A.S.R.S.

Hokitika Guardian, 30 July 1931, Page 3

A.S.R.S.

A STATEMENT SUBMITTED. j.ue iiULcjiiUlll ill cuiiiiov.I\JII ttxL.il LxiC xyvttL t-lCjliVoo*LllA liU^ uvea xooueu lu uio x 1 ran tile iiix.cx.xmltxttu cjueicty ui xiu...tiLj Otu tin, jxx e * ions period in tile h.story oi ilio iioiiuinuii letoiuo iso ixiLieii uiiein piuyuieiit, eiuier piepoi t.ouuteiy or i*. touil, as tue pa Si six moiiuis. Winn ernes it mean. it means that no oruliuny einp.oyinent is avaname xor nearly 50,‘lAJiJ aule-boaied men who Have registered themseives as desiring worn. They comprise men 1 tom all classes o. industry. Primary and secondary producers contribute their quota. . arm ers, and otjiers associated with land work— ejaftsmen—artists and labourers —ul hire suffering. Men skilled in building, others competent to handle any form of mechanical transport, boot operatives, tailors and clothiers market gardeners, distributors, men of every business, trade or profession are unemployed and at the Same time ianners and manufacturers are unable t > utilise their resources through inability to pay for machinery, fertilisers or labour. Factories are dosing or working short time through falling demand. Shopkeepers are faced with declining truue, and growing financial dirticuuie., while tile days oi tnousands oi mothers are filled with fear ol the morrow. Every word said about the uneimoyment of men applied to women —they are unemployed because we are failing to utilise our own amazing natural resources. Here is the triangle: Abundant natural resources, Skilled ad experienced men and women unemployed. i Fear, worry,-hunger and hardship in thousands of homes. .The single purpose of men acquainted with statecraft and social economy should be to find ways and means of giving the skilled and competent men access to the natural resources. To achieve this end requires some experience, study thought and vis on. We Ipvve some knowledge o fthe production ros'-’i'.iTl ties of Lhe Dominion. Full information of existing and partial , n •formation on potential markets has .been, available for some time; but we are not exploiting these markets. We should, be travelling the road of enquiry, negotiation and discussion' so as 'to ensure tlie utilisation of bur re? sources arid the’ raising of the living' standard. Instead of this development pioucy we save saving—cutting wages—retrenching employees—and dest ovin the morale of thuisands of clean-’iv rig able-bodied, skilled men and women. There would lie some justification for cutting and scraping if the goods or resources were not here—but they are here.- No economist or politician has ever suggested that the trouble its lack of natural resources. They all ug-ee that it is failure to find a national method of distribution and sang and cutting accentuates the problem. What man with knowledge or vision will husband his resources whi’e his •rife and chi'dren are starving? Yet that is what we are doing nationally. The unorganised, planless method of production and distrih-ilio.. is occasioning difficulty in all countries, and wo cannot entirely escape its effect; biri the - present policy of the Government is. feeding the enemy which is destroying the morale of our people. The fol 1 owing figures show the extetri and growth of the prob’em. ,vd 1 o - ’’ J hGovernment has -contributed to Die number of unemployed by curtei ing onblic works. 19.10 Registered Net retrcncliUnemployed. nient i'u .i - Works November 6,432 ... December 9,630 ... 398 January 12,230 ... 266 February 17,002 ... 61 March 29,941 ... 420 April 37,598 ... 37 May 38,052 ... 1330 The reduction over the seven in n hs • period, for public works only was 2,5 "3 but the retrenchment and dismiss •I: have extended to the Railways. Pcs' and Telegraph, and all other. Government Department. IMMIGRATION. The problem has been accentuated by tha policy of the Government in grant,ng assisted passage to immigrants—--1233 such passages were granted last year—and 289 of them were for mii’es over the age of seventeen years. Instead of retrenchment and dismissals the Government should have re vganised its productive work so as to extend rather than reduce its own employees, and immigration should have been stopped years ago. If we are to get out of the present morass we must prepare for the future, this preparation implies constructive and productive, p'amring. Organ'snt : on is required, and all the essentials for complete' organisation are available Tlie immediate work is to organise our resources for the purpose ot L maintaining an adequate living standard for all our peonle. We should have investigat'd tlm fuM extent of our requirements and then plan to produce them and to organise an internal exchange e r onomy. to 0’‘s’"r 1 that, the essentials which can be n"o----11',oil'' m’-n vr.L-oiM.po s o Vf , jri-de pi-nildVo to a 1! Uri ov "al ~n- ioo„Vpoc ioo„ V poc however, jivill not p'-ednee a*v'Xh.'vLLT 111-0 o r ofl-o"oP]p Cl.'Orlo,-d (ri h‘*--j j »r»rr Wty oorinot vivnopoco xv.fhoht. ev_ •ternal trade, arid the mo-st promrtn"-

proposal for the organisatin of oiu tx twna 1 trade is by negotiating reciprocal agreements ivith Britain and other countries. This means planned exports and imports. Bind out the requirements of our own people and our eustimers— -investigate our natural resources—and then plan to produce what is required in the mo; t efficient manner. Two ways are open. We can continue the. present drift along the call track with its wanderings round the paddocks, up the hillside, and ultimately get hogged in the swamps of depression and repudiation, with maybe even muddier or worse possibilities, or we ! can consult and negotiate with those who require our goods, organise our production, accordingly and then con struct a cash and credit road to distribute the products. We can either continue the planless production and speculative marketuigs with the inevitable slumps and booms, brnkruptcim •md fionidations, unemployment and hardship—or we can plan to produce the reonirements of our customers after negotiation and agreement, i The A.S T?,S. believes flint to plan I is the 20th century method.