UNEMPLOYMENT.

Dominion, Volume 3, Issue 840, 11 June 1910, Page 10

UNEMPLOYMENT.

SUGGESTIONS FOR RELIEF. Sir,—Nearly twelve months ngo we •heard from the lips of.Mr. T. 13. Taylor that there were JOOO men out of work in this Dominion. I believe in this estimate ho excluded, as many do, the clerical vocation. To.this 4OCO I would malic bold to say that we must have to-day at least. GOUO men who are cither totally unemployed or are casually so. This is bad both lor the State as well as lor the individual. The Prime Minister made a statement on the subject in his. Winton speech, but it would bo uhwiso (0 conclude that he made a serious attempt to solve and remedy this intricate problem. Of course he must say something, for are there not votes involved? At numbers of meetings, etc., I havo heard sympathy and a desire to remedy tho evil expressed in as many words as one could relato the happenings of the late Boer War, but if we look for actual happenings that tend to lessen unemployment we arc faced with an absolute blank. Sympathy is mighty easy to express, a remedy so hard to devise, and it is only following the law; of Nature.to seek the former. I will divide the .unemployed into three classes, namely— No. 1. Tho casual unemployed. No. 2. The actual unemployed. No. 3. The unemployable. Under heading No. 1 may bo placed all those not having occupations demanding their full working hours, and those earning insufficient 10 fully provide lor menneeds. Under heading No. 2, those not having occupations *to lake up their whole or part time, and with little or no prospects of obtaining work under existing conditions. Under heading No. 3, those unfit, either on account of mental or physical incapacity, for work. The degraded. No. 1 is more general in the labouring class, No. 2 in the clerical and like occupations, and No. 3, who really present the pons asinorum of progress, jnay be said to be common to all classes. To my mind, the cause of unemployment is due to—(a) the introduction of machinery j (b) the extra competition enured by employment of females in what was previously the exclusive sphere of men; (c) over-populating of the cities; (d) the objection of many to work; and (c) the inability of some to compete with their fellows. Thus, I contend that though unemployment is forced on iiianv, it is also preferred by others; so that in providing a remedy wo must avoid doing anything that would encourage laziness. Tho effect of unemployment on a community must be obvious, for it not only harms the ones who are themselves a part or unit of the great mass of unemployed, but must also do so to those outside this mass, for we all have to pay rates and taxes, and necessarily- it follows that the more there are cupable of doing this, 'and the more producing elements there are in the community the easier it is for all. Hence, if a man is not producing, or so helping to produce, wealth, he becomes a burden on the State. As every one unemployed is, or should be, worthy of his hire, and represents a certain amount of energy, of power, usefulness, and of service, therefore if we do ngt use him the community stands to lose all that energy, power, etc., which is his to employ and give. But I''fancy I am queried that their united work is done by machinery —the product of a few. So may it be, but it can nevertheless not be denied that all unemployed represent a waste of human material," and tho world must— and does—lose nil this vitality. During the past decade, in which this question has become acute, many have been the schemes put forward for tho settlement of unemployment, but their framers have either written in riddles or in an uncertain tone. Insurance, which does not provide a remedy, but rather acts as a temporary relief, has been tried, unsuccessfully, in several European countries, so we cannot hopo for any solution from this source. Winston Churchill's scheme of labour exchanges is an initial step in the right direction, but only so because, for all intents and purposes, it forces registration. It does not create work, but only lessens the difficulty to a favoured few in securing same. If we would solve this question we 'must seek to create more work, to more evenly distribute wealth, and educate the people to realise their responsibilities. I havo previously mentioned various causes, tho first of which must remain, but the four following we have, in our Parliament, tho power to alter. Tho vital importance of dealing with the question, and the ravages its existence causes, malto the remedy, whatever such may be, a drastic one. The uneven supply of, and demand for, work as obtains for the male and female worker gives just one clue to the part solution thereof. Female labour is wanted in

tho homos, factories, and for dressmaking and its associated work. This state of affairs is produced because of the desire on tlio jnirl of women to work in olliccs, etc.; and so to remedy this we must seek to bring women hack into their proper vocations, which they are now neglecting, and thus create positions for men.' But, on occasions, we do hear of women who must find work in offices, and in consideration of this let there ,be a proportionate amount, of female labour in large offices. This may provide a remedy for the unemployed who look to clerical work for a livelihood. At least, it would ease the present congestion. In addition, 1 would have the Government obtain a sufficient amount of land within, say, fifty miles of each city, to be cut up into small farms. Then make registration of unemployed compulsory, and force all, as their individual case becomes apparent, to take up and work one of these farms, which should bo free of encumbrance, and in the earning stage. Appoint inspectors to sco that sufficient work is done, and also to impart instructions to those so in need. Occupation such as the bee industry, fruit and hop-growing, poultry farming, vegetable gardening, small dairy farming, and flower gardens might be suitable. Let the Government take the produce at reasonable prices ,and establish agencies for the disposal of all produce so obtained. I also think the fishing industry might present a course of action. Those casually unemployed might find relief if the system by which the City of Birmingham deals with its poor was -introduced and made operative in the Dominion. All these ideas are drastic in the extreme, but for a condition of things that shows its curse in every quarter of the globe, and that involves the happiness of thousands, surely the remedy itself must be drastic and troubling, in a sense, to a few, so that the -whole may benefit. ■ I will now leave this problem to your readers, with the hope that some may think out a solution. At some future date surely this question must be faced and solved. Then, why not put our minds to work now, and try and relieve trouble that exists amongst us to-day? Let our able men grapple with' tliis question, which may be said to lie still in its infancy, lest it should develop and become a greater menace to society than it is to-day. Thanking you,—l am, etc., j. H. BEALE. ' Karangahake, June 3, 1910.