UNEMPLOYMENT RELIEF

Otago Daily Times, Issue 21994, 1 July 1933, Page 9

UNEMPLOYMENT RELIEF

BORROWING NOT APPROVED ATTITUDE OF FINANCE COMMITTEE MAYOR’S PROPOSAL NOT FAVOURED That the Finance Committee of the City Council does not approve the Mayor s £70,000 loan proposal as a means of dealing with unemployment relief is indicated in the following recommendation that will be submitted to the meeting of the council on Wednesday night:— “The proposal to raise a loan to remodel the system of dealing with relict works, as submitted to council by the Mayor, was replaced by a modified set of proposals when the matter came before the Finance Committee. The amended scheme submitted by the Mayor is still based on a proposed loan ot £70,090 for expenditure over one year. Of this sum material, supervision, cartage, and the kindred charges now being paid out of council funds are to absorb £40,000, the balance, £30,000, is to be used in supplementing the relief pay oi 1200 men. , . . , “ The Mayor’s proposal is to expend the £40,000 approximately as foliows:— « ( a ) £IO,OOO on works calling for oo per cent, material, etc., and 50 per cent. relief labour. , , ... e . “ (b) £20,000 on work* the total re lief labour content of which is 75 per cent, of the total. i. . . “ (c) £IO,OOO for supervision on worxs the relief labour content of which is per cent, of the total. ‘ n i q “ The general effect of such propoea's can be shown roughly on a P™rata basis, if it be assumed that particula works can arranged as required to employ the labour in the three classes in the requisite proportion. T be resuu would then be approximately as follows.

£40,000 £30,000 £130,000 100 “Thus at ati total expenditure for labour of £160,000 (£30,000 of which is provided by council) the proposal is to supply an additional £40,000 to represent the estimated cost for P lO vision material, supervision, cartage, and tl e other local costs as af present. Ibat » an addition of 25 per cent, in comparison with about 22i percent, for similar charges last year. be regarded as the added benefit to tne city by way of engaging in works of a more beneficial character, a benefit that seems to us is reduced almost to the vanishing point, to say nothing of the additional £30,000 to be used in subsidising the labour cost from loan money. “The proposal is to use the £3o,ouu in supplementing the pay of 1200 men 10s per week to married men and ss, per week to single men. We are dealing with between 1700 and 1800 men on an average, while there are some 700 or 800 others under other employing authorities within the city area. • The Mayor deals with 1750, 350 of whom he estimates to be used on the Deep Stream water scheme, either in the factories or in the field, together with another 200 ‘in general trades indirectly.’ We have no means of determining the correctness or _ otherwise of this estimate, but it is certain that in any event, even should both proposals eventuate, ‘they cannot function hand in hand for a very considerable time. “ Following the Mayor’s allocation of the expenditure and dealing again on a proportionate basis, it is to be noted that 6.25 per cent, of the total labour cost would be spent on work of the first class, 37.50 per cent, would be spent on the midclass, and 56.25 ‘ per cent, on the class estimated to consist of a 90 per cent, labour charge. Whether it is possible to provide a sufficiency of work of this last class we are unable to say, and , that could be determined only from a detailed schedule of the works to be undertaken. “After giving the policy aspect of the subject full consideration we have no hesitation in reporting adversely on the proposal to borrow £70,000 for expenditure during one .year, as outlined in the Mayor’s amended proposals. Wfe are driven to this conclusion from a consideration of the fact that, even after allowing for the cut in interest costs, the loan liability of the general account at present absorbs over 50 per cent, of the general rate, and, whether or not the insurance premiums now being paid into the insurance funds be used to meet the charges on this proposed loan, the fact remains that, by further borrowing for non-revenue producing works, the charge must fall upon the city rates, either directly or indirectly.-:;' , “It is hoped that in the course of a few weeks we shall be submitting the water loan proposal of £IBO,OOO to the vote of the ratepayers. That fact, coupled with the knowledge that the Drainage Board is now considering pro-, posals for expenditure on further capital works from loan amounting to from £20,000 to £30,000 during the next year, should in our, opinion represent the limit to the additional loan liability of the district to which it is possible to io at the present juncture. “ Accordingly we have to recommend that the amended proposals outlined by the Mayor be not entertained. t “We have not thought it necessary to stress unduly the fact that the responsibility for the sufficiency or otherwise of the pay on relief works is not a local, but a national, responsibility, provision for which is made by special taxation levied on a national basis, and which, in our opinion, should be expended uniformly on_ that basis. 'Departure from that principle can only increase, not decrease, the difficulties of local districts. That such a process already has been in operation far too long is fully attested by the experiences of most of the main centres.”

WORK FOR TO-DAY Works Department.—Groups will commence at 8 a.m. to-day as follows: — 250—Sligo terrace, at Erin street. 252—The following men of group 252 at Kearney’s farm, Malvern street, one-half mile above Patmos avenue:—M. S. Brooker, W. C. Burns, P. C. Dillon, A. H. Grantham. 252 —The balance of group 252 at Pine Hill road, at Ford’s byre. 25.5—W. E. Fox’s farm, Barr street. 256—Ross Creek reservoir, 259—Leckhampton court, at Forfar 266 W. E. Fox’s farm, Barr street. 267 Preston crescent, at Harcourt street. 268 — Fitzroy street, at Mncandrew road. 270—Leckhampton court, at Forfar street. 275—The following men of group 275 at Alderton’s farm, Signal Hill road (branch off at entrance to new road extension, meet at M'Gregor street at 8 a.m.-): —W. R. Boyles, W. A. L. Budge, C. Gilchrist, W. F. Gillam, F. Howarth. 275—The balance of group 275 at Campbell’s road, at too) box, three-quarters mile beyond Watts road (arrive at 8.20 a.m.). 281 —Dean street, at Taieri road. 283—Somerville street, at Abbotsford road. 351—The following men of group 351 at Woodhaugh street, at quarry (morning only):—J. Anderson, L. G. Angell, E. W. C. Bruce, C. J. Cooper, J. Day, W. Foote. 351—The balance of group 351 at Murphy’s farm, Patmos avenue, one mile above Malvern street (arrive at 8.15 a.m.). 353—The following men of group 353 at M'Gill s farm, top of Montague street: — J. Anderson, H. E. B. Asher, W. R. Beadle, J. V. Beal, E. Cameron, J. Cleary. 353 -The balance of. group 353, Opoho road, at Hatfield street. * 354 Cavell street, at Lochend street. 355 — Highgate, at Claremont street! 356 — Highcliff road, at Every street. 357 — M'Leod’s farm. North Taieri road, below Ashburn Hall. 360 Sim’s farm, one-half mile southwest from St. Clair Golf Club house. 361 Green Island aerodrome site (meet at Caversham railway station at 7.55 a.m.). 362 Melbourne street yard. , 363 —Elgin road, at Bernard street.

364 — Jarvis’s farm,. Patinos avenue, one mile above Malvern street (arrive at 8.10 a.m.). 365 — Leven street, below Scarba street. 366 — Woodhaugh street, at quarry, 367 — Malvern street, at old sawmill. 368 — Signal Hill road, one mile and ahalf above tram terminus (meet at M'Gregor street at 8 a.m.). 370 —Pine Hill road, one-quarter mile below Patmos avenue intersection (arrive at 8.20 a.m.). 372 — Green Island aerodrome site (meet at Caversham railway station at 7.55 a.m.). 373 — Wharf street, at tip. 378 —Kaikorai Valley road, at Brockville road. 433 —Water of Leith, between Leith street and Union street. 535 —Water of Leith, between Leith street and Union street. 535a —Water of Leith, between Leith street and Union street. TO REPORT AT LABOUR BUREAU. Every man in the following groups must report at the Labour Bureau, 11 King street, on Monday. Any man failing to do so will be sruck off his group, and will not receive further relief unless and until it is again granted to him by the Labour Bureau; —Groups 336, 333, 307, 345. WET WEATHER In support of a request for wet-weather pay a deputation waited on the Unemployment Committee yesterday morning. It was explained to the spokesmen that the City Council and the Unemployment Committee intended to take the same points before the Minister of Employment (Mr A. Hamilton) on Monday. The deputation stated that the need for the revision of the present regulations was urgent, MINERS’ APPEAL The following appeal has been received by the Mayor (the Rev. E. T. Cox) from the miners of Kyeburn:— “ Situated on Kyeburn Diggings is a camp of some 25 subsidised miners. We have formed ourselves into a social and welfare club in an attempt to better our conditions and to make our lot a little easier during the winter months. As the •secretary of this club, I am writing to inquire if you could procure for us, through some suitable relief channel, any games, such as draughts, chessmen, playing cards, or any reading matter that would provide entertainment during the long evenings. Any form of indoor pastime would be greatly appreciated. The majority of the members are Dunedin men, and we are all hoping that you will be able to do something to assist the club. It is impossible for us to provide anything of this with our limited funds.” . BOOTS FOR MEN .. * \ Men in a large number of three-day groups are now eligible to do the work necessary to earn a pair of working boots. The men who are eligible are those who have made application on form U.B. 133 for the boots and have been advised by their ganger that they are now able to do the special day’s work. The dates and times of the work may be seen on the Labour Bureau’s notice board. ROSLYN DEPOT The committee of the Roslyn Relief Depot acknowledges the receipt of parcels from the following tradespeople:—Armit and Co. 59, Goodley and Sons 73 Hunter 6 Kingston 7, Laurenson and Son 10, Mitchell 5, M'Dowell 3, M'Farlane and Co. 4, MTCay Bros. 98, M'Kinlay 2, Miss Robertson 2, Shirley 17; 1001 b oatmeal from M‘Kay Bros.; fruit from Bridgman (Cromwell) and Hinton, (Earnscleugh); vegetables from Dr Falcoher, and apples, jam, and oatmeal from various donors. CENTRAL MISSION DEPOT The Central Mission acknowledges the following donations, which have been sent in during the last month: —Miss Marett, parcel of clothing; Mrs Sharp, clothing; Laurenson’s, bread; Grimmetts, bread; The Excella, cakes; Donaldson’s, cakes; Mrs Duff, butter; Salisbury Butchery, saveloys; Mrs S., clothing; Wolfenden and Russell, 121 b butter; Gregg and Co., rice; Scoular and Co., rice; Young and Anderson, sugar; Mr Thomas, clothing; Fraser’s Butchery, meat; Municipal Baths, sandwiches, etc.; Mrs D., butter; Cooperative Fruitgrowers, vegetables; Elliott, meat; Anderson, meat; Smith, meat; Glen Butchery, meat; Meenan, one sack onions; Dotting Bros. (Kensington), meat; Jensen (South Dunedin Butchery), meat; Cunningham, meat; Wix, meat; Guthrie and Ciimberbeach, meat; Young and Anderson, groceries; Godfrey, bread; Bates, vegetables; Reilly’s, vegetables; Mrs Ingram, clothing; Sinton, meat; Mrs Ridley, bed; Mr Luscamb, two mattresses; Mr Saltzman, three boxes butter, 1001 b tea; “Listener-in,” lady’s chair; Mr Dennis, tray of rabbits; J. B. Wootton, bread and scones; Mr Laidlaw, 25 oatmeal; Miss Anderson, clothing; “Aged Lady,” clothing and groceries; 9 Hood street, Roslyn, furniture and clothing; 95 Forth gtreet, clothing; 60 Moana crescent, furniture; Mrs Spink, parcel; Fort Roche, soup; Mrs Petherick, furniture; Mrs Oaten, furniture; Mrs Abernethy, beds and chair; Mrs Robertson, beds and boots;' 85 Russell street, butter; Mrs Vanes, rug; Mrs Galbraith, clothing and donation; Mrs Ingram (Mosgiel), vegetables; Duke and Son, meat; “A Friend,” clothing; Bojwell, meat; “A Friend,” clothing; Miss Ingram, berets: Mrs Elliott (Eeitnngata), and “Friend.” parcels; Mrs Elder, clothing; Mr Munro, meat; Mrs Gordon (Glen Park), mattresses and clothing; Miss Purvis, parcel: “A Friend,” parcel; Bates and Reilly’s Produce Market, vegetables: E. K. Cain, parcel clothing; Mr Shaw, sharpening saw, "FOOD” MATINEES Special matinees will be screened at the Strand, Octagon, and King Edward Theatres this morning in aid of the Mayor’s and the Rev. L. B. Neale’s relief funds. The only charge for admission will be a parcel of food or clothing, and it is hoped that a good response will be made. At the Octagon Theatre the film “Silent Men” will be screened, the featured player being Tim M'Coy, and the Strand and King Edward Theatres will show “No Great Love,” starring little Dickie Moore and Beryl Mercer. Supporting films, including comedies, cartoons, and news reels will also be shown at each theatre. BUILDING SUBSIDY SCHEME OPERATIONS IN AUCKLAND. (Special to Daily Times.) AUCKLAND, June 30. A further indication *of the stimulating effect of the Unemployment Board’s building subsidy is having on building operations in Auckland i e giveri_ by the total values of the jobs for which subsidies have been sought. Up to to-day 98 applications had been made by Auckland builders, the declared value totalling £84,000. The records kept at the Auckland office of the board show that the labour cost on these works will be £26,000, and that the Government subsidy will aggregate £9312. It is anticipated that many more applications will be filed a« some hundreds of forms have been issued by the office.

From Unemployment. From To Board. loan mate- subsidise Kelict rial, etc. relief pay. • pay. is! (c) 10.000 1,875 8,125 6.25 20.000 11.250 48,750 37.50 10.000 16,875 73,125 50.25