THE Wairarapa Age MORNING DAILY. MONDAY, JULY 12, 1909. THE UNEMPLOYED.

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXXII, Issue 9540, 12 July 1909, Page 4

THE Wairarapa Age MORNING DAILY. MONDAY, JULY 12, 1909. THE UNEMPLOYED.

The unemployed problem appears to be growing in seriousness. The Government are, no doubt, attempting to cope with the trouble, but, unless there is going to be waste—waste added to the waste of years—in order to give employment, it is difficult'to see how the Government :an do what everyone would like to see done, viz., work provided for all who are willing to accept it. At a time when there is so much distress it is rather unfortunate that standard wages should be insisted upon. The Government should certainly pay the usual wages, and those who are administering relief funds, subscribed by the public, should do likewise, but it seems to us that real relief will only come from those who may be able to provide private employment, and surely here the greatest freedom of arrangement should be permitted, for, clearly, the present is not a good time with the great majority of the public. Moreover, there are many men out of work, who ai'e tryiiig to obtain employment at work of which they have had no orevious experience in fact the average man out-of-work and penniless will, as a rale, "take on anything." Possibly he is not an experienced man at the work obtained, and, therefore, to be too insistent on standard wages is likely to estrange sympathy, and to cause thoso giving employment to look for more efficient services. As we have said we do not think the Government can improve matters very much without wasting the public's money, for unless those they employ are really capable of performing the rmgh work provided, costly work must result. In Taranaki, according to a recent telegram, there was trouble among bushmen on Government work, because competent and incompetent ware engaged in bushfelling and being paid by the amount of work done in the gross; the competent men naturally objecting to the communal system adopted. The Government should put in hand all the necessary public works for which they can possibly find the money, and push on with them, employing, of course, only competent labour. Then private employers should be encouraged to give as much employment as they possibly can. With the exercise of a little thought and kindness there arG a great number of people who could find a great many "jobs," which they would like to have done, and there is no time like the present! If a strong appeal were made by those who are interesting themselves in the welfare of the unemployed to individual members of the j public to provide what employment they can, we feel sure that the acule- '

ness of the problem would be largely diminished., The unemployed problem emphasises two very important facts, which should not be lost sight of, viz., that the trouble will recur again and again, and at times will probably be much more severe than is now the case, until a proper land settlement policy is adopted, and until the Government learn to encourage industrial employers, and subsidise, in effect, those who are building up industries in the Dominion. It should surely be obvious that the harassing of employers cannot tend to increase the number of workers, or to better their condition. Only recently we had the painful spectacle of employers being fined substantial sums, and mulcted in costs as well, for trumpery breaches of awards. That sort of thing surely cannot be in the interest of the workers!