UNEMPLOYMENT.

Grey River Argus, 24 August 1928, Page 5

UNEMPLOYMENT.

DISTRESS IN GREYMOUTH Loans Board Censured. COUNCIL CONSIDERS PROVISION OF “DOSS HOUSE ’ The urgent need -.•xpediting matters in connection with the unemployment relief works loan, was stressed by the Mayor and several Councillors last evening. Cr J. B. Ken* op'ned lhe discussion concerning ( rhe matter, by asking whether anything ■’uithcr had been done since the Loans Board had la--t been communicated with. The Mayor (i\lr J. W. Greenslade) said that a t legram-letter had been sent to the Loans Board, pointing out that a large number of im'n were looking for work, and asking that .the matter be attended to as soon as possible, but up to tho present they had receiv'd no reply. Cr O’B-ien said that immediately they got a favourable reply from the Loans Board the work should be expedi'ed as soon as possible- Never before had i h-*re been so many unemployed in Greymouth as at the present time. Hi* knew of many ea.'.es where men simply could not get a day’s work anywhere. Cr McGinley remarked that th.? relief works were only for residents. Cr O’Brien said he quite understood that it was for their own people. He referred to th ■ hardship suffered by people wi'h whom he had come in,co contact. Many of them had a house lo keep and had no money. Tho matter should have been dealt with by the Loans Board by now. Th>*y did not want to go on till Christmas, when things might be relieved somewhat. He moved that another telegiam-le'ter be sent to the Loans Board. The position was such that they wer,;- getting absolutely desperate. Things might adjust themselves in six months time, but at present there were at least two hundred rc>id’.nts who could not get work.

The Mayor referred to several cases of distress which had come under his notice. He knew of a returned sold.er who had absolutely nothing in his hous* to ea*. Such a state of affairs should not be allowed in a town like this. The Loams Board should be chastised for its delay in dealing with .the matter. There were persons in Wellington who had big salaries and who were practically holding up thi* bread from the mouths of these men and their wives and children. That, was the position. Cr Kent: We should see that they are informed tha,t. it is a matter of u rgency.

Cr Mc'Ginl'y: And that many are unable to get bread. He added: It s the hardest, time I ’vo seen for years. The motion was agreed to.

Cr Williams said that th.* loan was only a small one, and it teemed like only “tinkering with it.” He referred .to the present unsatisfactory condition of the coal and timber industry, and said he wondered if the Council could not do anything in a bigg r way. The Mayor said that most of the mines were private concerns, and they could not interfere with them, but it was a different matter with the State Mini*. He mentioned that he had brought up the matter o° the shortage of railway trucks at tho meeting of the Chamber of Commerce. This had been the cause of considerable loss to th? miners, but. with ,the Chairman of the Chamber of Commerce, he had interviewed the Railway Engineer and Traffic Manager, and they had b en assured that it would not occur again, though they could not always tell when trucks would be available. The speaker said it was a strange thing that a private company like .that at Dobson had its bins quickly emptied, and could always keep going, yet th* S’ate Mine bins were always full, and it could only work two or three shifts per week.

Cr Williams referred to the recent discovery of “deadb ats ’’ in Elmer Lane, and questioned whether it would be possible for the Council to ca,ter for people like that. Ho suggested that accommodation might be provided in th • empty section in the Gas Works yard. It was a pity to sec one’s ki ( th and kin having to sleep in railway carriages. Provision was made for such people in the cities, and ho did not see why it should not be done in the smaller towns.

The Mayor said that Cr William? was to b* commended for bringing the matter up. It would be a relief to those in official positions if there was a place where they could send such men when they sought shelter for the night. Two men had comt'- to his place only on Sunday night. The hotels found it difficult to deal with such cases. If they had a place with a few beds, it might answer the purposeThe men who called at his pUce were what might, be call'd a good class of citizen. Tn tho old (lays .there were barracks for immigrants who had no place -to go to. but they did not seem !o eater for them these days. Cr Williams moved that the matter be left to the Engine"r and Work? Committee to confer with the Gas Manager, ami report. Cr Kent: It seems to me you want to star’ a miniature “Rowton House.” Cr Baty, jn seconding the motion, said that there was a tremendous lot that could h* done for .the unemployed in this country, which was not done. The matter had been brought, very forcibly under his notice when, with Cr Williams, he had been approached by some unfortunate citizen. In this Case the man had had no breakfast, and carri-'d no extra clothing with him; and he did not appear ,to have been drinking. He stressed the neea for the unemployed being classified and enrolled by the Labour D'paTtment, which should advertise for work for them. He predicted that the position would get worse so far as the coal industry was concerned, owing to the development of hydro.>lec,tricity. Tho timber industry was affected to a laige extent by the manufacture of substitut(*s. - Cr O'Brien said it was not altogether the job of the Council to put up shacks, bu,t it was .heir job to sG2, that the men out of work were provided with employment. While he favoured the resolution, he did not wish to see such a place put up permanently. Referring to Cr Baty’s remarks, he said that, if necessary, the Labour Department could publish <le | tails, bu,t that would not help them.! The trouble was that they simply couldn’t find work. He had found men work for a day or two, but nobody seemed to want them. He had no objection to the resolution, but the Council should keep its eyes on the