The Southland Times. PUBLISHED EVERY MORNING. Luceo Non Uro. FRIDAY, DECEMBER 19, 1930. THE UNKINDEST CUT.

Southland Times, Issue 21273, 19 December 1930, Page 4

The Southland Times. PUBLISHED EVERY MORNING. Luceo Non Uro. FRIDAY, DECEMBER 19, 1930. THE UNKINDEST CUT.

When Mr Finn was in Invercargill lie put much emphasis on the point that the Unemployment Board would avoid the evils of “red tape” and would function expeditiously and sympathetically. It has not taken Invercargill long to discover that either Mr Finn’s hopes were too glowing or local people misinterpreted what he said, because, so far as this city is concerned, one of the first definite acts of the board has been virtually to quash the Returned Soldiers Association’s scheme, one of the virtues of which was that it disclosed a measure of self-help on the part of the returned men seeking work. The Unemployment Board has declared its desire to secure the co-operation of public bodies, and so it seems extraordinary that at almost the first touch a local effort, deserving encouragement, should be received with every appearance of frigid disdain. In a statement expressing his disappointment at the board’s attitude, the Mayor (Mr -J. D. Campbell) mentions that three telegrams sent to the board failed to elicit replies. It is hard to believe that in this matter the Unemployment Board has added discourtesy to the city to its discouragement of the R.S.A. self-help scheme. There is the bare chance that the central body administering the Unemployment Fund is still considering the- matter and may yet give favourable attention to the claims of the sixty-two ex-soldiers affected. That should be the only possible explanation of the board’s refusal to answer what, after all, are reasonable requests. The aim of this effort has been to keep those returned soldiers in employ and to have as many as possible on the work before the arrival of Christmas, but the action of the Unemployment Board will mean that these men will be told, as a Christmas present, that this plan cannot be carried any further. A little while ago the board announced that it was making some £25,000 available to provide assistance for men before Christmas, and the grant was quickly allocated. Behind that action there was a humane wish to minimize, as far as possible, the distress of the workless during the festive season, but if the board wishes to avoid the charge that its well of sympathy has dried very quickly, it will display at least a little more concern for men who have an undeniable claim on the State for aid in the time of need. The Invercargill City Council used its funds in anticipation of the board’s grant for the work, and it, too, is faced with the danger of being left stranded with commitments it feels it cannot afford to make. These works are wholly unproductive, and they would not have been undertaken in the ordinary course of events, but they were part of the scheme originated by the Returned Soldiers’ Association, and the council had every right to expect sympathetic attention at the hands of the body created to deal with the unemployment problem. While there is no answer from the board, it is impossible to tell what its attitude is in connection with this matter, but if the scheme is to be assisted by grants, and we see no reason why it should not be assisted, the board has been singularly slothful in dealing with the communications sent from the corporation. If this is to be considered a fair sample of the manner in which the new organization is to operate, public patience is not going to last very long. The justification of the unemployment tax is that it has removed the administration of the funds intended for assisting workless men from the hands of the Government, and made possible expedition which is beyond the reach of State departments at times, but the board, whatever its views on the directions in which it should send its subsidies, has displayed, so far, neither energy nor sympathy in this business. To-day the local temporary executive of the Unemployment Board will meet to consider this development, and if no news has been received from Wellington steps should be taken to make vocal the public disapproval of the board’s apathy. Invercargill is a long way from Wellington, but we do not think distance should weigh with the board in a matter of this kind, especially when the vicitms of its dilatoriness are returned soldiers who have shown a readiness to help themselves. If this aspect is pressed vigorously . the. board will recognize that public sentiment is with the returned men, and in this effort to move the central body to activity the co-operation of the Southland members of Parliament should bo obtained. The discourtesy

to the Chief Magistrate of the City can be overlooked if the board makes known its willingness to subsidize this effort; but if it refuses it will add insult to undeserved injury.