The Guardian And Evening Star, with which is incorporated the West Coast Times. SATURDAY, MARCH 8, 1930

Hokitika Guardian, 8 March 1930, Page 4

The Guardian And Evening Star, with which is incorporated the West Coast Times. SATURDAY, MARCH 8, 1930

AME.RJCA73- UNEMPLOYED. At a time when New Zealand is seriously concerned about the magnitude of the unemployment problem and the large number of “workless workers” seeking relief throughout the Dominion, it is some consolation, considers the Auckland Star, to be reminded that such misfortunes are not peculiar to ourselves. In Britain the total number of unemployed lias again risen to about a million and a-half, and in America the latest estimates fix the unemployed total at anything from three to six millions. Evidently in the oldest and richest countries unemploy, ment is not a. casual, but a permanent feature of economic life, and we mu comlort ourselves to some extent with the reflection that in this respect New Zealand is better oif than Britain or the United States. Those who prefer to believe that unemployment represents merely temporary and accidental dislocation of the economic mechanism may well be asked to Consider carefully the case of the United States. By tar the richest country in the world with a most elaborately organised industrial and financial system, and limitless productive power, America is now forced to admit that unemployment in the United States lias assumed’ dangerous dimensions. ami that remedial measures are urgently required to obviate a most serious industrial and social crisis. The American Fed- I oration of Labour, which usually takes ail optimistic view of the industrial situation, has announced officially that 82 per cent, of the members of trades unions are out of work, and that there is no help for the unemployed but charity. This high percentage of unemployed in the unions is, of course.

due to the fact that in America the organisation of labour is still at at rudimentary stage of its growth, and that in times of imiustria stress “free labour” by undercutting, often drives the unionists, out of the labour market But the fact remains that the state of things revealed by these statistics is really appalling Of course, suen a condition of affairs could not have arisen instantaneously, and though no doubt the recent “slumps” in Wall Street have reacted injuriously upon the industrial systems, it may seem remarkable that the Americans, with their strong practical instincts, did not attempt to put their house in order in this respect long ago. One reason for this neglect or failure is the defective organisation of Labour, and another is the tendency in

United States to associate all industrial agitation for higher wages or hotter conditions with Bolshevism. Leading public men constantly warn the country to beware of Communist propaganda and in the desire to checkmate the baneful activities of the “Reds” the genuine grievances of the workers and the needs of the unemployed have been neglected. Hitherto the most definite step towards grappling with the unemployment problem been taken by the President, who has called a series of “business conferences” to discuss the whole position. According to some critics, these discussions have actually tended to create unemployment, because they have “scared” employers by revealing the precarious nature of the situation, and thus inducing them to restrict their business operations.- On the other hand, the'Federation of Labour bolds that Mr Hoover’s “business conferences” have done good wol’k, and advocates “further co-operation among business, labour and other groups to stabilise employment and business activity.” But such organisation takes time to perfect, and in the interval the urgency; of the crisis may be gauged from the' fact that a Republican senator has introduced a Bill asking for a grant of £10,000,000 to relieve .unemployment, and trusting to Mi Hoover’s unrivalled experience as “the greatest administrator of relief in the history of the world” to see that the funds are utilised effectively.