RELIEF OF DISTRESS

Otago Daily Times, Issue 21988, 24 June 1933, Page 12

RELIEF OF DISTRESS

URGENCY OF NEED DIVERGENCE OF OPINIONS The statement which was made by the Mayor of Dunedin (the Rev. E. T. Cox) at a meeting early in the week that there were als present in the city 5000 people who were underfed has aroused a good deal of comment among those whose work at the various relief depots and other organisations for the alleviation of the distress among the unemployed has provided them with an opportunity of forming ail accurate estimate of the position. While in some quarters it is believed that the Mayor has not overstated the facts, in others the opinion is held that the poverty existing at the moment is no greater than was the case this time last year. It is stated by those who hold the latter view that the depot system, combined with what the churches are doing, is succeeding remarkably well in coping w'ith the requests for assistance that are being received, but it appears to be generally admitted that a certain amount of hardship, the extent of which it is difficult to estimate, is being experienced by a class of people which does not obtain any benefit from the unemployment relief schemes. Interviewed by a Daily Times reporter yesterday morning, the Rev. L. B. Neale, of the Central Mission, stated that he fvas confident that the Mayor had by no means exaggerated the position when he stated that there were 5000 people in Dunedin who were underfed. In 20 years' experience, Mr Neale said, he had never before encountered conditions so distressing as they were to-day. Mr Neale stated that he was daily receiving pathetic letters ; which indicated that the need was widespread and urgent. Judged from the experience of those at the Central Mission Depot, it would appear that the sum of £IO,OOO would not by any means be sufficient for relief purposes in the whole of the city. Mr Neale stated that since the beginning of this year the mission had spent no less than £2OOO on the relief of distress, and this had sufficed for no , more than 400 families per week. Although the district depots had done a great deal by supplying fuel and clothing at reduced prices, in many instances people were not able to afford even the small amount asked, and when they had been able to overcome this difficulty the question of obtaining food still remained. In these circumstances it was absolutely necessary that some arrangements should be made for providing food for the most urgent cases, In any event, Mr Neale stated, the Mayor's Fund should already be in operation, as the winter was half gone, and unless things ■were speeded up it would be too late tor the unemployed to obtain the full benefit .from the appeal during the hardest part of the year. Mr Neale stressed the fact that when the money was raised it should be made available to those whom it was intended to assist through the existing organisations for relief, as was now being done with the funds from a similar appeal in Christchurch. PROBLEM OF SPECIAL CASES. Mr H. L. Paterson, a member of the executive which controls the local district depot, system, when interviewed, said he considered that among the unemployed there was not a great deal of real hardship. He explained that the depots subsidised the purchase of fuel and clothing by the unemployed. Kaitangata coal, which cost 4s per bag on the flat, was sold at the depots at 2s 3d per bag; boots which were retailed at 17s 6d per pair were sold at 9s, and in other ways the depots subsidised the amount which the unemployed received in wages and spent at the depot. In addition to this, the family allowance was available to those with more than * two children under a certain age. , The unemployed themselves stated that they preferred to buy their own food, and when the depot scheme was first being considered they had informed the executive that, if they could be supplied with cheap clothing and fuel, they would be able to manage with their rent and food. If the appeal which was now being launched, however, brought in the required amount, the executive would be able to authorise the giving of additional assistance' in certain cases where the need was greater than the average, owing to some special circumstance, such as sickness or other misfortune. Apart from the unemployed, there were a number of people who did not apply to the depots for help, but who were even more in need of it than those out of work. These were elderly people who had had their pensions reduced or had lost the little investments upon which they were dependent for a livelihood. That morning, Mr Paterson stated, he had investigated a case of an elderly couple who had an income of 19s per week, out of which they had to spend 15s per week on the rent of their one room, leaving them 4s per week to provide themselves with food and clothing. They had informed him that during the past three days they had had no food apart from some soup. • DEPOT SYSTEM DEFENDED. The chairman of the ,No. 4 District (Cr J. L. MTndoe) was even more emphatic in his assertion that the district depots were catering adequately for the needs of the unemployed and their families. A few minutes before he was interviewed, he said) he had been speaking with the child welfare officer, who had told him that in every case in which investigation revealed evidences of malnutrition it had been ascertained that the father was receiving as much in unemployment relief as other men whose families were well cared for, but was spending it on drink. Speaking for hfs own district, Cr M'lndoe said he was positive that the position was no worse than last winter, and so far as food, clothing, and fuel were concerned, his officers had reported to him that no cases of genuine want were known. The details of a scheme for providing cheap mutton for the unemployed had just been completed, and this should still further aid the men in their attempts to make both ends meet. ‘

There was, however, m his district, a serious shortage of blankets. This he attributed to the fact that. while the men had been able to meet their commitments for rent, food, and clothing, they had not been able to save anything above this from their wages. Consequently, they were not able to renew bedding which during the last three years of depression had gradually been wearing out, and when the cold weather came on the demand for extra blankets had become acute. Apart from this aspect, the depots were largely able to meet the requirements of the unemployed. He agreed with Mr Paterson that, if a large central fund could be created now as the result of the Mayor’s appeal, the surplus would be available to meet the needs of special cases which scarcely came within the scope of unemployment relief. The fund could also be drawn on for the purchase of blankets and for emergency efforts. In conclusion, Mr M'lndoe stated that it was significant that he had recently been informed by a representative of the social work of one of the churches that he could not recall a year in which so few requests for assistance had been, received. To such an extent was this true that the church in question was seriously considering closing one of its two orphanages. The speaker attributed this to the efficiency of the relief afforded by the district depots.