LUXURY ON THE DOLE

Rotorua Morning Post, Volume 1, Issue 77, 21 November 1931, Page 2

LUXURY ON THE DOLE

?=*•" . •;.'*/ * • !.•> .• BETTER THAN WORK YOUNG MAN'S MOTOR, RADIO, AND GREYIIOUNDS AS HOBBIES. ■ f'EED UE" WJTB LAST JQB. LONDON. , Oue of the strangest cases of the abuse ' df' the dole' in Erigiand has come to light in a Hampshire yillage, near Fareham. A young man is drawing the dole and at the same time he owns a motor car. He lives in a pleasant semi-detached* house and he devotes his "leisure" hours to training greyhounds. When a correspondent of a London newspaper called on this man reeently he f ound that, so far from being ashamed of himself, he made no secret of his record. He showed no reluct- , ance in relafing his story, assuring ! the visitor at the same time that his l was quite an ordinary record, and that many other unemployed had a better time than he. . "Eor six years I was employed at an oil refinery," the young man said, "where I was receiving'- ahout 50s a week. Last year J gave up the job, hecause I was fed up with it; I fouiid the hours too long, and other men wero being paid higher wages to do raore pleasant work. Who would not prefer to go on the dole rather than puf up with that state of affairs ? My v/if e iisually ' works as a, waitrdss in th'e summer, and draws the dole for the rest of the year." Whatever may be the hardships of the dole, their only effect on this individual has been to make him .blase. He dismissed his car with a contemptuous toss of his head. "Oh, that is nothing," he said: "it is only a saloon." His stud of greyhounds are not valued more highly. "Why should not I keep greyhounds if '-I want to?" he said. "Because, their keep is not very expensive." In one cornef of his sitting room stands an elaborate cabinet wireless set; hut such simple pleasures as listening-in have long lbs.t all their novelty for this young man. Although this state of affairs seems to sat^sfy the greyhound trainer, it is a source of con'siderable bitterness in his neighbourhood. A feature of this year's hop-picking in England has been the difficulty in getting pickers from London. • A grower who booked 400 pickers and obtained only two-thirds of that num- _ ber said that pickers stayed in London to s;gn for the "dole" while work in plenty was available in Kent.