HELPING THE UNEMPLOYED

Otago Daily Times, Issue 21410, 11 August 1931, Page 12

HELPING THE UNEMPLOYED

TO THE EDITOR. Sir,— Christian people teach the doctrine of faith, hope, and love, and that the greatest of these is love. It is with respect that I would suggest a, parallel teaching of faith, hope, and work, and the greatest of these, is work. For, without sufficient work men come down to the bread-line and' lose their independence, and the more sensitive lose by degrees faith and hope. This is a. calamity which must be. prevented by those in a position to do so. Money is necessary, but is

- ■. <:,■ s'.f ■;’ 1 V' ;v; > j ; ;tr quickly used. The most effective way is to place people in a position to help themselves. . Your parliamentary report of the nth inst shows that Mr Forbes, in reply to Mr Coates, admitted that the proposed increase in expenditure on railway and road construction was: for unemployment relief. The money to be spent is loan money, and when this is done, the men will be in the same position as at the beginning, out of work, and another loan will be necessary to carry on. It seems unwise to spend all the money on unproductive works. If part or the whole of it were used in placing men on the land, then, with a little outside work, all would be in a better position to face the future. This scheme would produce thousands of families .who Could work their f own land and .supply themselves with-most of the necessities of life. There would then be no “ desperate situations ” ■in Dunedin or elsewhere. How serious, the position is likely to become may be judged by the warnings of responsible leaders. It is reported that 30 men will be dismissed from the Harbour Board next week. This is a sign of the times... People who. have lost their jobs and have a little money should procure a few acres of good land and live on it, rather than stay in towns till their money is done, and then be to move. The following extract from a letter by your Sydney correspondent proves the wisdom of living on the land, in hard times.

The case Is cited of a man who was hit by the big slump in the irpn trade in Sydney . some years ago. The: one thing that saved him was a little block of land about 18 miles out of the city. There he moved with his family into a primitive shack. Before long the wilderness began to blossom as the roste. He laboriously conquered the earth and made it man s. He proved himself the type of man whom Carlyle deemed worthy of honour. There grew up a garden. A poultry yard was established. Then came n cow. The place became productive and profitable and the false glitter of the city lost all ts . charms for the man and his family. To-day, In spite of its hardships, they look back upon that period as the finest time of their lives. Labor omnia vlnclt. —I am, etc., Horace. Central Otago, August 10.