WANTED-WORK!

Dominion, Volume 2, Issue 517, 26 May 1909, Page 8

WANTED-WORK!

SERIOUS OUTLOOK. i THE UNEMPLOYED IN WELLINGTON. , / : - BUILDING SLUMP. >■ The unemployed—genuinely unemployed-— - : are with .us; and winter is at hand. The . authorities have not yet shown that they re- , aliso tho seriousness of. the present situation in ' Wellington, Building, compared with >: what 1 it was, has almost ceased in Wellington. 'Therb are a few buildings being erected still—a trifling percentage of what was tho case at this time two. years, or even a year, 1 ago.. Consequently,"the carpenter and ,sawmiller,' the bricklayer, and lirickmaker, tho .' laDourer; the plumber, and the hundred and | : one sub-trades that depend on them have >: fallen upon evil days. On'the 1 other hand, :■• the financial stringency has lessened the pur-'. |. chasing power of the people, the orders for ; imported goods hare dropped away, lessening '• the quantity of-cargo to be handled and tho ' number of the idle on and. about; the wharves' . is: alarming. It is no use blinking tho facts; the inquiries oiir representatives made a few .-'' days, ago, coupled with visits made to the ;'. homes-of the. honest, poor, .were: convincing .- enoughs This vory'.sorious-' position—much ;: more/' serious in Wellington .than in other :.' cities—was. confirmed by' further inquiries made yesterday, in which an endeavour was j- made to gain notions as to how the situation was to. be. mot. ; : .'....,. ' 'k ...") .Soup for the Hungry. Many fat and comfortable citizenß will probably be surprised and perhaps inter- ; ested/to learn that morning and evening freo ; soup iis being . ladled; out to the : penniless • hungry in Wellington. This good silent work' is,:being carried on'by .the. Rev. 'Mother v Joseph Aubert and,her: Little Sisters of the Poor.at iheir.home in Buckle Street:' This ■gome—identified from other residences in the' vicinity by a,small plato on the gate and a ~ i few pathetic figiiiwof old men. seated about the; verandah—is situated-. next,' to St, Joseph's Church, and it is at the rear of the • sacred/edifice that';-the hungry find a small : picket .'gate that "admits'to a small,-.-barely-' • furnished room, which' has-a slide opening into aV, capacious; kitchen. ;■'.. There the food'. Sisters -'..'are' „ always-/.busy. ■';■'■ They ave/tb'bo up ..betimes, as / the'/soup. '.' ,must'be,ready, at VT.ilO. a.m., /.and , empty. : stomachs cannot, bo'/kept;, waiting. "In conversation with oiir representative, one: of the Sisters stated that..tho distress was evidently' more acute, this than iii past winters, as tho ; number .of ,soupK!allors had increased..:' Not . so/many, called;'in. the evening,as.tho'morn-ing.-;'She,'did; ,nqt know;, why it was,, but that, was so.'/ How■ many came on an aver-; - agei l ;- ;Ph,''abbut,-,,30, sometimes more, arid' :■ .sometimes less. But' she did not measure tho distress ;by 'the/numbers ..who' came for soap. ;.She' was; more convinced of its' ex- : -.istonce through 'the/numbers that came to the, Heme asting for bread and' elothes,moro now .than'ever'before/ ,/- ; . , - ;/ / "And .the heart-breaking.let- , ters 'we 'get;, usuallyj, brought by children, asking, in mercy's "name, for food and" something to wear,, are'/ferrible. ■ 'One or two to publish?—oh, no, 'I'm sure the Rev. Mother would, object. ; .; There- was' one case' in; which a;man—-a 'consumptive—left'',,the .•hospital,; ' and the next day his. wife was taken,there. Their two' children were also sick, and followed -their/mother-into.' the. hospital, there • :was,no, one; tb./lobk' : ;after.'the six-weeks-old babyV.'-Sb they'communicated with' the Rev., ' ;M6ther. .The baby is 'now at the. Island-Bay,' home, ;// ?i ;';/./ ■'■::■ './/',:■/; ■'■■■ '///;/ , ':■■■ :'l .'-"There'.was-another;case—of, a young;man' —a'line, strong ; fellow.',You could see hy his/hands ./that he was not afraid of work. He had tried, everywhere to get.work, and /absolutely, could, not; get it.; He .'came, to us when down to his last .shilling, and I' gave /him-some'clothes: -.-;He said, they would nut: .fitr-and I—well, I told him to pawn them.!'• The;good: Sister blushed as. she' admitted' this:. ; actipn—one .thattcpuld only be dictated, by/a heart;of:gold. ■/•./ -■'• ,-'/;:: ._ > -■:''.,-■-',-> Rush for Cheap BedsJ ;;■ The...officer' in .'charge . of'' the Salvation Army, Shelter was away; .'/ A ■'■' sweet-faced Lass answered-the inquiries made. 'She'said, that all the / cheaper . beds -were -filled. every: night--therp '.wore- never many-:empty beds in the/winter. '-What sho had noticed/ this winter, was',the abnormal 'number of men' who could not offer anything ,at all for. beds; or meals,-.and the large number who camb with notes from citizens/ giving bond for tho payment/of /shelter accorded. / Sho. knew there .'was; a -good deal, of distress ■ present /'iii' tbp city,.but' gave the idca'that the subject was; too ugly -for her, to expand/upon. Al! 'one/learned 'was that the . "sixpenny; doss" 1 .-'was "turning money away/' so to: 1/speak:. ///:.:,.':..;'/ .... ./ " - !■/■ ■//Applications for Reiiof. "It's pretty "bad," observed "Mr. A. 8... Truebridgo, secretary ' to - / tho'. Wellington Bonbvolont'lnstitution,, when asked ;for s some ! information on tho : subject./. Ho. reached for the record book, wherein are entered the. names and particulars of applicants for relief./ "Last year," ho saidjTis, he turned over . the'.loaves, "the number, of'applicants' who ascribed/their- straitened crcumsfcance's to lack; of. employment totalled 61. Now, take" this year--April to May, for example. Lack of employment accounted for 16 applications. Fifteen'of thb'so were able-bodied, men, willand cbmpetent'to.work. The "other waa' classified ''as /'inefficient:'; Most. of c-them ■ were of the labouring :class, and nearly "all wero married men.. .'■ In the corresponding period/of last year/therb were/ ho cases of distress -on account- 1 of . unemployment; Roughly, I'shbnld-say that-.thero.is -an:lncrease in the ranks' of the unemployed in' the' proportion /of 2J times. / Onehor./ two. of• the recent cases were new arrivals from the Old. Country, j but most of thorn have been .some years here—one man- has: been 30 years: in- New Zealand—and the, majority, belong/to.Wellington."'...:" : ~ v .-'.'•■.' / / / Tha Mayor's Views. ■'■ \ When"' approached -on the unemployment question, tho,Mayor (Dr. A: K. Newman) said he was ".astonished-during the short period ho/had .been in office to find what a vory largo number of men wore out of work, many of them having families dependent, upon them, and: ho had been busying himself actively, with a view of coping with the posl-' Hon.K-Iho': passing of tho: Wadestbwn and' Northland water supply proposals w.ould give employment to/a few men in building the reservoir,, and the:, council had also agreed'.to orect shelter sheds for. tramway passengers at the G.1'.0. -and -the Government ■ station. In/addition to', that' a large number of men wore, being employed on works' paid for out of loan moneys chiefly,, and a road was being constructed from Brooklyn through Happy Valley to tho sea, whioh would give employment to a certain number. Tho corporation was. employing through its contractors a large numbor of hands at the new Wainui'-b-mata, and at building tho abattoirs oat of loan, and a number of men were engaged on drainage work, also out of,loan,, so it would beseen that tho corporation /.was,.doing a great- deal to: meet tho'demand for, employment. , -In particular, tho-Mayor found that thore was.,tho greatest difficulty in finding' any work for.thoso who desired light jobs, and especially clerical work. Tho corporation had practically, no demand for the latter, except atraro intervals, for anyone outside tho permanent staff. /'■'. .:' '•".-■. . There wero; continued tho Mayor, enormous numbers of men who; desired employment on tho tramways, hosts of applications haying.been sent in,"but as no. extensions'of tlio system, "were. b,qi|lg opened, the outlook in this direction was not verv bright. ' It was probable that tho City Council would do something in the' way of tree-plainting,' which would absorb "a number of men for a time. Tho Mayor regrets tho invalidity of the-Wadostowii tramway poll, as otherwise many,inen'oould have been employed on formation; .work.,' .'As matters stood, >it would take two months' at least before all the conditions required by law for tho holding of tho now poll could bb fulfilled. If the case becomes "more, acute, and tho work to be done by the Harbour Board and the City Council does not snffico, something further .will; havo/to bo done, becauso there are at,least'threb months more of winter to bo faced. /Tho Mayor is considering'what stops shall be taken in order to cope with tho difficulty. .' ;-.'.':,'■.'.- ■'..--..'■'

Says Mr. Hogg. "I am not aware that there has been any great trouble with tho workers," said the Hon. A. W. Hogg, Minister for Labour, when interviewed on the unemployed question. ..-. . My own impression has been that the Labour market has brightened up a bit. The unfortunate faot_ is that, when works which cannot be satisfactorily prosecuted in winter . have to be stopped for a short season, there is always a tendency for the men, both single and married, to drift into the towns. -■ • ■ As to -elief works, they havo never been thought of, either by tho Department or anyi body else. I consider that, in'a young coun- . try like this, whero there is so much useful ; work to bo done, no should be made, ( either by relief works or in any. other way, to reduce the workers' wages. I am determined j that suoh a thing, as.far as lam concerned, 1 shall novcr be allowed to happen." '■■>' 1 The Minster for Labour having spoken, the p Secretary for Labour declined to do so—for • publication. ... - ' Labour on Its Minister. ( "What's tho use of Mr. Hogg talking liko . that," said Mr. M. J. Reardon, secretary, to . the General Labourers' Union, when ap- . proached regarding the Minister's statement, i ''.Why, here is a letterl have received from I his own .town—Masterton—bearing last SaturI day's date, stating that 21 men. have been ■ put off the borough council's staff, and'five , more have.been given;a week's notice. 'No ; great trouble'l—look, here, is another letter t (produced) stating that at Whangamomona • there is a camp of 100 men' recently dismissed i from co-operative work up that way, and now > waiting on the ' off-chance of .' getting . bush - felling contracts to- see them through the winter. 'No trouble'—when membership of my union drops from 900 to 200 in a few months! . I think it shows there is a good deal of trouble, and.if he were to , spend a day here he would soon' be convinced i that there was trouble. "I know of a case where some men were, > sent from ■Wellington to co-operative work- ■ in _ the country, and • were. dismissed after , being employed three days.; Out of their money for that period was deducted 9s. lOd. ' railway fare and 3s. 6d; for a shovel." ' : .. Mr. Reardon is of opinion that the Government or. Harbour Board, .or both, ■ should do something to provide work right away. In respect to the board, ho remarked that it might'get ahead at oboe with the work it has to perform under agreement with the Miramar Borough Council—the lowering and widening ;■ of tho road between Miramar cutting and the city boundary. .''■■-' /. ■■' ; ■•■" . ',- •' ■.'"■'"''' ''.'- '' ..' Another View. ." Mr.; Carey, another Trades, Councillor, ex- , pressed the view that work should be provided at once to-alleviate' the distress.that, existed. " When I say. work, .1 don't mean relief - work; .1 mean, work at fair wages. There are several big jobs 'in the air'that will-have! to; begone on- with a few weeks : later. "Why hot now? There's the General Post .Office, the now Governor's; residence, new House of Parliament, any one of which'; would give employment' to a couple of hun-, dred men. There aro other works,- too, that 1 must be prosecuted, suoh as tho reclamation works l between Kaiwarra and the Thorndon .Esplanade. If it'sa good thingto do, why, not do ;it c while the labour is available ? "I,learn that nineteen men have been paid' off on the Island Bay drainage works. '• - The reason . given ; is shortage of pipes. Three carters and six navvies have been dismissed from; the Solomon's Knob dam contract, owing to trouble_ with the river or something. There is a panic for putting' men off, but nothing is being done to put men on. , ;'..(>- "Saw-a keeper of a registry-office just now. She said that Mrs. -—had asked her ; to'get' some workfor her.'. Tho job-finder said she could do nothing—she already, had forty odd women on her books waiting-' for charing work. . .They were not''regulars, 1 but had been forced to do it owing to their -husbands being out of work." .'■■■■ . ~ ■ '". '. ' '-..'■ ./■ ' ■: \. .■' stratford co-operative works. ; . ;, 'a complaint!. ■■'. (By a Contbibuiob.) The Minister for Labour, and other; mem-', bers of'the Cabinet are .: constantly assuring the country; that there are practically no'unemployed'in.the Dominion; They take credit to themselves for ( this fortunate state of affairs. . The Minister for Labour, for: instance, declared a shortVbilo since, that any man who was willing to use a pick ana shover could secure employment at tho Labour Bureau. It' was practically an admission that work was, scarce throughout the country, and an inference that the Government' wero determined ,to grapple with the pro-' blom. 'Thus for some time men, clamouring, for employment in the centres, have, been shunted off to the works in •■ various parte of.tho country.: But onceHhey aro got rid of in this fashion a paternal Go- i vernment is satisfied. Their subsequent-fate-is 'amattor of small-moment.'.; The-following facts indicate this. ;'•.. ■ ■ . '.■"■'•''.■■• ."■'' Numbers of men wore for some weeks sent : out of Wellington and almost' every town in the southern part of the. North Island to tho Stratfbrd-Ongaruho line, now 'in- course of . construction; These men 'were, m almost every instance, penniless. The Government ' advanced the railway fares, and to secure ac- ' commodation. they had ;to give orders on ' their : first pays,' On arrival at the 'works ] they had to sign more orders up to,£3.re- j spectively to the storekeepers and boardinghouse keepers. Board costs ,16s. per week', i A man would, therefore, bo. vory ,fortunate < if, at the'ond of the first month s work, >ho could clear himself; ■'..;■■.',' '■;.■' , \ There are some seven hundred men on this line. For the last few weeks a certain num- ■ ber have been "sacked"' every week. Men j who havo just come from Wellington rand ' havo had a fortnight or ten days' work are suddenly informed that they are wanted no . longer. ■". In many cases these men have gone to tho expense of providing.a camping, outfit, and tnoy have had no chance whatever of clearing off tho. "dead horse" they have incurred under the impression that they would at least havo work to; last them for the winter.. A gang.is at work when one of the innumerable qfficials of the system J an overseer"or timekeeper or some other dignitary,; comes 1 along and reads out ten.ora dozen names. B He condoles with these individuals, but in- ? forms, them th'ey must go into Stratford;in the morning, where they will be. paid off. i Stratford is some thirty; miles distant. The j men have'to hump, their swags some ten f miles. . Then, if they have luck, they . may v catch a ballast train for Huiroa; tho present 1 terminus. Otherwise they must traverse an c additional six or seven miles. One© at Huiroa they must" demand their fare to Strat- ? ford,; and this,'of course; is carefully de-' j ducted from wages due. '. -'■' T ; On arrival in Stratford, usually a Friday, v they are told that they cannot be paid until c the following Monday. ■ Thus, even if they 1 have a few' shillings coming, they are ox- n ponded.by.the time the men are paid. Sev- ' oral of the men thus treated recently were * absolutely stranded in Stratford, and de- ? manded their fares to Wellington from the „ Charitable Aid Board. : ' r The men wlioi have gone through this or- c deal are naturally inquiring why they were o sent to the works at. all, if they are given, no b ohanco to make anything. They would pre- s fer to remain in the city, and await their op- 3' portnnity., Were a private employer to dispense with the sorvices of his employees he " would at least bo obliged to pay the men off f at once, or they conld claim compensation for „ the time lost. Men sent from -the towns a havo for the last few weeks been sent back c considerably in debt. It is no question of b unsuitabilitv for tho work, as the men are a selected indiscriminately, with tho exception 6I that married men havo the preference. . '<