UNEMPLOYED RELIEF

Evening Post, Volume CXIII, Issue 81, 6 April 1932, Page 3

UNEMPLOYED RELIEF

I ■■ '-• ■■ ■. . ■■■' ■ ■: ' :'■■■;'" '■' ■ ■ ; "Mr. J. S.,Jessep certainly has replied • to his critics, but his reply simply mean 3 ; that the board has ho regard for the con- [ dition under which" the unemployed live," ! writes the-executive of the. Citizens' Na»'• tional 'Movement. The question is not i merely,one of what funds the board has. It is a .question of the welfare,: health, and, ia the.long run, the lives o£ tha people concerned. The bare facts are these: Both ' single and married are not .in.receipt "=oi I sufficient funds to enable them, to live: in i decency. Not enough provision' is made i for their food, none for their clothing, andJ none for their shelter. The winter is com- , ing on, and such conditions will be:tin..j bearable, :-Does .Mr... Jessep. in.his:!h.eart ■- think that human beings—educated ones at j that—will knuckle down'to those condi-' tions?. The question is alsb not one of' whether the workrdone'is productive'or; nbn-proauctive. ; It is vitally "a", question { of what remuneration is given ...for; that i work, will it allow people to live in de-] cency or not? \ The only incentive-to-lab-: our is the reward of labour; therefore the) work done will be commensurate with, the j reward, and when the-rewafS gets below; a certain level ho work will be done at a 11...... Mr. Jessep also states that the ' measure of relief given in' New. .Zealand > is far beyond that granted in any: other British Dominion. . Does Mr. Jessep really ' believe that? .... . . In your sub-editorial i you castigate "those who are now bo busy beating up opposition." Do you realise,1 Sir, that feeling of fed-uprhess" is not being engendered by the man in the street, the Labour. Party, or any'other organisation, it: is "being beateriVtip" by thosa whom you are deliberately attempting to ' justifj', namely, the Government ancl its ■ various Commissions and committees and • boards. Those; are the people, who are > sowing the wind; and they will-reap the whirlwind. : ' ■ To conclude, Sir, the unemployed do not want relief, dole, or charity. That much, is certain. They only want the opportam- i ity to work at a profit to themselves. That is their right as human beings.. Is-, the Government willing to give them this opportunity? . Reference- to Mr. Jessep's . statement i« made also, by J. Donnelly, who claims that a number of men appro3imatejyf equal to the 5000" engaged; on- farms uoger the 4a scheme Have ; been : ' displaced^and. thrown on the.No..s scheme. --The correspondent contends further that: much ot -the work done under'the scheme is-ordinary mainon^ o!*' and aot developmeht, and that 80,000 farmers have engaged only 5000 men because:they do not.like-the scheme. The 4b scheme, which is fair, is-also avoided' because of distaste for.4a> -The correspondent commends Mr. Coates ■ for "th« gleam .of :humahij;y" in.: outlining a plan, to issue ration coupons, to overcome'distress. .' * ' ' -y •' ■-■ ■ : '.-■ -■■■ ■

It is estimated that every day sufficient rain falls upon the early to fill a reservoir 400 miles square to a depth of about 10ft»