. Wright thought it would, be a pity if the new wing at the college could not be commenced./ . , . ,; .;.'•■■, In answer to a remark by the Mayor to the effect that the new wing would employ bricklayers, Mr. Noot replied that labourers and carpenters . would also be required. He thought the Government,had the new wing in mind when it increased the subsidy.

The Mayor: "Two pounds for £1 is a bait that appeals to ine." - Mr..- Willis, secretary of .the committee, pointed out, in reply to a question, that there were about 200 married men with families on. the list,:and the married.men had had the.preference of work. ...... The Hon. J. E. Jenkinson was afraid that tho committee was not getting at the class of men they wanted to roach. He thought way to get at them was through the unions or the Trades Council. ' ,

Mr. Willis skid that the unions had had every opportunity of sending their men along, and some had done so. , Others, were not sympathetic, when asked to send in a list of their really deserving , cases. Tho Mayor: "A many of the men don't belong to a union, but they are deserving cases." . : The. secretary stated that he had received a communication from the headmaster of the Mitchelltown School.asking if tho committee could spend £150 in putting the unemployed on to. excavate the school playground. Tho Mayor admitted that the Mitchelltown School had a very uneven playground, and tho council was-planting a few trees there. He thought there was plenty of work on offer at present, and this application might be considered later. . , ■ ' ' ' An. experiment in the way of meals for the men engaged on the 'relief works was mentioned by..the Hon. J.' E. Jenkinson, who suggested that the workers ehould be given the opportunity of being able to purchase a good square feed on the grounds at midday for, say, 4d. or 6d. The Mayor pointed put that if such a scheme was adopted at Victoria College, the Wadestown and Mount Victoria road workers would also havo to bo considered, which would mean'having a number of cooks at work. . Mr. Jenkinson thought tho scheme might bo given a trial at tho collego grounds, and if it worked successfully it could be oxteuded. It should not be difficult to get a couple of cooks from tbo ranks of the unemployed, and thero was <v room at , tbo collego that they could perhaps get permission touso as a galley. The balance of the gear ho thought might be borrowed from the Government. Mr. Jenkinson thought a good meal could bo provided at a cost to the-men of 'ld.or 6d., and with a good meal at midday he thought that the output in' the afternoon would bo incrensed.' He was against letting euch a scheme getirito.the hands of a cooking contractor, as the \ contractor would , be after "boodle." ■■■■■• Mr. Noot remarked that at tho time of the plague scare it only cost the people who were on Somes Island-7s. a- week* and they had first-okaa cocke. Xhe painters at Parirua

had takon a cook with thorn, and rent Mid food was only costing Ilium csich iibout BSi per week. , Mr. Jonkinson mado it olciir that tho men would have to pay for tho trtonl, but tlio cbmmiUeo did not wiuit to initko any profit other tlinn in tho output of work. Mr. Fishor thought that if tlio now winif at the oollcgo wait to bo ((ono on with it might bo worth wliilo erecting n -f^alloy. It was eventually decided to look farther into tho matter, Mr. iTonkinson wished to know why it hnd boon stated that thoro vtbto IGOO unoinployiiil in tho city when tho unemployed lint could only show 600 odd. .. In reply, it wns , pointed out tlmt tlio names on tlio rolinf.liat did not riipresmit/ tho wholo of tlio unemployed, in tho city. Mr. Willin oaid ho could vouch fur tho genuineness,of every, tmino oil hi» lint, but thoro were many othorn who did not apply as long as thoy had enough to Imttlo tilong on.' ' Tho Mayor naid ho hud oomo ncroae ntimcrous cnecß'of men who havo just enough to live on, but who, oven though thoy required work, would not tnko monoy out of tho hands of mon who had nothing. Mr. .Tonkiiison stated that'bo knew thoro was any amount of ttenuino' distress, ( Mr. F.ishor informed tho mooting thnt ho had heard of a fisherman. who wna doing business retailing , fiali heads to tho needy. Furthor, heaps and heaps of people aro gottinp outside ossistanw , .. Mr. Wright intimated thnt the Picture Companicß doing business in tho city had .igrcod that thoy would givo a combined Itiiicinatograph entertainment in tho Town Hull in aid of tho fund whenever cnlled on. Tho deputation from the committee spent Gvor an hour in discUßaing the jiosition with the Finance Committee of tho Colkgo Council last nij;ht, the proceedingn being private. At the conclusion of the meeting, a representative, of Tub Dominion was informed that it had been decided to complete the work on tho front portion of the collego grounds, to romovo the landslip behind the gymnasium, and to improve tho bank on the eastern sido of tho ground by trimming it off and planting it. Anothor small work still to bo definitely decided on is the finishing off of two rooms on tho top etory of tho Imilding. Tt is underatood that the question of the erection of tho new wing will bo dealt with by tho full council. . Mr. Jenkinson's dinner scheme will be considered at the next meeting of the committee. .:, ■ '•..■. .■'• ' "DIFFERENTIAL TREATMENT OF WELUNCTON.' , i ' ; ■ (By Telegraph.—Press Aesooiatlon.) - % . ■ , Christchurch, July 19. At tiie Trades Hall to-day it was reported that,the number of applicants for work shows no sign of diminishing, and offers of' work show no sigh : of increasing. Single , men aro complaining bitterly that tney are not getting ariy : chance whatever, neither from tho City Council, the Labour Department, nor , from the private employers. They state that their money is exhausted, and that they have not tho saino opportunities of getting credit as mairried men. A sub-committee of the City Council will consider the'reply'received fronv the Aoting-Prrme Minister on the subject of the Government ; subsidising funds raised for the relief of the unemployed. The Mayor states that some'councillors feel.so strongly in regard to the differential treatment of Wellington in the matter, as compared with the treatment of Cbristchurch/.that they are inclined to recommend that the council should ,, cease finding relief work.. :The- "national" work'; upon: which the funds Wellington, is benig expended,, is stated to be in connection ..with Victoria College, and .it is considered'that rt is a stretching of the,term, "national":..to.so.describe the work. Mr.;W. H.Ha'ggar,'officer-in-charge of the Labour Department here, when asked if he had seen the.reports stating that farmers were finding a difficulty in getting farm labourers, replied that there was a fairly large number of men who had registered at the Department's 'office as "farm labourers"—men who were able to trim fences, cut ditches, , plough, .manage horses, ordo other general work. If farmers communicated with Mr. Hagger, lotting him know the class of labour they want,.the Department will do its' very best to select mon specially suitable for fjhe work to be, done. Tho'number of' callerslooking for work who called at the local office of the Labour Department last week was" slightly less than it has, been ; for the previous two or three' weeks, and fewer names" have been registered. ■ •. '• : . . .., .■