15 



for help." Councillor Swan, Ex-Mayor, who investigated the ^ase, 

 said they were a very respectable family, and that the house had 

 been almost stripped in order to keep the rent paid up to date. 

 They had been tenants in their present house for 1 1 years. There 

 were sacks on the beds for covering, with the exception of a quilt 

 which had been given them, &c. The man is a dock labourer, and 

 has been a soldier. It was a most pathetic case, and quite genuine. 



Can any person in reason expect a man tike this to turn out 

 and do work eqjial with that performed by a man who has been 

 well fed, housed, and having a contented mind ? Yet that is what 

 we have been doing, and because he has failed many people argue 

 that it is quite impossible to grapple with the unemployed problem. 

 All those who have had any experience whatever in regard to such 

 schemes agree that if the unemployed were given a chance in 

 regard to good food and housing for but a' week or two, that they 

 would give quite satisfactory results in comparison with the work 

 performed by men constantly employed. 



There are, however, some thousands of men who have migrated 

 from the rural areas, and who would return to the country if the 

 opportunity presented itself. With a central Government depart- 

 ment in touch with all the unemployed agencies in the couutr>', 

 this class of labour could be first got together and set to work on 

 afforestation. If this were done, success financially would attend 

 it from the start. As to the town-bred unemployed workman, all 

 that is wanted is willingness on his part to do the work, and on 

 the part of the prompters to give him a week or two, with good 

 food and housing accommodation, and even he would do this class 

 of work all right. 



The possibilities in regard to this question are greater than 

 some people imagine. Why even the spoil banks of the black 

 country are being made pleasing to the eye by the planting of trees 

 on them. This is being done by an Association, who pay the 

 unemployed 18/- per week for such work, and who go as far as to 

 say that they anticipate a return of 2i per cent. These hideous 

 spflll heaps exist all over the country, and inasmuch as trees will 

 grow on them, why not have them used for that purpose ? The 

 landscape would be all the better for it. 



Mr Chiozza Money, M.P., in that excellent book of his, 

 " Riches and Poverty," writes : — " Forestry is almost an unknown 

 art in the United Kingdom. I^andowners do not understand it ; 

 their agents do not understand it. Yet its possibilities are 

 enormous, and might be realised. There need he no acre of the 

 77,000,000 not useful or not beautiful. Millions of acres of 

 land now termed waste may be clothed in verdure to j'ield a 

 steady and certain income, and make us largely independent of 

 imported timber , , , , , Kvery acre afforested would require 



