UNEMPLOYMENT

Otago Daily Times, Issue 21579, 26 February 1932, Page 4

UNEMPLOYMENT

INTERNATIONAL DAY DEMONSTRATION BY UNEMPLOYED MEETING AT QUEEN’S GARDENS International Unemployment Day—a day set aside for mass demonstrations by the unemployed throughout the world —was inaugurated on February 25 of last year, but the day was observed in New Zealand for the first time yesterday, when demonstrations were held by the unemployed workers in Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch, and Dunedin. Locally the observance of the day took the form of a procession of unemployed men and women, which marched from the Oval by a circuitous route to the Queen’s Gardens, where a gathering of about 1000 people was addressed by several speakers. Throughout, the proceedings were quiet and orderly, and at the Queen’s Gardens the remarks of the speakers were characterised by a moderation that is sometimes lacking in demonstrations of a like nature.

After forming up at the Oval, about 200 of the demonstrators, including a score of women, and led by a pair of pipers, moved in procession along Princess and George streets and down Frederick street into King street, whence they marched by way of St. Andrew street into Cumberland street and along to Queen’s Gardens. Along the line of route bystanders joined the procession from time to time, until, when the gardens were reached, the total number of marchers would be in the vicinity of 400. Banners held high bore such captions as “ Work, Not Charity,” “Landlords, Wake Up! No Pay, No Rent,” and “No. 5 Scream,” and abput a couple of dozen men in a vanguard wore red rosettes in their buttonholes. Every now and then a group of police would be sighted by the marchers, and greeted with salvoes of ironic cheers, whilst both newspaper offices on the line of march were enthusiastically counted out. As the procession passed a large jewellery shop in Princes street a crash of glass occasioned some perturbation among the staff, every member of which immediately rushed to the door, only to find that a somewhat venturesome amateur photographer had put his foot through a sheet of glass in the roof of the veranda.

Arrived at the Queen’s Gardens, the procession came to a halt around one of the guns, on which the speakers took their stand. By this time a crowd of about 1000 persons had gathered, and without exception speeches were listened to uninterruptedly. The principal address was given by Mr T. West, president of the Christchurch Unemployed Association, who maintained that it was the duty of the State and the State only to provide either work or maintenance. The present No. 5 scheme, he considered, was 1 bringing the unemployed workers to a state of pauperisation that they should no longer tolerate, and the only policy was for the unemployed, the small business man, the worker, the small farmer, and, in fact, everyone who had suffered by the present depression, to build up a united force to make strong _ representations against the capitalistic system, which, after all, was _ responsible for the present state of affairs. Several other speakers addressed the meeting, and the following resolutions were carried: —

(1) “That this meeting of employed and unemployed calls upon the Government immediately to institute a State food relief fund to provide a 100 per cent, increase on the present basis of hospital boards’ rationing. We consider that the obligation of providing food is not the function of the hospital boards—it is the Government’s duty to decentralise the administration to the Labour Department. Further, it is obligatory on the Government to attend to the wants of the people to provide full maintenance and the necessities of life, and not the duty of the citizens of the State. i

(2) “That this meeting urges all employed and unemployed workers immediately to form an effective combination to resist the threatened further attacks on wages and conditions, and prevent the carrying out of the threat by the Unemployment Board to lower in a wholesale manner the condition of relief works. We pledge ourselves to unite with the workers of the whole of New Zealand in the struggle for living conditions for all sections of the working class. (3) “That this mass meeting of the workers of Dunedin demands that eviction of unemployed workers must cease. It insists on the right of every man willing to take part in production to the shelter of a home for himself, his wife, and children, and demands that in the coming session of Parliament a measure be passed recognising this fundamental need.

“ That this meeting makes an emphatic protest against the sentences passed on our comrades involved in the recent demonstration of hungry men and women for food, and, in the case of Mr Braithwaite, demands his immediate release, and that of all comrades convicted for their working class activities.” The gathering was brought to a close by the singing of “ The Red Flag ” and cheers for the unemployed workers’ movement and Mr West.

CITIZENS’ RELIEF DEPOT The last distribution of relief under the auspices of the Citizens’ Relief Depot took place on Wednesday, when some 400 families received their weekly allowance. It was hoped that it would be possible to distribute supplies for the week-end to-day, but the funds of the depot are completely exhausted, and it has been found that the depot will not be in a position to bridge the gap pending the opening of the Mayor’s Depot. The collection taken up during yesterday’s procession realised £lB 3s, but the bulk of this is required to pay off outstanding accounts. A full list of tbs week’s acknowledgments will appear later. DOMINION REGISTRATIONS SLIGHT DECREASE FOR WEEK. (Feb United I’bess Association l WELLINGTON, February 25. The unemployed registrations in the Dominion for the week ended February 22 were 44,210, a decrease of 801 on the previous week.