TOO MANY UNEMPLOYED

Evening Star, Issue 19772, 24 January 1928, Page 6

TOO MANY UNEMPLOYED

COUNCIL UNABLE TO HELP FUTURE REVENUE ALREADY MORTGAGED DID NOT GET VALUE LAST YEAR. Dunedin did not value from its expenditure on unemployed relief work last year. Dunedin was not the wealthiest city, and could not afford to give work to the unemployed. These statements were made by the town clerk (Mr G. A. Lewin) during the course of an interesting discussion on unemployment, its causes, and its future solution, by the Conciliation Council, which sat to-day to hear the demands of the local body laborers for a new award. According to Mr R. Harrison, many of the present unemployed could not carry on much longer, yet the City Council was steadily reducing its staff. Mr Lewin said that last winter the City Council had paid £IO,OOO out of revenue to help unemployment, and had a mill-stone round its neck. Mr Harrison: Don’t you think that you have had value for your money. Mr Lewin: No. Mr Harrison: Look at the High street work. You had it done for 9s a day and at half the cost it would have otherwise taken. Mr Lewin: We paid more than half. Mr J. Robinson: But you also had public subscriptions, apart from the subsidy. “ The laborers we had were not breners,” declared Mr Lewin. “They were storemen and all classes. They were not worth 5s a day.” Mr Robinson said it was time the Government was given another shaking up to solve the unemployment problem. Mr W. G. Griffen (town clerk «f St, Kilda: The local bodies have sst carry the. baby. , . The local bodies m Dunedin had met the situation well, said Mr Robinson. Mr Lewin : We know we have not had value. We have mortgaged nest year s revenue to the extent ol £5,000: in fact, to a greater extent than that, for we have to find the interest on the loan money raised. Mr Harrison said the whole of tho uuem) loyed looked to the city for nosistance. , ~ Mr Lewin; I don’t sec why they should. , , ~ Mr Harrison said that 104 11 'I? 0 *,' ployed had applied at the old Port Office for work on the demolition. Something would have to be done tor them, as they could not carry on much Mr Lewin said that evidently there were far too many unemployed men. Mr Robinson; Unemployment is being accentuated by national means, and should be solved by national means. “ Our method of getting revenue is so unsatisfactory that it is placing an enormous burden on the people, who cannot stand it,” stated Mr Lewin “When they say ‘You must get all revenue by rates ’ it is positively im3Robertson: Don’t you think the council should advocate a revision of the system—say taxing by a graduated income tax. , , . , Mr Lewin said the council had tried to obtain a revision. The graduated income tax system was impracticable. It had been investigated all over the world, but had been adopted only m Germany. The public of New Zealand would not submit to the taxing hko the Germans. “ They are not fbsciplined like th’c Germans, thank God, added Mr Lewin. Mr Robinson said an unreasonably liirge number of migrants were being allowed to enter New Zealand. could not be provided for. Local bodies were being called upon to give assistance, but the Government was hanging back all the time. . . Mr Lewin; The Government is m the same position, but it can borrow money easier than we can borrow. Mr Harrison: It is working on a false basis. Mr Lewin: You can hardly blame them. Look at the conditions in England! We are suffering from the fact that during tho war years we “blew in ” all our reserves—and more. Mr Harrison; There would be.plenty of money available to-day for another war or for building a new Dreadnought. , Mr Cocking (a union assessor) : They think nothing of giving a million away for a naval base. Mr Harrison: They never grumble about any wealth wasted as long as the wealthy man gets it. Mr Lewin: I don’t think that is true. Mr Harrison declared that if Dunedin had another distinguished visitor to-morrow a few thousand pounds would ho spent lavishly in decorations and entertainments. The Commissioner (smiling): That provides work for the people. Mr Harrison: It has to be paid by some individuals. It would be better to rqfrain from that expense and '-o the money to the citizens. Men were being dismissed daily from the city corporation’s staff on the grounds of shortage of money. The city could afford to maintain the men. There was plenty of work to be done. Mr Lewin disagreed with the statement that Dunedin could afford to give the unemployed work. Mr Robinson: Mr Coates says that Dunedi i is the wealthiest city. “ It. is not the wealthiest city, because the people who have the cash do not place it in industry,” replied Mr Lewin. The Commissioner; They say that Otago owns Auckland. Mr Lewin said that the yearly increases in savings banks returns and the rapid taking up of City Council ban debentures was not a good siftn. Instead of plating their money in industry, and so providing work, tho people took up gilt-edged debentures. People ran away with the idea that Dunedin was wealthy, but money was not Trealth.