HUMANITY'S WAR

Hokitika Guardian, 8 March 1933, Page 8

HUMANITY'S WAR

PLIGHT OF UNEMPLOYED

GRIM PICTURE OF EUROPE

LONDON, February 28

Humanity’s war against unempfoynient greatly rejemlies" the Great War, says a special representative of' tlie “News-Chronicle,” who has ’made Va tour of Eurbpe. ' . "

There is the same stupidity, he says, in the General" Staff, " the same cl j aging to old-h'.sh'aned'lideas 1 , the same luxury at headquarters, coupled 'with an inability to realise what men are suffering with the same 'noble', pitiable, courage, fortitude and endurance as the men in the trenches showed —bearing everything and understanding nothing: Only the rank and file, especially the -women, are magnificent • Holland’s dole for 350,000 ‘unemploy ed; ranges from lls 8d to 37s 4d » week. Germany’s for more than 7. PCD,OOO from lls 7d 'to 27s 9d, the latter figure being for A married map with six children. Belgium’s 200,000 get a maximum .of 21s, Sweden’s 150,000 los to 30s, Czecho-Slbvakia’s 600,;. 000 14s 6d to 27s' Sd, and Australia’s half-million 5s to '2os. .

Italy’s million, of whom only a quarter are on the dole, get a maximum of os Pel, France’s 400:000 get a maximum of 235, but-generally far less. Britain, with 2,900,000 unemplojed, . gives 23s 3d'to a married couple, with 2s for each dependent child, at a cost) of £130.000,00 a yeai. . ,

The question arises, he says,, whether Britain is fpolish in not asking the people to work for that; ; allowance, especially as all other countries are employing a proportion of their workless on public works and housing and farming schemes, notably in Germany and Italy. None, however, has produced 'weivid-shivking ideas. Only tire Great War dwarfed the horrors of the situation. Suicides are increasing by thousands in' Europe, lie states. Under-nourishment is apparent everywhere, " wlinb'"sbiils are being destroyed.