MEN, MONEY AND JOBS.

Manawatu Herald, Volume LI, Issue 4541, 9 December 1930, Page 4

MEN, MONEY AND JOBS.

THE REFLECTION'S OF BROWN

board and its problems. “I see,” said Brown, “that, the Unemployment Board is going to display a touching faith in human nature. It is going to subsidise casual jobs. Willi the aid of local committees, it is going to arrange with householders to 'find odd jobs, such as gardening, for unemployed men, the wages to Die subsidised by the Board. “Of coui’se, one realises that- the Board is at present dealing with what it regards ns a state of emergency and that broad questions of policy have not yet had time to hatch. Rut I fear for the Board. In this matter it is really starting behind scratch. It will learn bv experience. “Naturally it thinks it can ‘devise safeguards to prevent dishonest collaboration for the purpose of obtaining a subsidy and make some form of check upon the work done/ but great is the confidence of youth, even youthful boards.

PAST FLAUDS. ‘ ‘This was exactly the scheme by which the Returned Soldiers' Association used to expend a considerable portion of the Poppy Day Fund. It seemed to act very wcil for a time. If a man got a day’s gardening lie was paid by the householder the sum of 14s, (or which lie gave a receipt. The householder then presented the receipt and received hack from the Association seven shillings. Thus a. good deed was done and, incidentally, he got a cheap day’s vonk, provided the man gave value, and did not dig up the dahlias by mistake.

“But, by and.bye, suspicions arose as to the lioua tides of certain men ,producing receipts for wages paid, and, to cut. a long story short, several men who did not possess homes or gni'dens, or any tiling else and. had employed no one, appeared before, a magistrate on the charge of having endeavoured to obtain money by fraud.

“What possible chance will there lie of the Board avoiding such fraudulent impositions unless it maintains officers to superintend this branch of its activities and inspects the work done.

“A doleful outlook, for the controllers of the dole, all right,” said Brown. “Of course, if they appopoint. sufficient inspectors they will kill a -couple of birds with one. stone, because more jobs will he provided, but 1 shall be very sorry for the inspectors in their task of assessing the value of work done in a garden by the average man. I’ve had some experience myself.

ANOTHER (HMUVANOE. “Did I tell you of niv last man? He certainly did a good job, but in the course of the day lie told me that he had not registered under the Unemployment Act. I told him that he would be liable for a fine. He replied that as he had no money to pay a fine all they could do would be to put him in gaol, where tliey would have to feed him. I then said that, if the scheme had been in operation 1 would have been liable for employing him, that it was my. duty to be sure he had registered. “And what do you think he said? Just this: ‘lf the law gives you the right to inspect my book it ought to give me the right to see that my employer is registered and paying up.’ He-thought it unfair that there should be no cross-check upon an employer. “However,” said Brown, “the trouble about, the board is that it is rushing into trivial schemes for aiding the unemployed with an amateurish enthusiasm when it ought to be getting down soberly to broad measures and all that sort of thing. It is displaying the mind of a relief body that has about fifty pounds to spend.” “Well,” said Brown’s friend, “we may get rid of the thing after next; election.”

“Never,” declared Brown. “You will, find that it. will mortgage its next year’s income just as they have done at Home and that the dole system will, become a permanent promoter of pauperism.”— Auckland Herald.