DECREES IN POVERTY.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXVI, Issue 20363, 18 September 1929, Page 12

DECREES IN POVERTY.

NEED FOR DISCRIMINATION.

APPEALS TO BUSINESS MEN.

" There are two distinct kinds of poverty, natural poverty and economic poverty," said the Rev. C. G. Scrimgeour at the luncheon of the Karangahape Road Business Promotion Society yesterday. In every community, he said, there were many sub-normal people who at the best of times were not able to avail themselves of the opportunities that came their way. This was natural poverty, and as far as one can say, it would never be abolished. These people must be a charge on the community. There was, however, no reason why tho general care of such should not bo businesslike, systematic and dignified. Tho groator problem, in tho speaker's opinion, lay in tho care of those in the second category, normal men who through unemployment or misfortune were unable to provide for themselves and their families. This was artificial or economic poverty. Because this class was more or less new in New Zealand, tho Dominion had not yet fully realised tho great danger it represented. Ho had studied the result of prolonged unemployment and to his mind it was worse than a plague. It paralysed development, destroyed pride, stultified ambition and was ono of the primary causes of immorality, because it destroyed homo life. Young men and young women wore driven from homo to seek pleasure elsewhere. If they attempted to deal with these people as with those in the former class, the sub-normal, they might do- much harm. The average unemployed man hated the thought of seeking charity in tho ordinary sense, therefore ho would very often seek assistanco from somo business man rather than approach a charitable organisation in tho ordinary way. Both classes, said Mr. Scrimgeour, thus came to tho business man, inspired by entirely different motives, and he had no method of discerning between them. Herein lay the problem, a problem which the business men's relief service was designed to overcome. Each of its members was provided with a supply of cards which served to introduce any applicant for relief to the organiser, who personally investigated tho application, and if satislied, provided relief. Thus an effectual check was placed on the caclger and at the same timo the deserving caso was assured of relief. Tho organisation was controlled by a body of responsible business mon and it had amply proved its worth by tho record of its operations during the past 12 months, in which time somo 3000 applications had been dealt with. Tho speaker cited tho caso of one "professional cadger," who received £lO3 from Auckland business men in two week-ends. "Tho feature which pleases us most is the fact that tho service is quickly weeding out tho 'professional cadger' type," ho said. Tho "cadgers" were being driven from tho city, and tho servico intended to follow them in its protection of business men.