THE UNEMPLOYED.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 264, 31 July 1908, Page 9

THE UNEMPLOYED.

NO RUSH FOR FREE DINNERS. (ill- TEMiGIUrn—TOESS ASSOCIATION.) Cfiristchurch, July 30.. ■ The back of'the unemployed difficulty seems to liavo, been broken. Thoro aro no meet-, ings in the Square, and tho number of applicants for work at'tho Labour Office has gono back to nortnal. This morning twentyone men left for Broken River out of twentytwo who had. been supplied with passes. Tho Department has placed' altogether over ono liiindred men on the Midland Railway works during tho past few weeks. Tho number of twenty-six men out of work at ICaiapoi, according to statements mado, on Tuesday, has been practically reduced'to a cipher. Tho Salvation kopt. "open house • at tho .Barracks in Chester Street .to-day,. the object being to -assist men and women who wero in distress owing to want of omployr ment. _ The intention of Brigadier Albiston and'liii; officers was to give. temporary assistance in tho way of food supply to', those who represented . that they required that help, and to mako. inquiries into tho cases with a view of giving further assistance if necessary. There wasy, however, 110 frenzied rush of applicants for tho free dinners. The callers were mostly women whoso distress was not caused through any lack of employment, but through the inability of. their husbands through ill-health -or .othor cause to 'work. The-oases wore inquired into by.Staff-Captain Simms, who is in chargo of tho Christchurcli Corps. Ho' informed a "Truth" reporter that the cases referred to nbovo wero all that had como imder tho notice o.f tho Army. The people concerned had not beon mingled with the unemployed, but they had come out purely on account "of the offers of assistanco reported in tho newspapers. Their difficulties wore not caused by scarcity of work, and nono of thom were starving.. If thero had been any great amount of distress thoro would havo been: many' more applications for assistanco. Tho Anny did not intend to. continue the experiment' any longer, as tho day's operations showed that thoro was practically no necessity for it.- T'ho :few cases which had boon revealed would bo attended to and necessary assistance given.