THE OTAGO DAILY TIMES FRIDAY, JUNE 12, 1931. UNEMPLOYMENT RELIEF.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 21359, 12 June 1931, Page 6

THE OTAGO DAILY TIMES FRIDAY, JUNE 12, 1931. UNEMPLOYMENT RELIEF.

Not all the king’s horses nor all the king’s men could hope to make an income of £24,000 a week balance an expenditure of £.40,000. Consequently; the Unemployment Board, bowing to the inevitable, has advised the Prime Minister that, in the absence or materially increased resources, it can no longer continue the operation of the relief measure known as the No. 5 Scheme. The announcement by Mr Forbes of the * suspension of this scheme on June 20 must, therefore, cause little surprise though it will excite a great deal of concern. With a weekly outlay that was £16,000 in excess of its income the Unemployment Board has been fighting a losing battle with the problem of unemployment. It is no fault of the members of the Board that they have failed to achieve what they were appointed to do. When the Unemployment Act was passed last year, Parliament was faced with the task of providing work for approximately .7000 men. In six months the total number of registrations throughout the Dominion reached nearly 40,000, while the funds at the disposal of the Unemployment Board remained as fixed for the relief of less than one-fifth of that number. While it would be less than fair to blame the Government for not anticipating the astonishing increase in registrations which followed the announcement of its proposed relief measures, it must be admitted that the whole system of unemployment relief has failed utterly and will have to be made the subject of drastic revision at the earliest opportunity. It has long been • apparent that the Government would have to face the need of an appropriation of a very much larger sum annually to allow the Unemployment Board to function effectively., This need was disregarded during the emergency session of Parliament. It should have been obvious then that the unemployment scheme was collapsing under its own weight. The sequel has come in the complete breakdown for the time being of the relief programme. Fortunately for the persons who will suffer by the suspension of the Board’s operations Parliament will meet within a few days of the stoppage of the No. 5 Scheme, and it may be assumed that the subject of future relief measures will be made a matter of first importance in the session. Although it may not" be clear precisely how the additional moneys are to be found, there can be no question as to the course Parliament must adopt. It will have to increase largely the funds at the disposal of the Unemployment Board. In the meantime, it is necessary that temporary provision should be made for the relief of those who will be deprived of the meagre assistance which has been all that the Unemployment Board could afford under the No. 5 Scheme. The appeal which the Prime Minister has made to local bodies, charitable organisations and district unemployment committees is one of the greatest urgency, calling for the readiest possible response. Local authorities and other

agencies for the alleviation of distress have admittedly been seriously taxed already, and will naturally find, any further calls upon them unwelcome. Yet the contingency which has arisen renders it imperative that they should make every effort to discharge the responsibility which the prospective collapse of the Unemployment Board’s undertaking thrusts upon them. It has been estimated that there are some hundreds of families in Dunedin alone that are in need of assistance and that will continue to need assistance during the winter even when the Unemployment Board’s activities are resumed. It is highly important in this connection, as we have pointed out before, that there should be co-ordinated action on the part of the various organisations concerned, so as to make possible an efficient and economical but at the same time adequate distribution of relief in the forms' in which it will be made available. In such an emergency only the united effort of a community prepared to face its troubles with determination and energy can be expected to avail. Although such qualities are essential all the time in the " fight against the evil of unemployment they are more than ever necessary now that the system of relief provided by the Unemployment Board has, temporarily at least, . broken down. ’