UNEMPLOYMENT.

Otago Witness, Issue 3828, 26 July 1927, Page 31

UNEMPLOYMENT.

RELIEF WORK IN DUNEDIN. The City Council's weekly wages bill for relief works is approximately £614, made up as follows: — , Unemployed relief works: Works department 77, reserves department 42 —119 men; weekly wages £430.. Poppy Day funds: Reserves department 20 men; weekly wages £34. Logan Park: Reserves department 23 men; weekly wages £lOO. 316 NAMES ON THE REGISTER. On Thursday the list of unemployed men on the register at the Labour Bureau in Dunedin was examined, and a number of names were struck off. There are now on the list the names of 146 married men and 170 single men. Twenty women have registered. THE DRIFT TO THE TOWNS. WELLINGTON, July 23. Startled by the continued increase in the number of unemployed, the Wellington Executive Committee of the Mayor’s fund has decided to insist upon six months* residential qualification. By the end of next week the City Council alone will have put on 500 men. besides those for whom work has been found by the Government and the boroughs of Hutt and Petone. There were 553 names on the register on Monday last, and since then the number has been largely added to. When the agitation first began there were only supposed to be 557 names on the lists, so' that the applicants have considerably more than doubled. LOANS TO FARMERS SUGGESTED. WELLINGTON, July 21. A suggestion that five to 10 years’ loans might be granted to farmers to enable them to give work to the unemployed was made in tho Ilou-e of Representatives to-day byMr E. A. Ransom (Pahiatua). The suggestion was commented on by tho Minister of Finance, Mr W. Downie Stewart, who, while pointing out some of the obvious difficulties in giving effect to it, said that he would be glad to look into the question to see whether some workable scheme could be evolved. Mr Ransom said that the money, which could be loaned on the amortisation principle on such work as grubbing and drainage, would serve the doubly useful purpose of assisting the farmers in bringing their holdings to a state, of greater productivity and also help in a measure to relieve tho unemployed situation. Mr Stewart said some such proposals had been considered from time to time by tho Government, but there was a number of difficulties in the way. In the first place, if these loans were made available on specially favourable terms, there would be a deluge of-applications, and unless some such organisation as tho Farmers’ Union could, undertake the allocation of them, discontent would arise when farmers, who were refused loans, saw that loans had been granted to their neighbours. There was also the further question of security. If farmers were in possession of ample security for rhe Joans they would have no difficulty ia raising money privately; but it was another matter when there.was little margin of security for the loans. The money would have to come out of the unemployment relief funds as the State Advances Pcpartr.ienl was new up to its limit. -Applications would be received from all pails of the Doniinioti. for the question was not one with a local application. If She difficulty were purely a local one something might lx- done on tho lines of the relief granted the big AA'ainiarino fire, when money was advanced to farmers for grass seed, etc., on their promissory notes. If be >-'n:ovnbered correctly tho whole of lhat money was repaid within a few years.