"DEMOCRACY OR SOCIALISM"

Press, Volume LXXIV, Issue 22517, 27 September 1938, Page 12

"DEMOCRACY OR SOCIALISM"

ISSUE BEFORE ELECTORS

NATIONAL PARTY CANDIDATE AT TIMARU

[THE PKESS Special Service.]

TIMARU, September 26.

"This election is going to be fought on a straight-out issue of democracy and freedom versus Socialism," said 'Mr W. H. Hall, the National Party candidate for the Timaru seat, in an address given in the Scottish Hall, Timaru, to-night. There was a large attendance, over which the Mayor (Mr W. G. Tweedy) presided. "Socialisation of production is now on the soft pedal," said the speaker. "In the past • members of the Labour Party were proud to declare themselves Socialists, and if this were not election time they would still do so. There is no doubt that the present Government's ideal is complete State ownership, that is Socialism, and with most or all of the powers in the hands of dictator-Ministers and their departments. In fact, this Government has already given dictatorial power to the Ministers, and the free, unfettered right of British people to appeal to the Courts has been steadily and with as little fuss as possible taken away. "New Zealand has to make a momentous decision. Do we want Socialism of the Russian and German model, or do we want to stick to democracy and private enterprise that have built up New Zealand to the highest standards of living in the world? "If we admit the Socialists' claim that they, and they alone, are responsible for the undoubted prosperity we have had, then they might also claim with equal reason that they are responsible for the greater prosperity of Australia, where all classes have benefited. Neither Britain nor Australia has a Socialistic Government, but in these countries private enterprise has full scope, and has given better results than our system of interference, regulation, excessive taxation, and Government experimentation. Position of Newfoundland

"A constituent part of the Empire that tried glib promises of good times, unlimited spending, and the millennium for the worker is Newfoundland, and the result is that the Socialistic Government crashed, Great Britain having to send a commission to clean up the mess," said Mr Hall. "Like New Zealand, Newfoundland depends upon it z exports of primary produce to buy goods Prices fell in the depression, and times were hard, so they voted for a oarty that promised them good times b/ meam of a big public works programme Bridges, roads, railways. f n d m buiidingl wire'built their economic value, and the result that the Newfoundland primary in(principally fishing) were Reelected, and men rushed to pubhc B -i.» in shnrt the very men who should have been' rebuilding industry were bein J paid by the Government to stS onunproductive works while wd^S W xpo C r°t U fnduftries, butter and cheSse wool and meat, are suffering fnfhe'same way because so many men have been drawn from the »"*"*.,£ Sublic works that the wives and children of the farmers have be endnven into the cowsheds and into the fields because labour cannot be had. "Messrs Savage and Nash say tnai the people should not complain m pause they are paying nearly twice almuch in taxation as they were eight meoln other words, we are asked tef accent'with gratitude that they are into financial and econormc ', „.. vin not forget, also, that tne £ a hls depreciated %y 25 per cent in the meantime. I say it is not what you havf left but what you can buy with vSat you have left, that counts. The housewife knows how very, very little she can buy with 20s to-day and believe me it will be less and less in tne future under this Government that claims that it is the friend of the people.

Proceeds from Taxation "The Socialist Government in 1937-38 took £11,000,000 from customs duty, £IOOO,OOO from beer duty, ana £3 250 000 from high, wage taxation. The harnessing of prices and insulation of this and that is so much -camenace In cold facts people wnl have paid"£3l,ooo,ooo in customs duties and that sum will have to be, addedL to prices and conversely deducted from purchasing power. The pocket.is hit every time, principally that of tne W "The Socialistic Government is today spending with extreme extravagance and proposes to embark on more and still more spending. High company taxation prevents companies from building up ■« s .^ es tl J?, r d^ e o £ their factories to extend their enterprise and so increase the employment of more and still more New Zealanders. It is certainly preventing the establishment of branch factories of famous British concerns that are spending millions in the development of secondary industries in Australia. "During the last eight years the brains of the world have been centred on solving the problem of unemployment. The Socialist party, when in opposition, said that given a chance it could solve unemployment m six months if not in .six weeks. To-day we are told there is no unemployment, yet the Timaru Borough Council has 238 men on its books, the whole cost of whom, £4 12s 6d a man a week, is paid by the Stale. In the depths of the depression the largest number we had at one time was 202. The Housing Question

"The Government promised to build houses in great numbers. First-class houses for the workers were to cost from £6OO to £BOO with rent from 12s 6d to 16s 6d a week. I say that the Housing Department has been a blight on the building industry. In 1926 6850 houses were built compared with 4140 houses in 1936. In 1927 and 1937 the figures were 7179 and 455 respectively, and in 1928 and 1938, the fiVures were 5690 and 6043, the totals being 19,619 and 14,738. In other words, 4882 fewer houses were bunt by the Socialist Housing Department than in the same period 10 1 years ago. The boast that houses could be built for £6OO to £BOO and let for from 12s 6d to 16s 6d in thousands scared off home builders, who waited to see what would happen. . "The lack of domestic assistants causes much greater distress to the overburdened housewife than actual financial stringency, and it is evident that this problem is urgent. I have a scheme to train women to be available for sending out to deserving cases, similar to the district nurse scheme. The system could be managed in towns and cities by hospital boards or district nurse committees, and m country districts by women s organisations. The details could.be easily arranged. The main thing is to have the workers •availsble." HON. D. G. SULLIVAN'S CAMPAIGN The Hon. D. G. Sullivan continued his campaign at the Hall, Linwobd,' last evening. Mr T. Nuttall presided, and about 400 people were present. Mr Sullivan received a unanimous vote of thanks and confidence A similar resolution expressing confidence in Mr Savage and the Government was carried. The meeting pledged itself to work for the return of Mr Sullivan, and agreed to liberate him to enable him to carry out a speaking tour in the North Island on behalf of the Labour Party, .