UNEMPLOYMENT.

Press, Volume LXV, Issue 19769, 6 November 1929, Page 11

UNEMPLOYMENT.

WHAT LABOUR IS DOING. MR THOMAS'S DEFENCE. crr:".AL v. :rzless ".Received November sth. j.o-> • RUGBY. N..V. V, -r i. In : H«im' ot < o:r.ai- i - :• -••!..y. Mr J. H. Tnom.iMinister in <■ '•t I'n -nj-l.iyn:*. r.t, made a .statement "•! the vt. Ho r*. a lied t!K!t * htu he nr-jt addressed the Ho';-' «>n this q tic-t ion he militated tuat he h;id n<> cure for the pr ib!>r.-.. He i.ad made it oeriecJy t-ltar then. s,s in.- did now. that it was not a temporary problem. If it were he si.ouid fie a'lle to .lt-al with it bv un-i nn.an*. 100,000 Increase. ( apual had be. n made ot the lat t tli.it .since tiii. Government '-'iiie i!lt " office ib<- unemployment in' Teased by nearly li»M>*j, Mr "Ihoma-. He pointed out that v. lien twelve months ago the late Government were in ottire. the tig ir«"» increaped in precisely the same ]>• nod iiv 200.0-JU. That merely m'li'-.ited sea sun a! (hanger which «er<' inevitable, and not real test ot the unemployment problem He indicated again to-day the broad view on which lie based bis policy. The first qu- stion was how by expenditure o| public money they could find employment in work that m its. It Viould iiirrease the efficiency of the nation, and not add to the general burden of industry by dead capital.' Tile fOeond point was how could the ' ; ovenunent relv on the import and export trade and stimulate the productive capacity of industry generally.' T hirdly. how could the great potentialities fd rlie Kmpire be developed i end enco'ir.iged to contrib'-ite to lx<th ?l-e:C objects'' Erpenditure of £7,000,000. Mr Trionias recalled that he had set up a committee composed oi representative men of all classes to <>xi'mine the question submitted under the hist category. In three months the committee had pa>,ed various ! schemes (dulling an expenditure of JL7.000.0(H). Till- was divided between the Gnyt \Vestrrn Railway, the I.onj don, .Midland, and Scottish Railway, uui the Met ropolitan Railway. He hoped that legislation would enable the work on Charing Cross Station to be becmi beiore May fir June next, and bo trusted that work might be started on the reconditioning Waterloo Bridze. even before Christmas. Every endeavour was being made to reach a settlement between the parties concerned by which the tunnel under the river Thames between Dartlord and Purfleet would be constructed. ThU scheme involved £3,000.000. (i; an attempt to speed up the development of the Colonial Kmpire £3.000.<>Oo was to be spent on the Zambezi and it was estimated that this would provide employment in this cnuntrv for 00.000 men. The total expenditure i,' all :b > mentioned would be £ 42,000 tKKi. Other schemes were under review, continued Mr Thomas, involving manv millions of pounds. With cojjurd to his visit to Canada, Mr Thomas that he told Canadians that Britain was their best customer. For everv £1 that they spent v- i tVi Brit.i in they spent £o with the United States. He concentrated on roal, and Canada imported 16.000,000 tons of American coal last vear. He ! knew that Rritnin could not hone to compete with the whole 16.000.000 tons. Tn 'saint Lawrence 2.200.000 Inns of American coal were used, and <>n tli it h<> concentrated. Even years ago Britain lor a time sent hard coal to Canada. Migration. It was a profound mistake to mix questions of migration and unemployment, because it conveyed to the Dominions the impression that we wanted to dump our unemployed there, and tliev resented this. Manv men were not prepared to migrate because their dependents lost their pensions rights if the breadwinner died overseas, and many parents were prevented from joining their children overseas because it meant the loss of pensions. The Government's Bill removed these anomalies as well as the hardship to widows, caused by losing their pensions by migrating. Surplus Wheat. He had asked the Canadian Wheat Pool to fa<e the economic facts. At present every elevator in Montreal was filled with last year's wheat and thirtysix ships were lying in the harbour, full of unmoved wheat. They could not expect Britain to send goods to Canada if the ships had to return in ballast. • Policy Criticised. Sir Worthington-Evans said that all I the schemes Mr Thomas had outlined would only employ 36,000 men. The Government had disorganised the motor trade by its unwillingness to promise to continue the McKenna duties, owing to losses by New York speculators. There was the danger that motor-cars, artificial silk, wireless apparatus, and gramophones would be dumped here. Mr Lloyd George described Mr Thomas's schemes as timid, pusillanimous and unintelligent, and only likely to employ one-third of the men who had been added to the unemployed register since Labour came into office.

Labour Members Dissatisfied.

Mr J. Maxton (Labour) said that someone had said that Labour was in for twenty years, and they would need every hour of that time at the present rato of progress. Mr Thomas had indicated that lie had not attempted to advance the solution of the problem on Socialistic lines. One of Mr Thomas's greatest qualities was that he knew howto change his front at the appropriate moment, and there never was a more appropriate moment than now to turn from his capitalistic philosophv. He was granting £40.000,000 to capitalists and a similar amount would not be too mucb to put directly into the pockets of the unemployed, which was the only way to solve the problem.

Sis Oswald Mosley replied to the debate. lie detailed a miml>er of arrnneemcnts with municipalities for ■works such as water supply. which were between revenue-producing: and non-revenue-producing scheme?. In these cases the Government was increasing the grants to 41 per cent, of the interest, compared with the previous 20 per cent, granted to municipalities. The House agreed to the vote. BRITAIN DISAPPOINTED. MORE EXPECTED OF MR THOMAS (Received November oth, 8.30 p.m.) LONDON. November 5. Mr Thomas's spewh is generally regarded in the House of Commons and by the Press as disappointing. It contained no surprise, while the actual ■irproniiNed achievement is far f-hort ff what manv of the Government siipporter» honed. The "Daily News'* suggests that Mr Mac Donald should give Mr Thomas another tob and appoint a better man in his place. The ' Daily Herald." in an editorial, is not enthusiastic, but says that th« statement show« that n hard gruelling job is Wing tackled with a thoroughness that is bound to bring success.

FINANCIAL CREDIT.

EFFECT ON TRADE. (Received November sth, 9 p.m.) LONDON, November 4. Mr Philip Snowden announced the appointment of a Committee to enquire into banking and finance credit, having regard to the internal and international factors governing their operation, the Committee to make recommendations calculated to make these agents promote the development of trade and commerce. The Committee will consist of Mr H. P. Macmillan, K.C., ex-Lord Advocate of Scotland (chairman), Sir Thomas Allen. Air Ernest Bevin, Lord Bradburv. Mr R. H. Brand, a director of Lloyds Bank, Professor Gregory, Mr J. M. Keynes, Air Cecil Lubliock, a director of the Bank of England, Mr Reginald McKenna, Mr Lennox B. Lee, Air J. T. Newbold, an exCommunist and now a Labour research worker. Sir Walter Raine. Air J. F. Taylor, and Air A. A. G. Tulloch. MR MACDONALD ENTERS HOUSE. TRIBUTE FROM MR BALDWIN. LONDON, November 4. In the House of Commons Mr MacDonald received an ovation on entering at question time. The whole of the Ministerial party stood and cheered, and Air Baldwin graciously interjected: "The House has not been the same without you.'' Mr J. R. dynes, in answer to a question, said that when Anglo-Russian relations were severed in 1027 the Russian trading firm, Arcos, Ltd., had not disbanded, but continued trading. Some members of the staff of Arcos, Ltd., were required to leave Britain and had not been permitted to return. r ■ SUEZ CANAL. QUESTION OF CONTROL. LONDON, November 4. In the House of Commons Air Arthur Henderson, Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, Baid that he h.ad not received from any Government or from the League of Nations itself any proposal to place the Suez Canal under the control of the League.