MAYOR'S APPEAL FOR UNEMPLOYED

Evening Post, Volume CX, Issue 68, 17 September 1930, Page 12

MAYOR'S APPEAL FOR UNEMPLOYED

VOTED OUT BY "WORKLESS"

The appeal which was made by the Mayor, Mr. G. A. Troup, last evening that citizens should combine to provide either work or funds for the provision of work for the unemployed pending the bringing into operation of the National scheme, was actually voted down by some of the very men who profess to be in direct need of employment. The meeting, thanks to these men, became a farce.

It was expected that there would bo .a large attendance, but. the Council Chamber was almost suspiciously full, and the. reason for the packed, back seats of the chamber is found, without doubt, in &■ circular which was handed about among men seeking work at the Labour Bureau and elsewhere yesterday. It reads:— HOW ABOUT ATTENDING THE MAYOR'S PUBLIC MEETING? How About Demonstrating for Work From the Council. On Tuesday, 16th September, at S p.m., the Mayor of Wellington will hold a public meeting in the Town Hall to discuss ways and means of raising money for relief of unemployment. ' The City Council has plenty of money, it has £40,000 on hand that it refuses to uae to provide work, and can raisie plenty more. This meeting of the Mayor in the Town Hall is being held, not because he wants to raise money for the unemployed, but because he wishes to make political propaganda in his favour. The Unemployed Committee has discussed this question, and has decided that all unemployed and employed workers should attend this function of the Mayor, and demand:— (1) That the money the council has ■ in hand be immediately spent in providing work for the unemployed. . (2) That full trades union rates shall be paid. A meeting of the workless will be held at 229 a. Cuba street, on Tuesday, sth September, at 7 p.m., to discuss -ays and means o£ forcibly presenting A. above demands* to the Mayor.and City Council at the Town Hall to-night. "Attend Meeting and Fight (or Work." The circular bears at the bottom a line "Issued by the ( Unemployed Lorn the manner of those at the "back of the hall it could be gathered At once that their interest m the meetW was, at least, unusual. The body of the hall was filled with citizens, including a number of well-known social workers, clergymen, employers, and substantial citizens who had responded ■to' the appeal in the spirit in which it was made. REASON FOR APPEAL. Mr. Troup expressed pleasure _ that "the attendance was so large, in itself -evidence that there was a real and sympathetic interest in the problem among '•.itizens. After explaining that the major relief work planned, the &ydneyBowen streets connection, upon whicn £18,000 was to be spent, could not be commenced on account of legal formalities Mr. Troup said that the council had'funds sufficient to provide for about 430 men, but unfortunately that did not absorb more than half the men who were out of work. How could the position be more fully met until the Government's national scheme came into operation in two or three months lime? It was thought that a ready response would be made by citizens, as was the case two or three years ago, to an appeal that those who had work to be done should make it available, and that others should subscribe to a fund with which employment could be found, thus freeing the council to some extent of the obligation_ to iinel employment, not that there existed.any legal obligation upon the council, to do so. That the need was very pressing had been borne upon him more particularly during the last week, continued Mt. Troup, and he read three of many letters which he had received from men and women in sad distress. Others had called upon him day after day, ho said, to whom he had been unable to offer any help. The citizens of Wellington, he wa£ sure, would respond to [the a,ppeal and means would be found &* relieving to a great extent many of'those in difficulty. CONTRIBUTIONS ANNOUNCED. That that spirit did exist, said Mr. ftprotipj'was shown by contributions alteady offered. £ s.a. Mayor ......,; 10 0 0 Bishop of Wellington .... 5 0 0 Mrs. E. H. 5 0 0 Anglican Girls' Bible Class 010 0 Self-Help Co-operative-Stores 48 0 0 £68 10 0 The Self-Help employees' contribution, the Mayor explained, was made ilp of regular small weekly amounts lj-pin.- staff members. (Applause.) The City Council, he continued, had n-euently been able to provide funds from other loan sources, and if it had any further funds upon which it could <lra.\v it would certainly do so, and from citizens' contributions, the Government subsidy and such possible amounts from the council it should be possible to tide over a very considerable number of men. "I am satisfied," concluded Mr. •Troup, "that four out of five houseliolders have work which they want done about their places, but don't know how to go about it. A committee could find the right man and have •those jobs well done. This is in no •sense- an appeal for charity; it is an appeal for means to provide work." ■ He then moved that an appeal, as 'suggested should be made to the people of Wellington. Sir John Luke, in seconding the motion, referred to the excellent work which had been done about three years ago by a committee representing various bodies_.and associations competent 1.0 organise the placing of men who ■were in need of work. He agreed that were such a committee set up again very valuable assistance could be given, and that many who could not help in that way would be willing to put their hands in their pockets that work might be provided elsewhere.. OPPOSITION TO AN APPEAL. .. Mr. W. Bromley, representing the grades and Labour Council and the 'Unemployment Committee, said that the Mayor was to be congratulated upon sailing the meeting and making the appeal, but he thought that the means proposed would not bring about sufficiently speedy relief. No one knew more than he how serious the position was. While in no way desiring to ilecry the' Mayor's proposal he wished to move an amendment: That this meeting of citizens and ratepayers, recognising the urgent used of assistance being given the unemployed in the form of employ- ■ ment and with this object in view makes the following recommendations to the- City Council: —

been provided be started immediate'

(2) That the council instruct its engineering staff to prepare plans without delay for as many of the most urgent works waiting to be undertaken as will absorb the men who are residents of Wellington and are unemployed. (3) That these works be undertaken without delay, as the plans are prepared. (4) That the cost of as many of these jobs as cannot bo met from present revenue plus the Government subsidy be financed from a special rate of on© farthing in £1 on the unimproved value of the city. Mr. Bromley referred to recent discussions between the Mayor and deputations, and also at the City Council table when it was shown that of £40,000 authorised only £4000 had been spent, and said that it was of no assistance to the unemployed to raise money without spending it. To-day not a single man was on the Sydney-Bowen street job. The first objective should be to set under way works which had already been authorised. Even when all such works had been commenced there would still be a large number of men not provided for, and it was for that reason that he suggested that the engineer should be instructed to prepare plans for other urgent works. One farthing in the pound would not hurt the citizens of. Wellington nearly so much as had the contributions made by the employees of the Self-Help. It would provide something like £23,000, which, with the Government subsidy, would make possible the employment of all those who were out of work till summer came round and there %vas an opportunity of seeing how the Government's scheme would work. Personally, he was not nearly so optimistic as the Mayor that in two or three months the difficulty would be removed by the Government scheme. "I appreciate the appeal," concluded Mr. Bromley, "but I think that it will not meet the bill; it is too slow." COUNCIL BOUND BY LAW. The City Council was bound by law as to what it could and could not do, replied the Mayor. "The council cannot at this time of the year start imposing different rates. The rates have already been struck for the year, and the council has to square its balance sheet. It has no power to strike any additional farthing in the pound rate — I thought Mr. Bromley would have known that. He has stated that the works should be started immediately, but the council works under 3tatute law, it is bound hand and foot, and cannot depart from it; it is not free to act as is a private individual or employer.' * In the case of the Sydney street work, said Mr. Troup, it was necessary that certain land should be taken under the Public Works Act before the work could be commenced. Before that land could be taken the approval of the Survey Department had to be obtained. When that approval had been given the facts had to be notified by advertisement for thirty days, and another thirty days had to elapse before the council could issue a proclamation. There were three months before a pick could be put on to the job. A voice from the body of the hall: "Why not break the law?" That was all very well for those who were not in the position of responsibility, replied Mr. Troup, but those who were know that the law could not be broken in that manner. (Interjections and calls from the back of the chamber.) ONLY, MEANS OP IMMEDIATE RELIEF. Actually,, continued Mr. Troup, the nieans which ho had proposed were the only means by which immediate relief could be given those needing work. As soon as, say, a thousand pounds had been subscribed the council could set men at work immediately, and the Government subsidy would be granted as a matter of course. 3?rom the back of the hall: "And what will you do if you don't get your thousand 3" Mr. Troup: "If you start away in that hopeless sort of spirit you won't; but we're not starting away in that fashion. lam confident that much more than a thousand pounds will be readily subscribed." There were further interjections, prompting Mr. Troup to remark: "If the .meeting does not desire an appeal to be made, and does not wish funds raised, all well and good." Mr. Bromley's amendment he had to rule out of order, as the proposals were impossible of achievement. Mr. Bromley objected that only the first suggestion had been, challenged. The other clauses were worthy of consideration. He alleged a failure.o£ the council to employ additional men as promised. The council was pushing all possible works ahead, said Mr. Troup. Another hundred men had been put on recently, making 429 last week, and probably more at the present time. STRAIGHT OUT OPPOSITION. It was at this stage that tho straightout opposition from those at the back of the hall—not of the labour organisations represented by Mr. Bromley, who sat near the council table—began to manifest itself as such. "Does it mean," asked one man, "that we have been invited here as citizens to discuss ways and means of relieving unemployment and now are not going to be allowed to express ourselves?" The meeting was called for an express purpose, to consider the making of an appeal, replied Mr. Troup. That was the motion before the meeting. There was a confusion of interjections and shouting that the figures of men employed on council relief works were false. "The figures are not false, and I will allow no man to say so," replied Mr. Troup. "They arc oflicial figures supplied by a council officer. I will not allow you to impugn the integrity of tho council's officers. Ido not believe that they havo supplied me with false returns. '' Where were the additional hundred men engaged from? came from the back of the hall. Prom the Labour Bureau, said Mr. Troup. That was wrong-, said half a dozen voices. Only a small number had been engaged through tho bureau. The council, said the Mayor, had nothing to do with the oflieers at the Labour Bureau: his understanding was that the men had been engaged through the bureau. There was more noise and shouting from the back scats. Did the meeting want am appeal or

'(1) That all those works already ixppioyed. and for which. finance has

not? asked Mr. Troup. He put the niO' tion that an appeal should bo made.

The "workless" called for a show of hands. A count was made and Mr. Troup declared tho motion lost, 43 votes for and 59 against.

There were considerably more than 102 in the chamber. Some at any rate could not make up their minds to the point of voting out a nieans by which work could be found for those in need of it.

"If this farce represents tho spirit and feeling of the sano and worth-while people of Wellington, and tho wishes of the genuinely unemployed," remarked a city councillor to the "Post" reporter after the meeting, "then there can be no appeal. But does it?"