A BEGGING PROCESSION.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 259, 25 July 1908, Page 11

A BEGGING PROCESSION.

WANING PUBLIC* SYMPATHY. '' (BT XELEGKAPn.—SPECIArj : correspondent) ' Christchurch, July 24. To-day the proceedings; in connection with the unemployed agitation should-bring about its speedy collapse. Even tho men who have for the past week liiuig round the mob orators, constituting themselves"the.' leaders' of " the movement, seem to have'.'been' ashamed of the_ turn events had 'taken."','A resolution had been passed at a meeting that the cadging tactics advocated by a speaker during the early days 6f the. agitation should bo put into operation, and'arrangements were supposed to. havo been 1 made for a begging procession to start from'' 'Cathedral Square at 11 a.m. However, at'the appointed time neither tho spring cart "intended to hold' tho proceeds of the canvasS' '«6r "tho equally iiecossary banner wore in .'evidence, and it was' not until _ after mid-day that 'arrangements, were completed, the crowd being harangued'ih th© meantime. AYhon I 'the*.'timfc caino to make ,a start with the' cadging campaign the unemployed did not race over each other in _their anxiety to get' between, the shafts of tho cart. A 'banner depicting warships flying the Americ£n/flag and'- bearmg tho device "Feed us before. th<j fleet" ivas displayed from tho cart."' When the procession moved away from tho'.'square''there were about, four or'five men'in the shafts! and two banner bearers'in-tho''cart The small procession headed up" Colombo Street; Most of the crowd ostentatiously disassociated itself from the demonstration', '.'and •small boys followed up with 'advice tO'.:thp .unemployed to "get work." /A' halt was made while the canvassers made a 'call at a', small refreshment shop. ' They emerged empty! Another leader( there are about half a dozen) then got into tho cart, and in impassioned language appealed to the unemployed who were sheltering among tho; "crowd' not to 'be ashamed of condition, but come forward and advertise their causes -There -was " a response from a small group, but even' this j kept fading away as the cart moved on. A few calls wore' made oh tho I way back to. the Square, but tho riot result seemed to be contained in a .small canvas bag. | In front of' tho Cathedral a further appeal was made for more tangible evidence of the existence of the unemployed. An old gentle-' man created, a diversion by offering work for 1 six men. at Bs. a day afrgorse cutting. Tho six men were selected, and promptly led oif. The crowd was still following'the display with ' obvious amusement. An appeal was made for' volunteers to canvass, but there was no visible response. There were only half a dozen men presumably unemployed following the cart, and the humour of- tho ■ proceeding seemed at last to'strike even- some of'the supporters of the scheme. A conferenco was held on tho side of tho road. " One young man loudly proclaimed that the procession was' mailing a fool of the cause, and that tho public were laughing at theni.' Another'request was made to the.invisible unemployed to reveal themselves, and tho inarch was continued. - Tho canvassers were still doing the calls, but thero was very little to show, for their labours. At one butchery, however, tho canvassers made a good haul," receiving two largo legs of mutton, a,.huge round-of beef,' and so forth. Tho procession continued to meet with varying success at tho various places called at. In view "of tho statement by tho inspector of factories that no persou who had applied at the labour, bureau had been refused work, there is very little public svnipathy with the alleged unemployed. It is obvious that a number of the men don't want work. Eight of those who .wore given, orders for railway tickets, so that they might go to railway works yesterday,. failed to present themselves. Some of the men. when asked why tliey did not go to Broken River said that they could not hope to make a: living in competition with experienced navvies. That the.v considered a sufficient reply to a suggestion that half a loaf was'better than no Jjread..