SOMETHING MUST BE DONE

Rotorua Morning Post, Volume 1, Issue 175, 17 March 1932, Page 4

SOMETHING MUST BE DONE

When the Coalition Government was first formed, now some six months ago, the present Minister in Charge of Unemployment, the Rt. Hon. J. G. Coates, announced that he would. at - an early date put into operation a policy designed to put unem- , ployed men, at that time chiefly engaged upon uneconomic relie works on eountry roads and urban streets "over the fenee on o the land" where they would be engaged in productive work de- j signed toi increase the Dominion's exportable surplus of pnmaiy products. He emphasised the supreme importance of mcreasmg production for export as the only sure means of maintammg oi increasing the national inconie and pointed out how mcreased primary production would not only go a long way toward solvmg the farmers' own problems, but would at the same time do much to assist the rehabilitation of the eountry' s secondary mdustries, which were, in the last resort, dependent upon a prosperous farming community. Since th,en Mr. Coates and the Unemployment Board for whose activities he is responsible have from time to time made f urther statements along the same lines, each, time 1-eiterating old promises, or making new ones. So far, however, thev have done nothing. Here and there, it is true, a f ew men

have been put on to drain swamps or op other simnar woiiv.-, , which, though if steadily prosecuted they may eventually prove economically justifiable, offer small immediate prospect of either increasing the country's production or improvmg the economic position and prospects of the men engaged. But of any realiy sound plan to place men in large numbers on the land under conditions which will offer them a reasonable chance of wmnmg a modest livelihood lmmediately— or even in 12 months' time— and the eventnal prospect of a permanent occupation on a sufhcientiy attractive basis to stir their ambitions and encourage them to make the effort necessary to win through, there is still no sign. Reduced to its simplest form, the position may be stated thus : JN either the Government nor the Minister has any plan or policy, their grandiose claims and pompous statements^ notwithstanding. If they had, they surely would have proclaimed it long ago. What, therefore, is to be done about it. The case is urgent and is i; ast becoming desperate. The people are being taxed to the extent ot over £2,000,000 a year for the relief. of unemployment and are, apparently, to be still more heavily mulcted in the near future. Meantime, this huge sum is being frittered away on senseless schemes half-heartedly applied, which not only have almost no economic justilication, but obviously are failing to do more than prevent the majbrity of the unemployed from actually starvmg, while the conditions under which these men are forced to live are rapidly sapping their last shreds of initiative, self-reliance and self-respect. Fortunately, New Zealanders are not of the type to sit down and bewail their difficulties. "There is a job to do," they say. "The men to wjiom we have entrusted the responsibility for seeing that it is done, have failed us. Yery well, we will do it ourselves. We can deal with those who have failed us, betrayed our trust, later. Meantime, let us get on with the 30b. Of such men Mr. H. Valder, of Hamilton, and his associates m the Waikato Social Welfare League are types. The Mayor of Rotorua, Mr. T. Jacxson, and those associated with _ him, are ot.hers. The first and immediate need is a plan of action which may serve as the foundation on which to build up a detailed policy and, unlike Mr. Coates, who talks a lot about plans, but goes no further, uney actually produce plans worked out in detail which may very well be made the nucleus of a national scheme. -Unfortunately, however, to produce a workable plan, though undoubtedly not easy, is possible. To get it accepted, or?> apparently, even consiaered by authority is another. matter. Reading between the lines of Mr. Yalder's statement to the "Post," it is easy to visualise the reception he received in Wellington. There is, therefore apparently nothing for it but that the Press and people must get behind those whose interests are one with theirs and whose public spirit has been strong enough to induce them to give their time and energy and knowledge to the development ot such plans as that outlined in our columns this morning. The movement has been -started in Rotorua and the "Post" asks for the active supp'ort of each and every one of its readers for Mr. Jackson and those associated with him in their efforts to get some- | tlung done. If tne Government won't do anything, the people must.