RELIEF WORKERS PROTEST.

Press, Volume LXIX, Issue 20860, 20 May 1933, Page 15

RELIEF WORKERS PROTEST.

MARCH THROUGH CITY. | i | HOSPITAL BOARD REFUSES i RATIONS. - | MAYOR GRANTS ASSISTANCE. Having been refused rations by the Benevolent Committee of the Hospital, Board because they were not on their stand-down week, between 300 and 400 relief workers yesterday morning marched from the Hpspital Board offices to the City Council Chambers, where they demanded to see the Mayor (Mr D. G. Sullivan, M.P.), in order to put their case before him. After hearing their spokesman, the Mayor promised to do what he could for the men. The men were still not satisfied, however, and marched off to the offices of the Labour Department to demand an interview with the officer in charge (Mr R. T. Bailey), who received a deputation from them in the afternoon. It was then announced that the Mayor had made a sum of £4O available from his Relief of Distress Fund, and later arrangements were made for the Benevolent Committee to distribute this money this week. In future any relief available for men in their working week will be distributed through the department's office by arrangement between the Mayor and Mr Bailey, and the Benevolent Committee will attend only to those men who are on their stand-down week. The march from the Hospital Board offices in the morning held up the traffic, but was orderly enough, and after the men had filed into the council chamber they waited quietly for the Mayor, appointing as their deputation the secretary of the Unemployment Workers' Union, Mr R. Mac Donald, and two members of the executive, Messrs W. Burney and W. GlanviJle. Mr Mac Donald addressed a few words to the men while waiting for the Mayor. He advised them to conduct themselves quietly. "What we want to do is to get Bailey up here," he said. "If he won't come to see us, we'll go to him." Appeal to the Mayor. When the Mayor had entered, accompanied by Cr. M. E. I.yons, Mr Mac Donald introduced the deputation. Between 1000 and 1500 men, women, and children had been waiting for several hours outside the Hospital Board's offices, he said. The board had told them that no rations could be issued to men who had worked this week. A mass meeting had been held, and the men agreed that they had submitted to this tyranny long enough. If the Hospital Board could not provide rations some one else would have to do so; therefore the men had come to wait on the Mayor, who was the person most likely to be able to help them. They had also asked for the attendance of Mr R. T. Bailey, officer in charge of the Labour Department.

Walling; Hours for Rations. What the men were here now for was food. (Cries of "Hear! Hear!") Many of them had been waiting since 6 o'clock tor two shillings' worth of rations — A voice: And we didn't get them. "We came to you as chief magistrate of the town, and if you can do anything for us—personally I dont think you can—now is your chance to do it," said Mr Mac Donald. The second speaker, Mr W. Burney, said that a deputation had been informed at the Hospital Board's offices that only men who were on a stand down week could be given rations. What the men really wanted was a wage that would free them from the necessity of applying for rations. The action of the men in coming to the Mayor had been spontaneous. They seemed to realise that by coming to him they would get something better done for them than by waiting on the > Hospital Board. The position of women with children waiting at the Hospital Board's offices was dealt with by the third speaker, Mr W. Glanville. Women and children had to stand in congested passageways for hours, he said, and he suggested a delivery of rations to avoid the necessity of this. "We Want Food." "We want food and we want it now," said Mr MacDonaid, closing the deputation. "We are not here to tell you about women and children at the hospital because you are probably aware of it, and that may be the reason for some of your appeals. Can you give us food, now?" The Mayor's Reply. The Mayor, in replying, said that ha had been struggling for two years to try to raise sufficient funds to supple*ment the relief received from the Hospital Board, and to some extent he had been successful. He had made provision for the Hospital Board's rations to the men to be supplemented by grants from his Distress Fund. To bring the wages of the men up to £2 a week with voluntary contributions, would require £200,000. With the utmost endeavour the city had been able to raise £20,000 —only onetenth of the sum required. He realised that the problem could not be met by voluntary relief. While members of the deputation were justified in looking at the problem from their own point of view, he wanted them to try to realise the position of the Mayor, and the problem as it confronted him.

Recently, when the Mayor's Fund had become practically exhausted he had realised that there was nothing for it but to ask the Hospital Board to undertake the distribution of rations. He had put this request by letter and he and Cr. M. E. Lyons }iad then waited on the Benevolent Committee as a deputation. He had been given to understand, over the telephone, that some provision had been made by the board to meet the situation. Apparently this had not been made, and how he was going to meet it this morning he did not know. He wanted each one of the men to think what he would do in such a situation. A voice: I've got a suggestion. There was some uproar from the men in the gallery, and Mr Mac Donald appealed to them to maintain order and give the Mayor a hearing. "It is all right," said Mr Sullivan, "they'll listen to me without an appeal from you, they always have done.'' A Deputation Before Government. The problem, Mr Sullivan said, was too big for any local body to handle, but if the meeting would appoint two representatives to wait on the Government in Wellington, he would see that their expenses were met, and further, he would see that he himself or another member of Parliament were there to help them state their case. The Government was the only body in the country which had the legal power and the money to take effective action. A voice: They're a rotten reed to lean on. "I agree with you that every unemployed man is getting a hard spin," said Mr Sullivan. "It is possible for the Government to start work-for you.

If I am asked what I shall do at this moment I shall say frankly I don't know, but that I shall have to think about it. I can and shall find a vf&y to give you rations for this week-end." He said that he would announce through the newspapers what he intended to do for them. ! Mr Mac Donald rose when the Mayor I had finished. ! "If lam permitted, I would like to ! reply " | "There Is no reply," said the Mayor. I "Sit down, Mr Mac Donald, The deputation has stated its case, I have replied, and that is all. "If you treat me decently, I will give you my sympathy," he said, turning to the gallery. (Applause.) Mr Sullivan, with Mr Lyons, then withdrew. "There is the Eesalt" "There is the result of your deputation to the Mayor," said Mr MacDen{aid, who then addressed the men, "and | you see what he can do for you. I understood you to say you wanted food this morning. (Hear, hear.) There is only one other authority whom we can see." A voice: Bailey will shuffle, too. Having decided to see Mr R. ,T. Bailey, offlcer-in-charge of the Labour Department, the men filed out of the chamber and proceeded to his office. They were told there that he was out, and were informed that he would receive a deputation at 1.45 p.m., if they would leave the premises in the meantime. Deputation to Mr Bailey. The men agreed to this and at a quarter to two a deputation waited on Mr Bailey at the Labour Department offices, while a large body of men gathered in the alley-way outside. The press was not admitted to the conference which followed, but at its conclusion Mr Bailey said the Mayor had agreed to grant £4O from the Mayor's Relief Fund for the relief of the more necessitous cases among the men. The men had asked that this money should be distributed by the Benevolent ComI mittee, since it possessed lists of their names and because some of them had in the morning been given coal and other goods, so that it would not'be fair for these men to receive further aid. , Mr Bailey said that the Mayor and he would call on the committee to try to arrange that this request should be granted. He himself considered it a perfectly reasonable one. He had telephoned to the Unemployment Board in Wellington and placed the whole position before it, he added. a Return to the Hospital.

The crowd of men which had been waiting outside the Labour Department's offices in Worcester street then made its way back to the Hospital Board office to await the outcome of the conference between the Mayor and Mr Bailey and the Benevolent Committee. Here again the press was refused admittance. The conference lasted three-quarters of an hour whilo the men waited in the passage outside .the Benevolent Committee's room and in the hospital courtyard. They were fairly quiet and good-humoured, though towards the end of their wait their patience began to ebb. They began to sing and call out until the chairman of the Hospital Board (Mr H. J. Otley) left the conference and came out to ask them to be patient a little longer. Soon afterwards the members of the deputation which had waited on Mr Bailey were admitted to the conference and the committee's intentions explained to them. The Mayor afterwards told the rePorter of "The Press" who was present that the Benevolent Committee had agreed to handle the distribution of the £4O for this week, and that if those men who applied that morning and who would normally have been granted relief, applied again this morning they would be given assistance. After this week, if anything could be done for them it would, be done through Mr Bailey's office, and the Benevolent Committee would grant ratipns only to men who were undergoing their stand-down week.

CONFERENCE TO BE CALLED. Reporting to the Heathcote County Council last night on the activities of the Metropolitan Relief Association, Cr. W. W. Scarff, the council's representative on the association, stated that steps were being taken by the association to convene a conference for Friday next, with the view of preventing a repetition of what took place yesterday. The idea was to provide

for the consolidation of the efforts of all the relief agencies in the city, as it was not considered fair that the Mayor should be singled out, as he was yesterday, when complaints were made. Representatives of the Christchurch City Council, of the North Canterbury Hospital Board, and of the Metropolitan Relief Association were to be invited to attend the conference.