STRAIGHT TALK

Evening Post, Volume CXI, Issue 93, 21 April 1931, Page 10

STRAIGHT TALK

FARM COLONY IDEA

"ENCOURAGING BEGGARS"

NAPIER XEEDS LABOUR

Mrs. Preston, one of the Civic Leagua candidates for the Hospital Board, speaking at iMoniington last evening, expressed very decided opinions in regard to the present policy of handling the unemployed. The manner in which the workless were being treated, sha said, was in the direction of encouraging beggars and demoralising young men. Mrs. Preston spoke particularly of social welfare work under the Hospital Board. She did not think it was right that the board should be saddled with the problem of the fit. unemployed, and she had been pleased to see that tha Salvation Army authorities had .advocated the establishment of ' farm colonies for the unemployed, which she herself advocated- four years ago, not only to meet the need of the averaga unemployed, but particularly to meet the case of C 3 men, who were quita unfit to undertake tie usual . relief work, and so were left stranded and called upon the Hospital Board for aid. WOEK FOE, HUNDEEDS. "During the Easter, holidays I mada a .flying visit to Napier," said Mrs. Preston, "and there I realised that public money is being used and that there is work up there for hundreds of men in putting homes and roads ia order again to allow all that country to get back into productiveness, and yet Napier says, 'No, this work is for our own men.' Is that right?■ By what right does Napier say that no. outsider shall do the work? You and. I and everyone in the country are contributors towards the relief of the. sufferers, but our men are not allowed to go lip and do the work. that is waiting to be done. .".■'■<■■..■ : "Are we using our money to the best advantage?" continued Mrs. Preston. "If we were our hospital rates would be lower, and we should not have the enormous problem of unemployment. I feel that while we have this sort of thing going on, anr} we have people coming on to our board for-relief and not being given useful and productive work to do, the morale of the.peopla is being undermined." THEY COME TO DEMAND. On their first call on the board fof. assistance, said Mrs. Preston, applicants were diffident and shy; on the second and third calls they, were less diffident; and on the fourth they cania to.demand, and, what was more, many' of the men refused to do the work thai; was..required of them in return for tha assistance given, and became • permanent loafers. , ' . "Those men have families growing up as-dependants on the city," said Mrs. Preston, "and what we are doing is to, raise a race of beggars. . I am using strong terms, but I think it is necessary to use strong terms . under the circumstances, and as long as wa have men here with.no work to. dp wa are going to have. begging, and demoralisation. My contention .is, that they should be put on to farm, colonies under,proper supervision, and be made to work. I don't hold with people who want everything for "nothing at the .city's expense, and as longas I ant taking any part in public life I ani going to advocate a system which will require useful. work to be done. It is going to take a strong man.to put things on a proper basis. We. want a. super-man." ■ . ■ • .. Hlrs. Preston added that a great deal of the. work which was, offered by the City Council, such • as ■■ gorse-grubbing, was an .absolute waste, of energy and. money. , Councillor W. J. Gaudiu, speaking later1 in.the evening, agreed with Mrs. Preston that much .of the .labour- wa« ' ■absolutely wasted, energy, but .the trouble was to find suitable employment at short notice;. Certainly, even' such work as grass-cutting was bettef than paying sustenance, for everybody; knew the bad effects of the- dole :iu England. ;A young country , like. NewZealand should not bring up a race of young men who did not want to work but preferred to live on the generosity, of others. "Mr. T. C. A: Hislop said he considered the1- farm colony scheme' vyorthy; of the imosfc: careful consideration. The scheme had so far. been little discussed in; New Zealand, but had been, carried through to great success in,other countries. . Ho sincerely hoped that careful consideration would be given to • sucll a scheme for application to New: Zealand. ■ ■ . ■ < ■ . - .