LINES OF INQUIRY

Evening Post, Volume CXVI, Issue 103, 28 October 1933, Page 8

LINES OF INQUIRY

After acknowledging the difficulties confronting the Unemployment Board the New Zealand Employers' Federation stated in its annual report: "At the same time we think it necessary to point out that nothing is being done to assist in bringing about anything in the nature of a solution of the problem." Later the report referred to the "ghastly farce" of relief works in the vicinity of the cities, and suggested: There must be some means by which these unfortunate men can (1) be trained, and brought to a state of physical fitness; (2) taught how to perform some work of uso to the community; (3) put to work in some useful capacity. Unfortunately, it is not easy to suggest the means. The federation's own suggestion is a modified Public Works policy to provide assets for the country with finance by internal loans. Roading apart from main highways and water and drainage for small towns are mentioned. Already, however, the Government is giving attention to roading, and such work, away from the centres, means camps. Removal, of married men with families to camps involves either additional payment (to cover the cost of separation) or hardship. This applies also to drainage and water supply works in small towns unless the schemes can be carried out with local labour, as in Eastbourne. Probably the Unemployment Board would be willing to consider other schemes similar to that o£ Eastbourne if the local bodies contributed their quota of the cost; but it is doubtful if it should bear the whole cost of labour, plant, material, and supervision. If we look elsewhere for works that will really be assets in the future there is no certain assurance of an adequate return. That is why new railway construction was stopped. Money, was being used to create probable embarrassing liabilities. Even if work near the towns is a "ghastly farce"' —and we do not consider the description accurate —the construction of a railway on which the prospective return after a few years is from the sale of scrap-iron is equally farcical. A more valuable part of the federation's report is that which suggested the constitution of a research committee to study how the thousands of unemployed may be converted into useful productive citizens. In the paragraph we have already quoted the proposal of training for useful occupations suggests a line for study. Voluntary training centres, especially for youths, have been under consideration in England, and some useful work has been done with them. There are difficulties, of course. Skilled tradesmen who cannot find work at their own occupations will not approve the training of others who may be their competitors in the future, and even modest equipment for training purposes will involve expenditure. But there is this much to be said for the plan: it will break the monotony of idle days and enable every worker to add something to his equipment, even though the skill and knowledge he acquires may be useful only about his own home. It will ease, in a measure, the settlement of unemployment questions in the future, for it is generally accepted that it is easier to place men when they can turn their hands to more than one trade. Further it will be a safeguard against a shortage of skilled labour following a long period of oversupply. Work is not being clone now. even work which could be done. When a little prosperity and a little confidence are again in evidence there is a possibility-that many who have been holding back will rush in to

gether to catch the low prices. And few new tradesmen are being trained. This hesitation in undertaking works which would be of value to the community now lias had the serious consideration of the Unemployment Board. From that consideration came the building subsidy scheme which should be acknowledged as at least an attempt "to assist in bringing about anything in the nature of a solution." The federation criticised this as an offer of a bait to people who could afford to have work done; but is not a bait, more correctly, a stimulus,-one thing that is at present much needed? Is it altogether open to condemnation to use a sprat to catch a mackerel when the alternative seems to be what the federation terms a "ghastly farce"? The board has also done valuable constructive work in ru,ral land improvement schemes! The Government proposed to do more in small farm settlement, but appears to be blocked by a land cost barrier —surely a strange anomaly when the rest of the community is penalised to keep the farmers on the land because production is carried on at less than cost. The research committee proposed by the federation might contribute something useful to the study of this anomaly, to the development of means to encourage work without allowing abuses to enter and to the consideration of the rationalisation or codification of industry which the report-suggests as a means of eliminating waste, and permitting reductions of costs to the public.