BLIND-ALLEY WORK

Dominion, Volume 7, Issue 1971, 30 January 1914, Page 8

BLIND-ALLEY WORK

ENGLAND'S CASE. A SUGGESTED REMEDY. IMPERIAL MIGRATION. "Australia's and New Zealand's requirements would bo largely fulfilled by well-disposed youths whom their environment in tlio United " Kingdom lihd forccd .into blind-alley employment."—Dominion Commissioner! s report. ' Tlio question of blind-alley employment has been a burning ono in Figland for some years, to tlioso who take an interest in the youth.of tho British Jsle3. Blind-alley employment is employment offered-to youths for two to tnreo years, after which they arb forced out, knowing no trade, .and with little prospect of securing permanent employment. Mr. T. E. Sedgwick, who has taken a great interest in Imperial migration, especially in, regard, to town lads in English cvUes, yesterday supplied a roporter with somo facta which throw considerable light, oil the position at.Home. The extent; of this -blind-alloy occupation will he understood to a certain degree when it -is explained that tnero - are quite ten thousand vouths employed in London .as vaii boys,. or van guards: They are employed by- railway companies and carrving firm* and all-largo stores , and their work consists in sitting at,tho back of carts watching, that the contents are not-lost' and in delivering the smaller parcels This occupation, is filled by. a youth from H to .18- years of age, but when he becomes entitled -to more wattes he is forced out of. employment, for in the majority of cases lie cannot be .taken on as a carricr afc an enhanced Another branch which provides xnanv cases of blind-alloy occupation is the iostal Department of Great Britain, although the position is not so bad now as in the past. Hp-to three vwrs ago it, was the custom of the Postal })c----partniont.tp dismiss telegraph bovs every \year, on their reaching an age limit of: !(5 years.- as the department was ; not able to absorb thoin as adults. At about 16 years of ago' thero was a possibility' of.',securing them other employment,; while if they staved till thev were 18 years of a!go'thefe Would bo practically.no opening for them. A new pvstem .was introduced bv the nreseiit. rostmastor-O'eneral ' ,(Mr, Herbert Samuel), and now it is only found necessary to,dismiss 400' boys 'a year, tho others being_ kept as messengers, and then taken into the telegraph service or used as - letter-carriers. '

Surplus of Labour. ■ There aro a largo number of trades in England, said Mr. Sedgwick, espficia ly the smaller trades, where the employers cannot afford to p'av youths more than 9s. to 12s. per week; " When tlio .lads want, moro tliev must lea.ve aiul their places are quickly filled by younger boys just leaving school. This leads to a - direct production :of waterside workers, and other casual hand% or forces tlie individual into the Army, to obtain food,, but after his. national and Imperial sentiments' have been destroyed. In. a g'r<)at many, manufacturing trades thb number of young employees is out of all proportion to tlvo number of a'Jults employed, and in a pfeat nianv cases the., inferior boys aro Kept out of employment by smart bays, who aro kept at second-class work. If the smarter and .more intelligent boy w.-i.s enabled to leave this blind-all? v work and emigrate to tho colonies,, lie would make a , good" settler, and Would leave occupation for the boy who, if lie did emigrate, would not prove a good acquisition to a new country, Another' side of tlio question had'to be looked at. This enormous army of youths looking for tlio work caused employers to disregard ' the' use of machinery in their businesses, and. bays were kept constantly at some trivial occupation, such as labelling bottles, etc., work which could well be done by a machine. After three or four years of such work the . boy was discharged, in a worse mental condition than when he left school..

A further evil arising from this, system was in the fact that a large number of elderly men were .shut out of employ merit for which they were eminently suited; as lift attendants, messengers, etc.. . They eventually became a tits under the Poor Law Act.

A Chango of Front. With regard to tho rest of the Dominion Commission's report, Mr. Sedgwick said .it'was investing to recollect that, when lie, and others interested themselves jn town boys in 1909, and worked to get suoli lads to emigrate, the High Commissioners of the different colonies had 110 information mi the matter.. lii June, 1909, application .was mrido by Mr. Sedgwick to the, AgentGeneral for Victoria for his Government to try town lads on farms. To this application he replied: 1 1 desire to say that until my Government is prepared to receivo a number of boys, and to farm them out .amongst tjlc farmers. I would not bo able to give you a definite roply . . I might say that two years ago I endeavoured to secure co-ouera-tion with some of our well-to-do farmers. with a view to taking a number of .l)o,vs, but nothing came of it." Evidently the farmers .in Victoria had changed tlieir opinions since then, for a ,c.a'blo message .published during the week said that Victoria was taking 6000 bovs this.year. . .

. . . Sedgwick . has had considerable experience of shipping agents, and does not fa\our this, method of getting immigrants., ... Instead, : he wotiM have the Agent-Gbncral for the coTonv attend one? a week; or once a' month, at a given town, aiid there personally inspect applicants for..the assisted'passages. Qualified medical mfii cnikj also be employed to advantage,' he thinks. . They could travel round seating suitable boys, and in. this way tho eoloiiies would be assured of cpttiiif lusty settlers. ; »• B