UNEMPLOYMENT.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXVII, Issue 20622, 22 July 1930, Page 12

UNEMPLOYMENT.

Sir, —This is written by ona who, through no fault of his own, is down and out, willing and able to work, who has tramped city and suburbs alike, fruitlessly, in the search for work. This lcjds me to offer only a small paean of heartfelt thanks to the mission known as "Manna House," conducted so admirably by the Rev. T. Falkiner and Sister Esther and a noble army of women, who have so unselfishly banded together to mitigate, or alleviate, so far as they are able, the undoubted suffering—in quite a number of cases at least—of a deserving body of men whoso main fault, apparently, is their absolute inability to find work, which would liberate them from the indignity of cliaritablo aid, however graciously and humanely ofiered. A great section of tho public—either wilfully or through sheer ignorance of tho actual position—continually harp on tho subject that "tho unemployed do not want work." That they "won't leave the city and the counter lunches," etc., etc., and so on, ad nauseam—is true, but nevertheless cruelly unsubstantiated and uncalled for in most cases. Ask Mr. Falkiner a shrewd judge of men Find the men work, pay prices or wages compatible with decent living conditions, and I venturo to assert that tho only unemployed left in Auckland will bo those, financial members of tho "I Won't Work" organisation and tho physically unfit. J.S,

| Sir, —Unemployment is still rife through--1 out tho Dominion, and no headway seems to havo been made toward tho solution of the problem There arc many hundreds of youths leaving school shortly who will help to swell tho ranks of the unemployed. 1 There are many remedies for unemployment, One scheme that comes to my mind would, in my opinion, place every unemployed person in tho Dominion in employment at their own trade in.their own home town. Tho Government should invito all employers of every class of labour throughout the Dominion to encage, ono or more extra employees at. union wages, the employers to pay half the wages and the Government tho otiier half. Prosperity would soon come to the Dominion and all unemployed could then bo permanently engaged without the aid of Government assistance. The extra 1 money earned in wages by the previous unemployed would circulate among business houses to the advantage of the I)o minion, the employers and the workers. Why floes not tho Government offer, a prize for the best solution of the unemIployment problem'/ H. W. Taylor. Muriwai.