Manchester, June 4.
There is every reason to believe that our present Labour Government will come to a premature end through its inability to solve the problem of unemployment. The possession of a certain cure for this canker at the heart of our industrial life was the most specific of all its election promises. It claimed to be the only political party that had tone. The panacea was a national scheme of productive work by the establishment of a rational system of power supply, the development of transport, land drainage, "Afforestation, town-planning, and housing, 'The first seasion of the nev Parminent's life is now nearly over' jand not one of these grandiose pro-rises las been fulfilled. When Br. Shave, the Minister of Labour, was asked in Parliament a few days ago' to produce Labour's "positive cure" he pettishly replied that he could not conjure up cures for the evil Vike "rabbits out of a hat." This sent millions of pounds paid out for which the State gets no return, Coot Acceptance of Evil, The number of unemployed has varied very little during the past six months. It is about 1,100,000, Our worst period was in the summer of 1921 when there were over 2,100,000 workers out of work. From then until a few months ago the decrease was fairly steady except for the slight seasonal rise each winter. As the Minister of Labour has made out his estimates on the assumption that there will be little decrease in the present number for another six months it seems evident that Labour does not intend to put ito operation for into industrial it would appear Tistle faith in it achieving will be about a million' of work until 1926, reply gave enormous delight to the opposition parties and spread con-stomation among Labour workers.
Soon after Labour was installed in office it abolished the "gap" in Unemployment Insurance benefits, This "gap" was an occasional fon night between periods of unemploy ment benefit in which the unfortunate victim had either to starve apply for parish relief. It was designed to stimulate the workless into a more frantic search for the the work that wasn't to be had. The rank and file of the Labour movement imagined that this am: oration of the condition of the employed was a preliminary to the promised schemes of national reconstruction. But the months have passed und neither Mr. Webb, the Party Oracle, nor Ble. the Labour have any signs of which is to embody the bromized reconstruction schemes. Instead this Mr. Shaw sponsored a new Bill to extend the present benefit period to 62 wacks in the year; to increase the weekly benefit by 3/-; to pay to all workers thrown idle through a strike in which they take no direct part, and to extend the payments to children between the ages of 14 and 16, cure it i that the Parties? election address promises are exactly the same as those of their predecessors—pure vote-catching.
The left wing orities of the Labour! Ministey express little surprise at failure to cope with the problem. Their periodicals, steering w tortuous course between orthodox Britis! Socialism and Communism, have repeatedly remarked on the callous indifference of the typical Labour leader to the plight unemploy-fed. They: allege, with that trade union' officials will not bother with the troubles of unfort nates who have no coppers to spare for subscriptions and salaries, and no potential lever such as a threat to down tools to intimidate the powers in authority. Delegations from the unemployed to trade union and Labour congresses were i ably shown scant courtesy a refused a hearing. And the del gates living in the best hotels in the seaside towns favoured for the con-grouses saw nothing incongruous in Mowing their unfortunate petitioners to spend their nights sleeping under the piers or in the eacunt wards of the workhouxes, Unersployed and Unemployable.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.