RELIEF WORKERS' CONDITIONS

Evening Post, Volume CXVIII, Issue 55, 3 September 1934, Page 8

RELIEF WORKERS' CONDITIONS

(To the Editor;)

Sir,— Although, tho Minister of Knanco has balanced tho Budget with an estimated surplus of £8000 and the civil servants and old ago pensioners will benefit slightly, it does not. seem to hold out any hope for increased pay for relief workers which, is bafily neoded to enublo thorn to purchase somo of tho essentials of life. Just now it is absolutely impossible .for roliof workers to purchase what they are badly in need of, and if the Unemployment Board did not give a pnir of boots to the unemployed subject to a day's work being done therefor, the position would be worse than it is. If it is possible to obtain a pair of boots by working for them why not extend this concession to food, clothing, otc? As it has been arguod in somo quarters that tho Government has not got-a policy for dealing with tho unemployment problem, I thought tho solution put forward,, by Mr. Poison, M.P. for Stratford, a supporter, of the Government, a. wise ono and worth a trial. Whon tho Financial Statement was under discussion in thp Houso on Novomber 31, 1933, he suggested tho creation of a national body which would supersede the Unemployment Board and which would consist of -a council of outstanding men who would administer tho whole scheme. "This body," said Mr. Poison, "would issuo loan certificates in denominations of SI and upwards to employers who would utilise them in employing oxtra men in addition to thoso already employed. Tho workers would bo paid in scrip which would be legal tender, and raw materials would nlsb bo paid for in this scrip. Shopkeepers and tradors would accopt it in return for goods, and in turn that, scrip would bo rodeomablo at the national office." That would, to somo cxtont, be inflation, but at v all ovonts it would Ijo inflation in a watertight compartment. Tho term would bo short, and this would ensuro that tho certificates would not get. out into the stream of currency; and orthodox economists afraid of inflation would not opposo it, because it would bo confined to watertight compartments, and when the jobs were completed tho scrip would bo cancelled. No purchasing certificates would be issued except against goods actually produced under tho sehomc. Records would have to bo kept, but that would be an easy matter.-. . .

What would happon would bo that extra, purchasing power would bo created for the extra production. But if tho scheme resulted in a loss tho Stato would bear a proportion of that loss. . . The extra credit would go out'of "oxistenco as soon as tho, servico bad boon performed. . ..A sum of £.10,000,000 would provido standard rates of pay for tho whole of,tho unemployed in this country. Ido not suggest- that it is .necessary to issue that amount—l do, not suggest that wo could provido standard rates for tho whole of tho^unemployed, because there aro a largo nutnbor un-employable),-but-there aro .a- largo number who could bb'reabsbrbed in industry at a cost of much less than £10,000,000. -vThis scheme seems to be*a practical one for dealing with the unemployment problem.—l am, etc., c . H.W.E.