UNEMPLOYED DEMONSTRATION

Evening Star, Issue 20998, 12 January 1932, Page 9

UNEMPLOYED DEMONSTRATION

TO THE EDITOR. Sir, —I wish to inform those people who condemn the action of the unemployed in Saturday’s affair that if the measures being taken now to relieve this acute distress had been taken before, the trouble would not have occurred, so the onus is on the public for not using pressure upon that institution, the Charitable Aid Boardsave the terminological inexactitude! Even with continuity the money received for relief work is utterly inadequate, and the “stand down” weeks entail more hardship than appears on the face of it. A period of twelve days elapses between the receipt of any money, and the holiday period brought about the breaking point which the human element could not be expected to endure, and culminated m the riots. Many groups, including mine, 106, finished the three weeks on Christmas Eve, after doing three days only, and then had to stand down again. I wish to make suggestions. The price of food being the same to hardpressed relief workers and to people that have regular work, some help can lie given from shopkeepers. Surely they would not expect to make profit from people merely existing. A red or yellow ticket to represent 10s or £1 by arrangement could be inserted in the pay envelopes, the money deducted weekly, at the pay office, and the tickets used to purchase at cost price the necessary food or fuel to the various stores in our city. Some concession from the trams could be also given. The work for the unemployed should be of a permanent nature, making new roads, bitumen paths, curbing, widening existing roads, and the eye-sore Anderson’s Bay could be filled in, also the smelly lagoon. Tins land would pay by its future value. The spare time of the workless can be utilised, if people owning sections now vacant would forward their names and places and areas of sections they are willing to hand over while the depression lasts, for vegetable growing. I am sure those people who nave grown tired of assisting the workless would rather continue their aid than have a recurrence of the scenes of Saturday last, and wish here _to thank the Eevs. V. G. Bryan King, P. Paris, and Neale, who have always stood by ns. We can look to them to see that we get our rights as human beings. That is all we ask till the happy days are here again in this land of plenty.—l am, etc., B. E. Kite. January 12.