The Auckland Star WITH WHICH ARE INCORPORATED The Evening News, Morning News, The Echo and The Sun. FRIDAY, JUNE 21, 1935. MORE FOR THE UNEMPLOYED.

Auckland Star, Volume LXVI, Issue 145, 21 June 1935, Page 6

The Auckland Star WITH WHICH ARE INCORPORATED The Evening News, Morning News, The Echo and The Sun.

FRIDAY, JUNE 21, 1935. MORE FOR THE UNEMPLOYED.

For the cause that lacks amsianoe, For the tcrong that needs resistance, For the future in 'he distance, And the good that ice oau dn.

It is one of the duties of the Unemployment Board to take from those who have incomes and give to those who have not. Over the past two or three years it has been redistributing about £4,500,000 annually, partly by means of reproductive works, partly by more or less time-filling jobs under the guise of Scheme 5, and partly, during the past year, by sustenance payments. Large as this sum appears in the lump, it is a very thin layer when spread over thousands of unemployed, and is only sufficient to cover bare needs. Everybody should welcome the increases in allowances both to relief workers and to those on sustenance, which the Minister announces, but even with this extra provision it is obvious that many families will find it difficult to exist.. The Unemployment Board has had to strike a balance, and it has not been able to be as generous as many would wish. There is at the same time the question whether all-round increases of 'this kind are best. Some of the unemployed do not get as much as they deserve; others are helped whose needs are less urgent. Probably no one is better aware of this than the members of the Board themselves. Inequities are unavoidable in the distribution of relief. The only remedy is to reopen channels of employment. It is work, not sustenance or charity, that the majority of the unemployed want. And in fairness to the Board, it should be recognised that it is making an effort to arrive nt a constructive plan. There was an indication of this in the communication before the Auckland Chamber of Commerce Council yesterday. The building industry is looked upon as the most profitable avenue to explore; it is more far-reaching than others, creates much indirect employment, gives a rapid impetus to the circulation of money, and produces almost the whole of its benefits within the country. The Board is appealing to local bodies, churches and public organisations of all kinds for their co-opera-tion in a national survey. It should be widely supported in this new move, and, further, should have the assistance of the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research to investigate the possibility of establishing new industries.