UNEMPLOYMENT AND HOW TO RELIEVE IT.

Dominion, Volume 2, Issue 280, 7 August 1909, Page 10

UNEMPLOYMENT AND HOW TO RELIEVE IT.

. Sir,—Kindly allow me a shorti.spacoV-.'to place before your readers a scheiiie.whieh,l think _will;.,bear' looking into,.;'and:,is."..'ouo:. which' should bo tho means,.,if 'adopted.on a largo' scale,' of_fii>ttluig. this 'difficult! -problem', '■of 'unemployment, -'.while' i/hc .\sb^nc]nessY'; o £ tho .'fiiianciai; priucipli?;it'.'roE , ts' upon.,is ber' yond nil 'dispute,'■ whioli'-'is more'.' said of,t'ho/borrowing .policy/now.'bpj.ngi.p'iir.--' sued by those .who are; conducting, the, !af--fairs of;tin's, country.- 'All. must'.agr.qe; V',l,. think, off! this point, 'viz;,'that it iij of the, : utmost.. to':get every, •'i'aerjb'. .of. Crowii'and all available Native ..lands" taken;, up'. aiid : made productive, ', as ;quickly r;as.',possible. ' As tilings stand' npiv, the .burden ,'of' meeting tho vast suni..this country..';'!paya, away annually by way of iiitorest.'.to/tli'o.Bn-, tislr.boridlfolder has. ■t» i 1 are'atiiow. producing wealth. "• Increase-'iliis; area,', and with; it the. .total,, production 1 ,'of ivciilth, 'and you lighten, the burden each in-" h dividual in the community lias,'to bear,,provided i you' can carry it out. without incrensj,ihg''ortr,'indebtedness, and tho already largo' .'aunii'aVbill. for interest.thereon. ■'' -.-'v. :'','; '.-;. i M'To'dp; this I. suggest the following, plan:—, block of;' Crown .land now ly-, ■JihgMdlo; for want of ■access,,'iind open, tliis 'up '■tb, settlement.-by'running.'a, good maiir.roau and branches right through, it,' metalled,and . 'cpmploto,;fo,r let vs sayi.thc'sum of '£20,000,. an'd instead of borrowing' this' amount 1 'ill tho : usual idiotic manner,, let us try, achange for' once—the Stato or! people's notes, instead ;bf. thoso of;tho banks. Thwo..ri,otos.shall, rest on tbe, : safest,of all bases,' viz.,".'. wealth,' 'which is extracted from our soil, and'i not on; ; the 'fictitious one,of,an.'amount;, of 'go)d-held' in reserve to; meet.them.'- , They' 'Ayduld'.be made legal tender,'have, tho: so-.,-cunty'.qf t]io' State at the back' !of them, and, ;fbr every' one' paid'ayay work for. a /'similar,. ; ..amount would oe l given to.tho.Stato in. ex-, chance. /.'Every note in .'circulation ''then',. would represent so imieh,'work . performed,,, and indirectly so. much! i Wealth . extracted ■ from tho land, but in order to.fully satisfy ' tho ; demands ,of tho "Fat I 'Man",.for. thobafe-,' .guarding, of ..tho interests' of!' his' poorer. . brethren we will call in the'whole of these, notes-from circulation two and a half years ' ;after starting'them on. their .useful .mission," . thus leaving tlio, currency, exactly as wp' . .found it ; beforc issuing* them., '-.-'" , , ; The cost ofnia|<ing this.road' I put down .' at'£s pei' chain, or'£4oo'per niile,"and'each • ; mile will give access 'to ; J2BQ acres, 640 'on ; each side of'the road, The market' yaliio for tho, land now Voaded!'is, ; say, £5 .per .'acre,;' ; but wo will.not takb this, for .it,. but £ivo! a ' perpetual lease .at an annual rental of.'2sV Gel. per aero for'tho' first 'five years, subject to a revaluation' at the'end of that.term,!and every improvement which ,caii bo', traced to , the energy or capital .of tlio tenant to hodeduced from that valuation before; fixing tlio hew rental.; The sairio conditions' ; to bo observed as at .present ill balloting., foi', and taking up,-'Crownlands.'Now,- with fcl(o'rents from i these lands' wo wilt rodcenv tho notes put into circulation in opening tlieiii up. ' ' Cost of road, '£400 per mile; 'opening up 1280' acres at £2 10s.- 'per aero,' gives' us a total of £3200; at 5 per cent, yields £160 per annum per mile, which, will pay off the cost of construction in. 2J "years. These figures' ■ can bo varied in -any; way without, affecting the principle I am,advocating.' By this simplo'method'wo have 6aved interest pn' tlio £20.000 at 4'per cent.rper. annum—£Boo; ■ found work'for" tho'unemployed'in reading, buslifclling, grassing, and. fencing the land, and opened up a large block of-now country for tho production 'of wealth.";This -.being "-'an undertaking for tlio benefit of; tlio'people asa whole,' no provision' has' been' made here for, either the land speculator.or the "Fat Man." Who is it that > keep's warning tho peojjlo of the danger of using'. their -own notes P It is self-interest and ; greed. Hearken to it not.—l am, etc:,' : '■'"■'' ' •'■■'-' ,- ■<y- ,-;« A. WHITING;: Higlibury Fajfm, Maxton,'Aucust. 8. - "