UNEMPLOYED BOYS.

Press, Volume LXVIII, Issue 20610, 28 July 1932, Page 6

UNEMPLOYED BOYS.

DEALING WITH THE PROBLEM. RICCARTON COMMITTEE SET UP. To assist unemployed youths in the Eiccarton district, a committee, to work in conjunction with the Chamber of Commerce Boys' Employment Committee, was set up as the outcome of u public meeting in the Riccarton Town Hall last evening. The Mayor (Mr H. S. S. Kyle, M.P.) presided, and the speakers were Messrs M. E. Lyons, A. J. McEldowney, and H. P. Donald, on behalf of the Chamber of Commerce Committee. All knew the difficulty concerning unemployed youths aged 16 and over, both those who had already left' school ii.td those who would do so at the end of this year, said Mr Kyle. Tlie object of the meeting was to try to set up some organisation in Riccarton to co-operate with the central organisation already set up in the City, to do something for these boys. Mr M. E. Lyons said his particular interest for the moment, as the chairman of the welfare branch of the Chamber of Commerce Boys' Employment Committee, was to try to start definite welfare work for these boys, apart from the employment side, through setting up local organisations. This was chiefly with the object of showing those boys who were out of work that an effort was being made to help them. The committee wished to bring some message of hope to them, and to provido some activity to occupy their time. Maintaining Interests. The moral danger of the lack of work, with its hopeless outlook, could not be overstrcssed.. There was need to give the boys physical and mental interests. Referring to the endeavours being made to place boys on farms and to give theni farm training, Mr Lyons said: "We have to realise that the conditions existing to-day are not always going to be with us, and I believe the best hope for New Zealanders is still on the land." Many employers in the City had come to the support of the committee in spite of their difficulties, and had enabled many of the boys to be given something to do. The mission of the speakers was to ask for the formation of a strong local committee to conduct a welfare unit in the district, and to provido various means of keeping the young people engaged. These could take the form of entertainment or of continuation classes or anything else that was thought fit. There was also the suggestion that something of a census should be taken, to keep a check on these unemployed young people, and to sec that something was done for them. By acting on the request Riccarton could be something of a pioneer. Mr A. J. McEldowney summarised the work done in the past, which had grown from the endeavours for vocational guidanco among boys, and referred particularly to the employment bureau of the Chamber of Commerce Boys' Employment Committee at the Y.M.C.A. The object was as much to see that the youths kept fit physically and mentally as to find them work. Registration of Boys. The committee wanted to be sure that every unemployed boy in Christchurch was on the registers of that ployment bureau, and the aid of local committees was asked, so that the need for taking up some activity, as well as for using the facilities offered, might be impressed 011 the boys. A canvass of the district would show the real position; this had already helped in several districts. In conclusion, Mr McEldowney wished to stress the immense value to the boys of. the knowledge that interest was being taken in them. The extra localised interest was the one thing necessary to make the work being done fully efficient. Mr H. P. Donald, who is in charge of the Boys' Employment Bureau of the Chamber of Commerce, described the way in which the bureau bad been set up. According to the rceords kept 802 boys were on the roll. A questionnaire had been circulated and 437 lmd replied that they were still waiting for work, and 196 had not replied. Of the others IG9 had been placed in permanent employment (73 on farms) and -85 were in temporary employment. Of 09 who had passed their matriculation examination 40 were still wanting work, 14 had not replied to tlio questionnaire, and li) had been permanently placed. A Communal Task. The task of taking an interest iu these boys was one for the whole community, and not merely for one organisation. The position was bad enough at present, but at the end of the year another 700 boys would leave school and something would have to be done for them. The Rev. R. de Lambert said that it should be possible to find, for every boy who was out of employment, some person who would be willing either to give these boys some small amount of ■work, or to give something to the committee. There was a great deal about every home that a boy could do. He was perfectly sure that there were a great number of people willing to do something. The problem could be solved if it was faced with courage and determination. Tanning as a Training. Mr 11. G. Livingstone expressed appreciation of the work of tho Y.M.C.A. and of the Chamber of Commerce, and emphasised the importance to the boys of taking advantage of any opportunities for country work. A few years in the country was no loss to any lad. It was one of the finest things for a boy to get a knowledge of farming. What he learnt would be of the greatest use to him no matter what he did in his later life. ' The following committee was set up: The Mayor of Riccarton (Mr IT. S. S. Kyle, M.P.), the Rev. 11. do Lambert] the Rev. J. A. Allan, the Rev. J. F. Jack, the Rev. Father Hanrahan, Messrs J. J. Staples, 11. ,G. Livingstone, O. D. Fraser, R. Sargeant, H. F. Thomson T. M. Ford, L. C. 11. Hamilton, and T. Gates, Mesdames Frisken, Andrews, Woods, Saville, and Loader. ' WORK FOR JUVENILES. EXTENSION OF FARM SCHEME. (PBKSS ASSOCIATION TtLSGRAM ) AUCKLAND, July 27. Preliminary results of their investigations on behalf of tho Government into the problem of unemployment among youths were reviewed to-day by .Mr A. E. Ausoll, M.P., ;t iid Mr S. G. Smitii, -M.P. They .said that they lmd everywhere encountered a keen desire for the formation of district committees and a willingness to. follow any lead given. In both Christchurch and Dunedin effective " organisations existed, and the Christchurch committee had under-

taken tlie task of placing hoys on farms. That scheme had proved more popular in Canterbury than anywhero else, and 54 boys had been placed on farms in five months. In Dunedin 100 boys had intimated their willingness to do farm work. In Invercargill 45 boys had been placed, in "Wellington 75 boys had been placed, and in Gisborne 50. Tn New Plymouth, as a temporary expedient, a co-operative kindling wood enterprise and a message bureau had been established. Tho members expressed the opinion that with the incentive they were endeavouring tp provide, mainly in regard to si limited course of scientific agricultural .education, the farm work scheme was likely to lie considerably extended within the near future. Tho evidence collected so far would show that the city youth could be rapidlv turned into a successful help on a farm. The idea was that for two months in the dead season of the year boys from farms should receive training at an agricultural college. Already Lincoln College was going to take 50 such boys. The members said that when they asked city employers to engage more boys, the employers, though willing, were hampered by the Apprentices Act, tho Factories Act, and the Shops and Offices Act, and asked tlint these laws should be modified. The members were anxious to obtain concrete evidence for and against this proposal. Steps were lwing taken to explore the possibilitv of creating work suitable for youths, including manufacturing such articles as school rulers, of which 8000 were used weeklv. The committee in Christchurch was enquiring into a possible extension of this idea. So far there bad been a most satisfactory response by the public to the members' efforts. The work of constructing bridges across four streams near Otoko, between Gisborne and Opotiki, is expected to commence this week. They will be the last links in an all-weather route on the northern outlet from Poverty Bay. Erasures on cheques and other documents which are invisible to the naked eye can be detected by a new photographic procss recently discovered.