OTHER PEOPLE’S IDEAS

Wairarapa Times-Age, 11 July 1939, Page 3

OTHER PEOPLE’S IDEAS

THE UNEMPLOYMENT PROBLEM

(To the Editor)

Sir, —In your issue of tonight (Saturday). one of your correspondents writes at some length about the unemployment problem. Chiefly, he rails at the Government, though the Opposition also receives a little criticism, but though he goes so far as to say that the Government should have put thousands of the unemployed on the land, without mention of the many difficulties connected with the obtaining of land, and the fitting of the men for such employment, he eventually seems to allow himself to become pessimistic and to wander into the Slough of Despond (like the ducklings he mentions). Nevertheless there is a very definite problem which the Government is making laudable attempts to solve — not the least being their attempt to expand our secondary industries. This is being done, not because we cannot buy overseas, but because we ought to manufacture all we can for the benefit of our own people. The trouble with industry, as at present constituted, is that we are concerned only with .manufacturing for profit. Under this system it is impossible for all labour to be employed because every invention throws more and more out of employment. Systems, too, are devised, in various industries, still further to lessen the need for manual labour —such as subdivision of labour so that each individual, by performing only one small task, is enabled to do it with greater rapidity and without needing much skill. Further, machinery is making it possible to use cheaper labour in the form of young women and boys.

Sometimes I wonder whether we shall eventually become like the bees, whose work is all done by unsexed females, and only a few males are permitted to be born, being killed off when the community has no further use for them.

Of course, if justice prevailed, the inventions and improved methods would bring not only profit to employers but improved conditions to workers, either in much shorter hours, or in a much shorter working life, enabling retirement much earlier, and more time for a leisurely evening to life This, too, would give greater opportunity to youth. Nor should it be necessary to employ girls only, just because tasks become lighter. However, perhaps this is too much in the clouds. Let us face facts. Our men have to be employed. If not in factories, then, as far as possible, in some way that produces more wealth for the community. The idea of calling upon all farmers or manufacturers who are able to do so to put before the Government plans that would result in greater production and, in suitable cases, providing them with subsidised labour, is not without merit. There would need to be safeguards, of course, since there are always those who will profit unfairly.

In each district there could be set up an Employment Promotion Committee who could go into the question of the possibilities of the district in the way of increased production. This committee could look into the possibilities of such ideas as draining of swamp lands to bring new land into production; reafforestation, partly to prevent erosion and damage by floods, and partly to provide future supplies of timber; the possibilities of new crops being introduced, and new industries (I have seen good sugar beet grown locally in a school garden); the bringing into use of idle sections of land for producing food for humans or animals; whether land already in use could be better used either by producing differently or by subdivision. These Suggestions, and no doubt others, could be reported on to the Government and the suggestions would no doubt be of great value in directing spare labour

Of course, money would be needed, perhaps even more than is being used now. Listen to the words of Maurice Reed in his book “Disgrace Abounding”:— “Sound finance, as I have seen it operate in England, Austria, Hungary and other countries, is a thing to be regarded with deepest distrust. Wherever I have seen it, it meant a beautiful paper budget with a balance that warmed your heart, stacks of gold buried deep in the national bank, cash passing freely to and fro across frontiers, millions of unemployed, beggars in the street, and slums.”

After all, the employment of men on public works is not such a deplorable thing as some would regard it. It is, at any rate, not worse than taking men from ordinary industry and employing them in making armaments. Let us produce as much wealth as we can and as far as possible let labour be productive, certainly, but in any case those that cannot be so employed must be employed in some way; and our primary and secondary industries, our producers of our wealth, must bear the burden. This is a simple fact that must be faced in every country. After all, if> they are not producing more wealth they are producing amenities in the way of better facilities for travel and transport, etc. Whether the present Government or the Opposition occupy the Treasury benches these remains the solemn and incontrovertible fact, that we shall get nowhere and accomplish nothing unless we approach all our problems in the spirit of unselfishness, when, I believe, we shall find that they have ceased to be problems.—l am, etc., E.G.C. Masterton, July 8. THE PRICE OF MILK (To the Editor.) Sir, —In reply to “Milk Shake.” He stated in his previous letter that he was unemployed, so may be if he approached the Milk Vendors’ Association they would employ him to teach them how to run their businesses. If he advocated buying milk at Is 2d per gallon and selling it at 5d per quart and Is per gallon, as at Napier, he would very soon have some mates on the unemployed register.

I am sure it is ridiculous to state that a vendor would travel two miles to serve one customer. It. is quite common for one vendor to refer a prospective customer to another vendor, if his round does not come within a reasonable distance of the prospective client. The bad debts, which I am sure are net so numerous or large as "Milk Shake” states them to be, are personal losses to the milkman. Like “Milk Shake,” I am not conversant with the running of the Wellington City milk scheme, but the plant for bottled and pasteurised milk was probably bought by the ratepawers. We are often told by Wellingtonians that our milk is practically

on. a par with the cream they are accustomed to buying and they are amazed at the quality of our cream. A quality article is always more expensive than an inferior one. There is a minimum butterfat test for milk to be sold for human consumption and as things are, the better the quality of milk and cream, the more chance you have of keeping customers, so rqay be competition is a good thing and were the zone system to be used the quality might possibly fall. In that way the farmers could reduce their price, too, as the hardier breed of milk Cows which produce quantity rather than quality, could be kept in place of the notoriously soft Jersey or Jersey-cross cows. Better the de’il you know than the de’il you don’t know. I am, etc, MILKMAN’S WIFE. Masterton, July 10.