The Times. Published on Tuesday and Friday Afternoons. FRIDAY, JULY 8, 1921. EXPLOITING UNEMPLOYMENT.

Franklin Times, Volume 9, Issue 648, 8 July 1921, Page 4

The Times. Published on Tuesday and Friday Afternoons.

FRIDAY, JULY 8, 1921. EXPLOITING UNEMPLOYMENT.

"We nothing extenuate, nor aught set down in malice,""'

That Labour agitators and partisan make political capital out of the un~ emplojunent problem is regrettable, but it is not surprising. They conceive it to be “their game,” so to speak, to endeavour to prejudice the minds of the people against the Government, and to that end, apparently, any weapon is good enough, for them to use. But when they ask an intelligent community to believe that the Government ought to pay full wages, based on the highest standard, to ' men employed on relief works, well, they are asking too much. And when they go further—as did one of the deputation which interviewed the Hon. D. H. Guthrie at Dunedin last week —and declare that the Government “is taking advantage of the unfortunate position of the workers/’ they are simply making themselves ridiculous. The Dominion, in common with the rest of the world, is up against the difficult conditions occasioned by post-war financial stringency, and the Government, like the rest of us. is short of money. Such cash as is available must be made to go as far as is practicable to meet the urgent requirements of the unfortunate people who are out of employment- In these circumstances, to pay full wages to a few and allow the many to starve would be something worse than an economic blunder: it would be a crime. Hence, as Mr. Guthrie very properly reminded his irresponsible accusers, the Government is simply going on with works it would rather postpone in order to prevent unemployment, and it is determined that the money set aside for this purpose shall benefit as many people as possible. The truth, as the Minister expressed it, is that the Government lias no desire to reduce wages, and it is not doing so in respect of any normal work, and it is not taking advantage of the situation to pay lower wages to any men employed on work that must-be done,.