The Guardian And Evening Star, with which is incorporated the West Coast Times. SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 7, 1931. THE SPECIAL PROBLEM.

Hokitika Guardian, 7 February 1931, Page 4

The Guardian And Evening Star, with which is incorporated the West Coast Times. SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 7, 1931. THE SPECIAL PROBLEM.

Unemploymknt lias become a very special problem in. the Dominion. The manner in which unemployment lias grown statistically since the Board po deal with the problem came into existence, seems to suggest that the motive of the act when put in force, was to create unemployment. The demand for work and relief has grown more insistent since the proposals hurriedly propounded, have' been brought into play. Parliament, however, adopted the act in good faith and with a keen desire to meet the situation. It is of course very questionable whether the problem is being met in the right way, but the system created and now being developed, is certainly the outcome of parliamentary action, and ns such must bo accepted and acted upon until something else takes its place. The Board which was created and empowered to proceed with its large task, had a simple mandate, but not any defined system to proceed upon. The constituent members of the Board were drawn from diverse ranks and interests, and thrown together to hurriedly attempt a task which up to the moment was insuperable in most countries. During the short time the Board has boon functioning, it lias worked steadily and with evidently a single desire to meet the position revealed throughout the Dominion, but as indicated above, unemployment has increased. The Board has put forward various schemes for relief, and even on the eve of the festive season made a cash distribution in the chief centres where unemployment was so very marked. Since the new year has boon entered upon, there has come the demand for sustenance where work was not offering, and this demand has been fanned by the. agitator section which has a new opportunity for action m connection with this problem. The return of the Prime Minister with n world conceived knowledge of the pro-

blem in other countries, lias tended to niter the preconceived ideas on which sustenance was to be distributed. Mr Forbes has sent forth the fiat that there is to be no relief payment without work in return. This suggestion is good tor the body and soul of the worker who wishes to retain his manly independence, but there are quarters in which the dictum is not acceptable. It is at this juncture the Board attempts further plans to meet the situation. There are new offers to subsidise wages as it were, to help farming interests. While labour can be absorbed on farms-—a most useful and practical idea in itself, the Board is offering a subsidy on wages paid, assistance which should lead to good results in many cases, though there are openings for abuse. The task of grappling with such latter cases, will be the responsibility in the main of the local advisory committees. Now that the farmers are having a difficult time with low prices for their products, the help proferred should be very useful at this critical stage in assisting to maintain production from the land. A further scheme is that under which money is being provided for local bodies for wages towards relief work, the authority to find the material required and to carry out the necessary supervision qf the work, This js fur* tfier evidence of the genuine attempt hejng made ):o grapple with the problem, and where local bodies can, no doubt, they will make a special effort to co-operate with the Board’s wishes ill tin's respect. These twto schemes with those that have guile before, do not promise to accomplish all that is desired, and absorb all available labour. It seems evident something more comprehensive must yet be attempted, and whatever is done, there will he the need of providing large finance, .lust how long this can go on cannot now he guaged, but in passing the remedial legislation now in force it is evident the problem has been largely magnified. and is likely to be with us for an indefinite period.