The Gisborne Times PUBLISHED DAILY TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 6, 1928. THE TRUTH ABOUT UNEMPLOYMENT.

Gisborne Times, Volume LXVIII, Issue 10736, 6 November 1928, Page 4

The Gisborne Times PUBLISHED DAILY TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 6, 1928. THE TRUTH ABOUT UNEMPLOYMENT.

it is quite plain that Mr Coleman has no chance of making any real headway in his effort to discredit; the Government over the unemployment difficulty, Tile electors know perfectly well that no Government could have prevented the post-war slump, and for the reason that the depression had its origin in the weakening of tho overseas markets. What is more, even if no slump had occurred, modern inventions would hay 6 thrown many people out of dvork, just as has happened. It is, therefore, dishonest on the part of anyone to infer that hut for immigration and a decline in land settlement, unemployment would not have arisen. Mr Coleman, .it may have been noted, conveniently omits to mention at his meeting that the leaders of the Labor Party realise tho truth of tho matter. If any elector cares to peruse tho latest annual report of the National Executive of the Labor Party, which was published in tho N.Z. Worker on April 18, ho will find, over the signatures of It, Semple (president) and W. Nash (secretary) the following statement; “The main cause of unemployment is tho displacement oi labor by modern inventions.” Mr. Coleman should, know that that is s’o and that that contention is supported by every economist and industrialist in the Dominion. But he studiously refrains from, admitting it at his meetings, preferring to try and make it appear that immigration and the decline in land settlement were solely responsible for the unemployment problem. He should study what Mr Armstrong, the Labor member for Christchurch East, is reported to have said in tho course of an address at Ractihi a few months back. “The reason for so many -workers going off the land is,” said Mr Armstrong, “mainly owing to machinery, displacing labor.” When this very correct contention •Waal re-quoted in the House last session, Mr Armstrong supplemented it by stating that his remark coukl even be widened to apply to nearly every other.industry! The real truth concerning unemployment had, of course, to he disclosed by the Labor Party in the Houise' when Mr Peter Eraser introduced his “Unemployed Workers’ Bill.” As Mr Coleman is not likely to remind electors ;of this, it is well-worth doing in the words of Mi* Fraser himself. “So long as any country is),” he said, . “dependent upon the world’s markets, with fluctiiations in prices and economic conditions and crises, over winch.wo (in New Zealand) have no control, then, without question, periods iof prosperity and periods of depression—periods when employment will he good and when unemployment will be had—will come to this country.” That, of course, is a masterly summing lip of the position but, as| it could not be used to score off the Government, Mr Coleman and other Labor aspirants for seats in tho House are now trying to 'hoodwink tho ©lectors by persisting in the bald statement th&t tho blame for unemployment having arisen in this( Dominion should be laid on the