CLERGYMAN AS TRAMP.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXIV, Issue 19721, 22 August 1927, Page 11

CLERGYMAN AS TRAMP.

STUDY OF UNEMPLOYMENT. ' i ACUTENESS OF SITUATION. SOCIAL WELFARE MEASURES. "HOPELESS TASK" OF WORKERS. ( c In the black shadow of a heavy, hope- j less despair* hundreds of men, weary in j limb and anguished in mind, are walking the streets of Auckland from early morn t until late at night, seeking for work , of any kind and finding none. Around ( the waterfront, in the back streets, about the hotels, the misery that loves company has drawn together this despairing army j of "down and outs" to whom a new day • brings no pew hope. j This is the pitiable story the Rev. C. G. Scrimgeour, Methodist city mis- < sioner, has brought back with him from the slums and by-ways of Auckland, _ where for three days and two nights last e week he and a companion, unshaven and shabbily clad, wandered in the disguise of typical "down rnd outs" in search of first-hand information on the unemployment question. Particularly they wanted _ to ascertain the attitude of the unem- < ployed and needy toward the social welfare work organised by various religious r and kindred bodies for their assistance. The two make-believe tramps found a definite answer to that question, and the investigation they made threw a search- . ing and amazing light upon the whole , problem of unemployment, the immensity . and complexity of which they had pre- j viously scarcely suspected. * Preconceived ideas, formed from a close | association with men who had visited the mission hall in Airedale Street, were in ( many cases utterly shattered. Some solution to the problem of devising ways and means of coming more effectively to grips with the problem in its innumerable phases was anxiously sought, but Mr. Scrimgeour and his friend found little cause for comfort or for hope. They frankly admit the position has appalled them. ' Extent of Relief Work. < "The social welfare work being done ■ in the city does not even scratch the surface of the problem," said Mr. Scrim- ! geour yesterday. "If someone gave me £IOOO to-day I could spend it in giving , relief, but when I had spent it 1 could not guarantee the position would be one bit better. The average Christian man who gives £5 to soothe his conscience on ' the matter has no idea of the extent of the distress in this city. 1 may be challenged for saying that, but I am sure of my ground. I am satisfied that social workers can never tackle the problem effectively. The work is altogether too vast." The average "down and out" cares little for Christianity. The relief work conducted by Christian organisations is regarded as providing only temporary succour, and to afford no practical solution to the difficulty. It is sought only as a last resort. "It gives us the right to linger, but we want the right to live, ' j is the plea of the workless and homeiess street trudgers. There is also a decided reluctance to seek the shelter of a dosshouse. In any case the doss-house provides a man with a bed, but his wife and family cannot receive even that cold comfort. -v Work Genuinely Wanted. "Don't tell me these men do not want work," said Mr. Scrimgeour. "Some of them walk the street all day and every day. A man who does that and then does not accept work except on conditions suitable to himself is mighty game —much gamer than the man who will accept any sort of work. I had only three days of it, but' I got to know what a leg-weary, hopeless task it is. I was able to go home to a good bed every night, but many of these men have no choice between the streets and the dosshouse. I have refused further aid to men who have come back to the mission smelling of drink, but I do not" know now whether I can find it in my heart to blame them for drinking." There is a wonderful spirit of fellowship among the " down and out" community. One man, whom adversity had not completely soured, jocularly insisted on doing "a "turn for humanity." on noticing the plight of Mr. Scrimgeour and his companion. That spirit was encountered everywhere'. "They are a bit suspicious for a start," said the missioner. " One man pulled off my cap, but on noticing that my hair was fairly long he was reassured. He could see. at any rate, that T had not come out of gaol recently." The missioner was also advised not to be seen on the streets after 10 p.m. "You will get two months for being a vagabond," he was told. Chiefly New Zealanders. Most of those seeking work are New Zealanders, said Mr. Scrimgeour. He was amazed at the number, and was convinced the seriousness of the unemployment situation in Auckland had been in no way exaggerated. The immigration question did not appear to have accentuated the position in the degree generally supposed, although in moving around among the unemployed he found the migrant was occasionally blamed for causing vacancies in such trades as carpentry. "Those who talk Bolshevism and want to wave the red flag do not reflect the general feeling among the workless," said the missioner. "These men think as much about Bolshevism as they do about religion, and that is practically nothing. If there is Bolshevistic talk, then I do not blame the men. The unemployment situation is making them desperate. But what the great majority want is just work. One man I met calls three times a day at the Government labour bureau, and has done so for the past six but he has been unable to find a job. We do what we can in finding employment, but there are always many more men than jobs offering. These men only one column in the newspapers, the 'situations vacant.' " In the ordinary course of mission life Mr. Scrimgeour and Sister" Olive concentrate chiefly on providing clothes and visiting the homes. Two factors, in the | missioner's opinion, have contributed in large measure to the distress at present rife—high rents and the hire-purchase system. Even in cases where the missioner has offered to guarantee one month's rent for a house to provide shelter for workless men and tneir dependants. there is a distinct reluctance to let unless the man is actually in work. Children Provide Index. Through a community picture'show for children once a week, the mission is able to get in touch with some distressed families who would not otherwise be known to social workers because of unwillingness to seek any form of charity. The garb and appearance of the children provide a good index to the standard of comfort enjoyed by the families. -This line of attack Mr. Scrimgeour has found particularly effective, and doors that would otherwise be shut in his face are opened because of the interest the mission has displayed in the children. " I do not usually wear my collar back to front," added Mr. Scrimgeour. " These people like to be approached as man to man." He knoWs nothing of Auckland who only Queen Street knows. One has to get into the back streets to find out how the people really live, said Mr. Scrimgeour. Three hundred yards from the Town Hall one could find the most wretched hovels in New Zealand. There is no question that there are slums in Auckland. A change of clothes also means a change of social status, as far as Queen Streetjs concerned, Mr. Scrimgeour said, but in the back lanes old clothes do not draw suspicious , glances.