Unemployment—Like Rheumatism

Radio Record, Volume VIII, Issue 24, 21 December 1934, Page 14

Unemployment—Like Rheumatism

Everyone Has a Cure, But Somehow it Never Gets Cured-Travelling Through Europe by Motor-Cycle-"A Castle on the Banks of the Rhine" Every German’s Ambition.

MR. LEICESTER WEBB (3YA). UN KMPLOYMENT is like rheu-matism-everyone has a cure for it. but somehow it never seems to get cured There has. been acute unemployment in every country in the world since 1929, and thousands of millions of pounds have been spent on its. re Jef It is staggering to. reflect, for instance, that in the last three years New Zealand has spent more on wunemploymeut than it has on education. Yet despite this vast expenditure it cannot be said that any country .is much nearer solving the problem of un employment than it was in 1929. The sud truth is that most governments find it much easier to spend -huge sums on palliatives ‘and relief measures than to undertake the far. more difficult task of finding a cure for unemploy ment, Yet if industry is’to be relieved of the staggering burden of taxation which has been imposed on it during the depression some cure must be found. ‘To-night I want to deal very "briefly with some of the cures ‘that have been suggested. "PHERE is no reason why we should accept the need for unemployment on the present scale, provided we don’t just sit back and expect that the pro-: cess of recovery will reduce unemployment to its‘normal proportions. Recovery is rather an unfortunate word really, because it encourages people. to believe. that sooner or later. we will: get back .to the status quo, ante 1929. We must face the-truth that there will never be recovery in that sense, The depression has. produced, .or | tather accentuated, profound changes in the economic structure of ‘society, and it is no use hoping to.undo those’ changes It is particularly in regard to unhem. Ploymient that this idea of a return to pre-1929 conditions is. misleading. We must realise that even ‘if prices and trade return. to their pre-depres. ‘sion level in the next few. years un: employment will not return.to its pre. depression level: So , ¥ you want. to know. the extent to which a reduction in the hours of © work would reduce unemployment L would refer you to the International Labour Office publication on "Hours of Work and Employment." . It is estimated there-that the introduction of a 40-hour week would in the great: majority of ,countries. mean’ a 10 per cent. increase in thé ‘number of work. ers employed. ‘ The ‘ititroduction of i 56-hour week would mean an ineréase of at least 17 per cent. in the number of workers employed.. wo i", course, the problem ‘of reducing hours of work is not at all simple Tt involves... necessarily, extensive re organisation of factories: it involves perhaps. some wage adjustments; and _ in industries which are not protected from foreign competition it involves

some measure of international agreement. Despite these difficulties, some progress has been made since the depression in the reduetion of hours of work. The most notable progress has Jeen in the. United States of America. where. under the code system, there ‘'s a 40-hour week in the coal, textile

and steel industries: a 36-hour: week ‘n the shipbuilding; ship repairing and electrical industries; and a 35-hour ‘veek. in the automobile industry MR. A. H. WILLIS (3YA). . THE ‘idea of travelling through Europe by motor-cycle appedled to ine for the reason that. I could leave the beaten track when and where I liked, instead of being whisked by train from one large city to another and gaining little idea of the surrounding country. To be able to stop off at minor villages, for example, gives you the opportunity of studying the peasant people, and also has the advantage of cheapness. I didn’t have to pay more than 1/6 to 2/- for a bhedrodm in any Austrian or German country inn. These inns are usually scrupulously clean,

and only-once was I unlucky. but that is scarcely a radio story. GWITZERLAND is by far the most beautiful European country I passed through, and motoring. along goed roads was a delight. After running round Lake I turned north to Bern, The Swiss towns are the most prosperous-looking and scrupulously clean I have ever seen. Of course, they use a great (leal of electricity, and most of their trains are electric, which must lessen the dirt problem for them, but their. trams, buses, and railway stations all looked as if they had just been freshly painted that morning. MR. IRVING SLADEN (3YA). LEFT Victoria Station, London, with my wife and daughter one morning early in August; in due course we found ourselves herded like sv many cattle.on the Belgian channel. steamer . bound for Ostend, There were’ over 1000 of us on this small boat, with standing room only. However, all arrived safely, and then came the wildest scramble I can ever remember, when those 1000 people all rushed the Customs. officials. Only those of you who have been there can realise what this means. Hyentually we fought our ‘way through. "and staggered on to the train, ¢arrying our own luggage, as the porters were quite inadequate. In the tr ain wé passed through very rich agricultural land. well worked, and particularly noticed that invariably the cattle occupied the basement portion of. the farmhouse. and the family the rooms overhead: One can, imagine the flies. and smells, in summer. 'E spent some time in Cologne, ‘and were impressed with its fine "18th century cathedral, said to be one of the finest Gothie structures -in Burope. We crossed many of its fine bridges. _ including the famous. bridge occupied by our troops in 1918, at one end of which is an equestrian statue ofthe Kaiser. I was much annoyed at having -to pay 3/- for a bath at the hotel: this over and above. the already-high tariff, and later in the day heard that another Englishman had had to pay 1/9 for a cup of coffee at other than a meal time. It certainly appeared as | though English’ tourists were looked upon as being rich. if they could travel during the ‘present times. From Cologne we nassed on to Frankfurt, 150 miles bv train, and for the most part along the banks of the Rhine. One sees endless rows of well-laden barges. ‘towed by tugs. proceeding both ways along this very fine waterway, and also numerous well-filied passenger stenm ers. The most nleasing features, however. were the quaint villages at frequent intervals. each with’ its cecasile nerched on the top of a hill. and a German civilian on the train told me that the highest ambition of his countrymen was to own a eastle on the banks of the Rhine.