The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1935-01-11
World Front
: BY HARRY CANNES
The British Rainbow
Hunger at the End
Brisbane Distortions

Brisbane Distortions
THE American capitalists
i are riotously generous in
their newspaper headlines at
least, with the money of the
bosses of other lands. This
is especially we'll Illustrated
in the recent cable story from
London on the new trick move of
the British government in the field
of unemployment doles.
When the story was first carried.
the New York Sun, for instance.
made it appear that the British
government had passed a bill guar
anteeing all workers earning less
than SIS a week sufficient to make
up that sum- And they declared
in the headlines, of course-that
100000 workers would benefit.
But the more one investigates the
stories, even in the capitalist press,
the more one can see that every
move against the workers is trans
lated, in the boss press, as a great
boon to the wage slaves. It's all
very much like Roosevelt's scheme
to take workers off the relief lists
and put them-or a small proper
ton of thenl-on work relief, and
then throw them off work relief
into the garbage can.
In England the situation is of a
different complexion because there
the workers have won at least some
meagre form of unemployment in-
surance. The aim of the employers
now is to try to lower the amount
the workers get, while the workers
fight for an increase in the small
dole
NOW let's trace the story. Arthur
II Brisbane, quick to use every
quirk in the news to amaze and be-
fuddle his readers, takes up the is-
sue He writes:
THE British government assumes
responsibility for the care and
maintenance of every able-bodied
worker, insured or not insured,
whose wages, when he works are
less than $25 week,
Seventeen million British wage
earners will get enough pay from
the government, in cash, to bring
their incomes up to a living stand
ard and idle workers will receive
from the government cash on which
to live, as a matter of right and de-
cency. with no charity stigma.
Emphasis his.)
This is lie out of the whole
cloth. Not single employed
worker gets a cent, even if his chill
dren are dying of malnutrition. In
fact. the total sum provided with
the new measure is $25 100000. and,
since the majority of the 100000
don't even get half of $25 a week.
the $25,ooO,O00 wouldn't last a week.
What actually happened in Eng
land is that the government OF the
British slave holders, with its skilled
ex-Sccialist leader, Ramsay Mac
Donald, at its head, has worked
out a scheme to save money at the
expense of the unemployed.
A new fund has been created.
not by the bosses shelling out any
more money, but by transferring
municipal and county poor funds
into a central deposit, and by cut
ting down on payments, thereby
saving the bosses pretty penny.
Now, here is some proof OF the
distortion of the editorial and
head writers of the capitalist press.
The United Press cable from Lon-
don relating the event declares:
THE board Gin charge of the new
arrangement of relief payments to
those who are no longer eligible to
unemployment insurance. starts
work with a government deposit in
the Bank of England of $4,000, 900.
The bulk Of the money is book
keeping transfer of funds handled
hitherto by local authorities"
But even this bookkeeping scheme
is a double entry system aimed at
swindling the workers. We read
further on in. the U. P. story that
the tories (and their ex-Labor Party
associatss) are playing politics in
order to preserve the fortunes of
ire rich against the demands of
the workers. We quote the cable.
IF it seems strange that gov-
eminent dominated by the Cen
servative Party should place SO
heavy burden upon the stoop-
ing shoulders OF John Bull, Part
of the unemployment assistance
act of 1884 makes the reason
plain.
THE new act definitely puts a
stop to further borrowing by the
unemployment Insurance fund
and ccmpels the board to work
steadily toward making that fund
solvent and 'actuarislly sound
Second, it attempts to take the
whole question out of politics by
giving the board complete power
to determine the scale of assists
ance without any detailed inter-
ference from Parliament. Third.
since the present swing to the
Left is resulting in the Labor
Party's election of numerous local
authorities, il removes any
temptation to appeal to the
electors by promising increased
unemployment assistance"