THE-FATE OF THE C.I.V.

New Zealand Mail, Issue 1511, 14 February 1901, Page 60

THE-FATE OF THE C.I.V.

SEEKING WORK IN -LONDON

(Bv Miss Constance A. Barnicoat, in Christchurch “Truth/'’) LONDON, December 21. London, which was able to give its volunteers a champagne supper, upset the whole place for them during tnree days, and, generally roared itself hoarse •over them, now raises its hands in deprecating impotence when asked to find them work wherewith to earn an honest living. The gilt is oh the gingerbread; . the fun is over now, and the city’s regiment is left,, in many cases, to tramp the streets on that most heart-sickening ol r all quests —the quest for work, v There was a kind of idea prevalent when the C.I.V. went out that all their places were being kept open for them until their return. This, however, was not always tho case* Not* a few of them appear to have had no places to keep - open; they were, in fact, drawn from quite the lower ranks of life, not by any means the gentlemen’s sons which many oolonials have imagined them. Numbers of them entered the army because in it they would be able to earn considerably more than anywhere else. Some of them, no doubt, were men of good positions, and of at least fairly *■; good families ; but very many were dis : ; tinctly roughish. The news _ editor ot * one of the most Imperialistic journals m ; London admitted this to me m go many words, and if he would go so far as that, there can be little doubt that it is time. 'Some of the C-I.V-, who had regular ‘ positions to throw up, had -their situations .guaranteed' to them till their return. : Others, however, went off without any such guafhntee, simply “on spec., as u :■ were. Others, again, so far from giving up anything, actually gamed by the f sonange) Messrs Harms worth, proprietors of the “Daily Mail,” “Harmsworth’s Magazine,’/ etc.,’ had a notice - prominently pasted *up m their offices, that not only would those of their staff who had Vone to: the front, have their positions v lepfc open for them, but that their full salaries would he continued also. - a wealthy fi tkq> however, could afford-to a °sSc6 the end of October the sight of the C.I.V/s tramping the streets has “Keen. Common enough. . They have m - STbeen able to find nothing else to do. So great did the stress W come amongst them, that the Express," Mr Pearsons paper (leM Ws Weekly”), lately opened a C.I.V. Employment Bureau, for *be of bringing the unemployed City Imperial VaeKnts as they have not untruly been calfed in touch with employers. Some of the many 0.1.V/s. who. have applied . seem to have boon hterady at the veiy , end of their resources— thankful for th gift of half-a-crown to get a meal. Une of them complained that he could n get any employment until he hacl received his discharge, that being the only character he could produce, which, it must be admitted, did not speak very brilliantly for his previous record. He - was in G Company, he said, and so far the vaiutbarities had only got half-way - through A, Company. If, therefore, the "said authorities took six weeks to get

half through A Company, how long will it be, at the same rate of progress, before they have reached G Company ? And, meanwhile, what is to become of the man in G Company who has to depend upon his discharge for a certificate of character ? Why the issuing of these discharges should be such an extremely lengthy operation seems quite inexplicable. Meanwhile, at the offices of another paper, a kind of mass meeting of the unemployed has been held, attended oy about twenty C.I.V/s, described as “shabby, down-at-heels,” and witli the unmistakable expression of the man who is ‘out of a job/ 5 ’ Th© tan of the South African sun, it is hinted, was in some places giving place to a pallor not altogether caused by the bad air of London. At the Guildhall, one declared', they would hardly look at liim ,and sent him to the War Office. He went to the War Office, and found they were only too anxious to shunt him back to the Guildhall. Another, dismissed when he volunteered by an employer who refused to shake hands with him on his leaving, called as a last forlorn hope at the office of this same employer, who took him in again there and then. All present at the meeting could show excellent references, and were far from dependent on their discharges for their characters. At first it was not thought well to raise a fund for the C.1.V., thus putting them in the position of recipients of public charity. Now, however, matters have reached such a pass that it is evidently deemed expedient to reconsider this decision, and a fund lias accordingly been

opened. I have now before me a list of sixtyseven C.I.V. applications for employment, furnished me by the “Daily" Express/’ From the work asked for, it is not difficult to see the classes from which most of the volunteers were drawn. Only some half-dozen applications are for positions requiring good education, or involving much responsibility. These are: —One architect’s clerk, one accountant’s clerk, two bank messengers, one engineer and one auctioneer’s clerk. Most- of the positions required are in shops, or as messengers, inferior clerks, porters or “ handy men.” Naturally l , the supply of work is not equal to the demand, and there is the usual difficulty of fitting round men into square holes. The task is not made easier by the vagueness of many of the applications for employment. Five C.I.V/s want “ general work,” whatever that may mean; and “ some s-ueh civil work as is usually given to old soldiers ”; and nine desire clerkships—in itself no very explicit term. Few things, indeed, would he more difficult to get in London than unspecialised clerical work. One man is anxious To return to his profession of “ bar-tender and billiard-marker” ; another to that of umbrella frame-maker; a third to a chemist’s life, while one of the latest applicants desires “ any position of trust.” Some of them, meanwhile, have been provided with temporary work; but if such is the state of things now, what will; it be when the other volunteers come home? Ostensibly task of finding work for returned. C.I.V/s is left to the commanding officers of. their various regiments, but as it often hap-

pens that the commanding officer has no influence whatever in the particular sphere of life for which the C.I.V. is fitted, it will he seen of how much avail this system is likely to be.

While some of the C.I.V . are undoubtedly more or less riff-raffy, many of them are equally undoubtedly quite the reverse; and it certainly seems a hardship that such should be in the unspeakably miserable position of honestseekers after work who can find none. One cf them has recently written to the papers telling his tale. "VV hen he Text England he gave up a good situation, worth 35s a week, the firm promising to keep his place open. But during his absence this firm suffered heavy losses, had to cut clown their staff and were compelled, apparently most reluctantly, to refuse to take back their former employee. Since then, the poor C.I.V. confesses that his case has gone from bad to worse, and he had even been forced to sell most of his relics, and what few .still remained he had resolved to part with—to keep the wolf from the door.' Tin’s story evidently touched the heart of some anonymous gentleman, who at once offered to pay whatever was necessary to prevent the volunteer and his family being turned out upon the streets.

The subject of the C.I.V/s and their forlorn condition is exciting much indignation in the London press. A question was asked about it in the House — the reply to which seemed to show that Mr Balfour is not the only member c-f Parliament who does, not read the newspapers, but who might be the better for occasionally doing 30. At a- time when the press was full of comments on the subject, Mr Brodrick remarked that he had never heard anything about it.

A contrast i 3 drawn in some papers between London’s treatment of its volunteers, and Canada’s nam\> practical patriotism, very much to the disadvantage of London. It is even asserted that- the fate of tho C.I.V/s will kill volunteering for service abroad in times of emergency in future. After all, however, there did not t3l recently seem a single proved case —at least the “Daily Express” could not tell me of one, and they know more about it than anyone—of an employer who had guaranteed a C.I.V. his situation refusing to keep his promise, except, of course, the case cited above, when, presumably, the* firm in question will hardly be blamed. During the last few days, bov/ever, several cases of bad faith oil ’ the part of employers have ecme to light. The spectacle of the feasted, feted soldiers, one day the heroes of the hour, to whom nothing would have been denied, only a few weeks later on the streets, almost begging then* bread, is, to say the least, a painful satire on human nature. Yet even if their motives were not so ideally unselfisn as lias been represented, even if love of adventure had a great deal more to do with their volunteering than anything else surely their case is a. hard one/ It is obvious enough _ that they might) have foreseen their present r>light, but, of course, it makes matters no better for them to be reminded of that. It is equally obvious that employers cannot turn out their other em-

plovees in order to iet in C.I.V/s, and / as vacancies must occur, and not, he.' made, the* stranding of a great i returned soldiers, if unfortunate, was only to be expected. If an employer, even one in a large way of business, has already as large a staff as he wants, is it his duty to take in a C.I.V. whose services he does not require? Many papers would now seem to hint that it is. But, hard as is the case of the soldiers, surely a little too much abuse is being levelled at the. heads of the emtrlovers, who are not responsible, instead of the Government or the Municipality, who are responsible.

If the C.I.V/s are capable, they will in time find work, as all capable workers will do. They have as yet been home barely seven weeks, and only the extremely favoured- of fortune, the extremely competent, and the thoroughly experienced, can possibly reasonably expect to find anything to do in London in seven weeks. b