LABOUR EXCHANCES.

Dominion, Volume 3, Issue 817, 14 May 1910, Page 7

LABOUR EXCHANCES.

Sir, —In bis policy ■ speech at Winton the Prime Minister foreshadowed the adoption of a scheme of labour ex-, changes to provide work for the unemployed. In Drief, his proposal is to empower the police constable to ast aii a Government labour agent. The experience that wo have had with the political • labour bureaux, established t by a paternal Government, ,to ' provide a haven of rest 'for 'ex-trade secretaries as a reward for political services rendered, does not warrant the optimistic assumption of Sir Joseph Ward. Besides the objection that such a scheme imposes an additional amount of work on the police, which would lead to a neglect of more important duties, there arises the formidable objection that offers no solution of tho unemployed difficulty, and that it cannot in the' slightest degree minimise unemploy- , inoul, foi it is obvious to the most obtuse that any measure that does not increase the demand for labour or reduce the surplus supply of it cannot restrict tho area of unemployment, and is, therefore, absolutely worthless as a remedy for dealing with it. The statistics furnished up to dato by the Imperial Government show that only 3 per cent, of tho applicants registered at the labour exchanges liavo obtained employment. The experiment has also been a complete failure in Germany, where it lias received a fair trial for years. Sir . Joseph Ward , and the two 'Promios of his" Administration, Dr. Findlav and Mi'. Millar, may amuse themselves with these fine-spun theories they are pleased to term "collectivism," but they can do nothing for the worklcss man.—l am, etc., ' F. W. BURKE.