UNEMPLOYMENT AND FLOODS.

Evening Star, Issue 20133, 25 March 1929, Page 7

UNEMPLOYMENT AND FLOODS.

TO THE EDITOR. Sir, —During the last few weeks we have hoard much about unemployment, the lack of funds to carry out work, the shortage of necessary ■work, the raising of rates if the City Conned is to find employment, etc. Now, God of Nature has come along and created work of a necessary kind—-prevention of destructiion of floods in the future, so far as it is humanely possible. Arc the City Council and oar Harbour Board going to deal with this matter, or are we as citizens going to wait until a more disastrous state of a Hairs is created? The answer lies entirely in the hands of the people. Jn the course of the next few weeks we are to be asked to elect a new City Council and Harbour Board; upon the persons chosen will depend what will take place. They will be faced with tins position; First, abundance of persons unemployed; secondly, necessary work of a true economic nature to be done; third, abundance of material necessary to do the work - and fourth (and what appears to he the difficulty), money to start the co-ordinating of the above three. Who ever the persons selected by Dio citizens are they have got to realise, that the necessary finance can only he got by three methods—viz., heg, harrow, or tax. Begging is out of the question, and it means borrow or tax. Whichever is adopted will m the last analysis, if the money is spent well, be of advantage to the city, lor it must be of economic; advantage to repair the damage done by the flood and try if possible to prevent its recurrence ; further, to give opportunity to work and consume must react on industry and business, thereby giving a necessary stimulation to trade. Air G, P. Cutriss, writing in your issue of the 23rd, says lie has no hesitation in stating that there is no necessity for a Joan and going cap in hand to the Government. This is perfectly true. The City Council has already got the means if it lias the courage to deal with tiiis matter. Did it not a while ago decide, against the wishes of the citizens, to erect a 'Town Hall, which no doubt will exceed the sum ol £1)0,000? Did it not purchase the Roslyn car scivico against the expert advice submitted to it? Thg City Council can, along with the .Government, if it wishes, create a prosperity in the town and country such as lias never previously been possessed, for to-day it has the machinery whereby the natural resources of the country can be used bettor than previously, and it only requires the controlling of that machinery for the benefit of all and not a section. To increase the rales by the present unjust method must entail greater hardship on the majority ol the people. To deal immediately with tlio repairing of the damage done by the Hood and the absorbing, ol a big section of our unemployed, the council has funds which can be used in the manner suggested by your correspondent. ft lias power to transfer from - its various accounts as it Jins done in connection with Ihe Town Hall scheme, and even this method must eventually mean increased rates to some people, bur rating system must be dealt with by the incoming council, for it is applied in a most unfair manner at this juncture, and it is through the maladministration of our rating or taxing system, both national and municipal, that the country lias got into the state it is in. We arc now raising by direct rate a,;. 1 - proximutely (>5 per cent., and by indirect method do per cent. Tiiis means iu effect that a person paying £4O per year at present, gets assistance from tiie council to the extent of £‘2o approximately. This assistance, coming from our trading concerns, etc., to which he may not he a big contributor, must he got at the expense of some other person. This no right-thinking person can stand tor. There cun only he one just system, and that is one whereby a person pays for that which lie receives. It behoves Ihe citizens during the tiext few weeks to consider thi < mailer deeply, and to see that me i are returned to our public bodies who will go into the question of rating and charges hy our trading concerns, and see that they are placed on a lair basis, for therein lies ihe root of much of our social inequalities.—l am. etc., C. M. MOSS. March 25.