AUCKLAND’S BURDEN.

Otago Witness, Issue 3808, 8 March 1927, Page 71

AUCKLAND’S BURDEN.

LABOUR MARKET FLOODED. SPECTRE OFcUNEMPLOYMENT. A DTinedin visitor - 'to Auckland found, on making exhaustive" inquiries, that the number of men out of work in the Queen City has now reached an alarmingly high figure. One middle-aged Aucklander, who has lived in the city practically all his life, said that he had never known Auckland to be in such a depressed state as regards employment. He was a cabinetmaker by trade. and had not been able to secure even half a day’s work during the past three _pr four months. He predicted a crash near future iir connection with the .system of purchasing all kinds of household goods on the instalment plan. More tWn half the people “setting up house’' secured their furniture and other necessary articles on the weekly instalment basis. There were even large numbers of men who had, purchased motor cars on that system. By the time many people paid their weekly instalments on their furniture, the motor car, the sewing machine, and the interest and insurance

on the house and contents, they had very little left. Along Auckland’s busy waterfront in the vicinity of Queen street wharf, scores of able-bodied men—young, middle-aged, and past the prime of life—can be seen ■walking round.with nothing to do except puff at an almost empty pipe or nibble a dried-up sandwich carried in a piece of newspaper. All day long men of all ages are to be seen occupying the scats placed under the archways of the ferry buildings. The Dunedin visitor was also informed on good authority that many unfortunates who have neither work to <’»> nor a roof to cover them can be seen nightly sleeping on the turf beneath Grafton bridge, their own covering being news-

papers. It was learned that Aucklanders as a whole are very bitter against the Government over the heavy influx of immigrants from England. It was only the tact shown by the leaders that prevented a demonstration by Auckland’s unemployed on the morning the Duke and Duchess of York landed from H.M.S. Renown. Labour is so plentiful in Auckland that the heads of any business con-, corn are independent. They can dispense with the services of an employee without any inconvenience, knowing full well that there is always a rush of applicants to fill any vacancy. The truth of this was borne out during the Royal procession through Queen street. Standing in the dense throng near the Town Hall the Dunedin visitor heard a girl inform her chum that she was out of a job again. She_ had “got the sack at a moment’s notice because she ran to the shop door to see the Duke and Duchess pass.” It was ’famed that the young lady was a n-.itress. There are hundreds of girls following this calling on the unemployed list in Auckland.