Sustenance Payments

Hawke's Bay Herald-Tribune, Issue 139, 29 June 1937, Page 7

Sustenance Payments

JOSH .

ANDREWS.

Sir, — Your correspondent, "Patangata County Ratepayer," lias another shot at the sustenaiice man and I must cpmpliment him upon dropping his spleen and showing a little more sympdthy to tho'se obliged td register as unemployed. • In his latest letter he writes "that Mr J. Andrewg is shocked at my igf. norance in dividing £5,000,000 among approximat-ly 3-1,000 men and giving them £143 each. How mucli does he mahe it?" In his' previous letter P.R.C. made the figures 19,864 and £250 per man and then 34,000 and £143 per man (single and married). Now 1 am not disputing that £5,000,000 per year is raiscd by taxation but to prove that his statement regarding pay-out is wrong I have taken the foliowing table from the Napier Employment Bureau ;— Class A, single men. £1 per week. B, man and wife, £l 15/- per week. C., man, wife and eliild. 39/- p.w. D., man, wife and two children, 43/-. E, man, wife and three children, 47/-.

The Bighest payment is £3 3/- for man, wife and seven or more children. The greater proportion of the men on sustenance are to be found* in classes A, B and C., and these are certainly a long way from £143 -per annum. lf "P.H.C.'s" figures were allowed to go unchallenged the general public would believe them to be correct; henc© my chief reason in replying. However, another one is to bring before your readers the plight of ihe men from 20 to 26 years. They have been denied the opportuuity of beeoming. tradesmen on account of the depfession and now more prosperous times are to hand find their only outlet i'or* employment is on. the labour market. if instead of begrudgingj sustenance men cash in order to pay the landlord and others "P.11.C." would help to dCvise some sbheme to help. ihe young men he would be writing to some purpose. » • Let me ask "P.R.O." if he doesn't think there is something wrong in our land when we find that 27,000 new f.otor Cai-s and 48,000 new wireless aets are purchased during the year (surely an indication of pxosperity) and eheck and jowl with this we have men like "P.R.C." apparently mentah ly disturbed because the Govemment of the day is showing a little more. sympathy 1jo the unemployed than has hitherto heen fextended to the workers. Ymira. «tn..

June 28, 1937.