Bay Of Plenty Beacon Published Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. WEDNESDAY, NOV. 2, 1949 STRANGE REASONING

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 14, Issue 58, 2 November 1949, Page 4

Bay Of Plenty Beacon Published Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. WEDNESDAY, NOV. 2, 1949

STRANGE REASONING

In the realms of politics, particularly in the midst of party campaigning, some pretty raw statements are made by ardent though often illogical supporters of one side or the other, and this week’s prize must go to Mr K. McL. Baxter, secretary of the national executive of the Federation of Labour.

Concerning the National Party’s declared policy on trade union affairs, Mr Baxter has been reported to have wired Mr Holland, “The Federation of Labour is amazed at the unprecedented proposals for the destruction of the present democratic administration of trade union affairs by political control through the Electoral Department, as contained in the National Party policy. This is regimentation of the workers almost identical with the policies of the Hitler and Stalin regimes.”

We might be accused of being unreasonable, but it seems to us it ill becomes a man who presumably supports the Labour Party’s policy of compulsory unionism without the option to see the seeds of Fascism in pro-perly-organised secret ballots.

Whether those union officials who have been able to use it to the benefit of the particular Party they support can see it this way or not, there are a lot of people in this country who regard compulsory unionism as a grave step toward just the sort of political regimentation Mr Baxter claims to fear. There might even be a majority amongst the conscripted members of unions who see it that way.

All the National Party aims to do is to find out in the fairest, most democratic way possible—through an independently-sup-ervised secret ballot—whether the workers want to be regimented.

Possibly Mr Baxter’s fear arises from his knowledge that a free-thinking democratic people will give the answer he does not want.

Possibly he kno\ s that voters in a secret ballot are less likely to be influenced by the pressure groups within the unions who have had things pretty much their own way because of the natural reluctance of conscripted members to take a serious interest in union affairs.

His charge that independently supervised secret ballots would amount to “political control through the Electoral Department” is a serious attack upon the honour and integrity of Mr Holland and his colleagues. It implies that he thinks such ballots might be tampered with.

It is regrettable that such an unworthy suspicion should be voiced at the present time. Just as regrettable as it would be if

some supporter of the Nationalists seriously suggested that he thought it possible that the Government might tamper with the votes to retain office at a general election. For a man in Mr Baxter’s position to scream about the re gimentation of the workers does indeed seem strange. What else has been for years the avowed objective of the organisation of which he is secretary? If compulsory unionism can be more aptly described we have •yet to hear the description.