New-York tribune., 1922-04-02

P" I" "eoate. onc hcars little Of the
struggles to make both ends meet
without resort to charity, yet the slums
OF London are full of women who
spend busy days at home STITCHING
walstcoats and glueing boxes to exc
out their husbands doles.
From the Ministry of Labor the onin-
ION is given that the insurance system
for the country at large has worked
satisfactorily. Poor relief PAYMENTS
vary with districts. But in general
the total dole is considered too low
to compete with wages. The vast ma
]ority of workers. it is said live on
their insurance benefits and their saw
lngs independent Of the poor law.
IN reply TO stories of abuses Mar
garet Bondhcld, secretary of the
women workers section Of the Na-
tionai Union of General Workers, said:
1T is lmpertinence to talk like this
about 1t. Tho workers and EMPLOYERS
pay most toward the insurance. Those
who are out CT work are fully entitled
to whatever benefits they draw. But
i'0 N'ie Sa' itNc OH me Qolc. imagine
a girl trying to live on twelve shill-
lngs week. She may buy her food:
but she cannot pay her room rent She
has to trespass on the good will of her
landlady until the husband or son. n.r-
| maps, IS thrown out of work Then she
must appeal to the Board of Guardians.
"One must remember that there is
definite disadvantage in accepting work
1t 1t is uncertain and low paid. If pco-
pie prefer the dole to work, the scan
dal is not that they refuse work, but
that they arc offered wages less than
twelve shillings week.
But it is monstrous to say that a
man will quit work because his next
door ncighhor is drawing more in
benefits than he in wages. 1t simply
doesn't happen. Men are too eager for
| jobs. Of course, one will find here
and there an isolated individual who
has lost interest and spends his life
lounging around But these are by no
means confined to the working class"
Arthur Henderson, NJ. P, chief whip
and secretary of the Parliamentary
Labor party, is inclined to much the
same opinion.
"Possibly there are a few cases Of
men preferring to live on the doles,"
he said, "but you cannot accuse a man
of that until you have actually offered
| him the job and had him refuse it. In
| any case, he can hardly get enough
from doles TO make it worth his while
| Right to Exist Is Added
To Right to Work Phrase
mind you, labor is not for main
tenance for its own sake. Some time
back we invented the phrase, the right
to work We believe every man should
have that right; but lacking it, he
must have maintenace"
Mr.. Henderson parried the attack on
INDECENT labor with return thrusts on
the government policy:
"When orthodox politicians throw up
to me cases of persons whom the pay
ment of relief encourages to stay out
! Of work, I answer,
"'Yes, that may be true; but whose
fault is it? Your policy brings US to
that
"If labor had the matter in hand,
when John Smith was out of job and
applied for his dole, we would say,
"'We're not going to pay you three
or four pounds a week any more. But
we have job that will pay it to you
instead
I'VE suggest that when crisis
seems imminent, industry should begin
dividing up work ahead of time instead
of throwing so per cent of the men out
later. twenty-five per cent might be
sent away for a fortnight's vacation
When they returned, twenty-five more
could go. Thus advantage would be
taken of the situation to tone the men
up and keep them in the pink Of con-
dition. Capitalist industry requires 4
reserve supply of labor just as the
army and the navy need reserves. 1t
should be willing to keep this reserve
in the best shape possible
CAT all times MIR. Henderson added
LnSTe are people WIZ VIII pi AAioA
ity and loafing to work and indepen-
dence Such men should be dealt with
separately. We believe applicants for
relief should be investigated and if
found unfit should be taken in hand
and built up until they no longer shirk
: work Orthodox politicians call that
infringing on the liberty Of the lndi-
vdual. They don't care whether men
prefer to loaf, that's all. But ours is
policy of conservation and the best
conservation l know"
Mr.. Henderson thinks this is hardly
the time to discuss unemployment ano
unemployment insurance, now that the
, nation has two million unemployed or
its back.
measures should have been taker
long ago to prevent the crisis was
his opinion THE basis of the trouble
is the international policy. Labor be
: lieves in rcparations. But from the
first We have denounced the policy OF
making Germany pay the whole cos