THE ELECTIONS

Press, Volume LXXIV, Issue 22517, 27 September 1938, Page 15

THE ELECTIONS

TO TH* BDITOB OT I'M PUBS'! Sir, —I see the Labour Party are constantly bringing up the subject of the slump, and claim to follow in the footsteps of the Rt. Hon. R. J. Seddon. There was a slump quite as bad as the last one in proportion to population during the early years of Mr Seddon's time, and I know soup and other kinds of food, also clothes were supplied to the poor just as in the last slump. Seven shillings a day was the ruling wage. I am not quite sure whether it was Mr Seddon or Sir Joseph Ward who raised the wages to 8s a day; and no higher wage was paid by the Railway Department to the men who were on the maintenance until the Reform Party, under Mr Massey, came into power. Up to that time these men were debarred from keeping a cow or taking in boarders. The Reform Party repealed that in quick time and raised the men's wages until eventually the men had 14s a day or more, or twice the wages a day that Mr Seddon paid, and 6s a day more than when the Reform Party became the Government. During the last slump these men were cut down to about 12s a,, day, but they still had 5s a day more than in Mr Seddon's time, and 4s a day more than i under Sir Joseph Ward's Government. So they should thank their lucky stars' that they were under a much' more liberal government. I understand it was a long time before these men had their cuts restored.—Yours, etc.. GEORGE LEE. Templeton, September 26, 1938.

TO TUE EDITOR OF THE PUESS. Sir—Last Friday, September 23, we heard Mr Milliken introduce the Leader of the Opposition as a truly Christian, religious man. Very well. Now, where did the Coates-Forbes-Hamilton religion come in, between 1931 and 1935? If you will turn with me to the Old Testament you will find that more than 2000 years ago God appeared to Moses, through fire (note the urgency*through fue) and told him to go and bring the Children of Israel out of bondage, which he did. After 40 years wandering, not three years, they were going to turn back, but after some persuasion, they went on and eventually arrived into tike promised land, flowing with milk and honey. Now in November, 1935, the Rt. Hon. M. J. Savage did practically the same thing as Moses. But he did not lead the workers out of New Zealand, but lifted them from misery of 10s a week to a level where they were able to get the milk and honey which is flowing so freely in New Zealand. Which of those four leaders, Messrs Coates, Forbes, Hamilton, or Savage, is putting religion into practice? I leave your readers to consider that for themselves.-Yours, etc.,^^ Ashburton, September 26, 1938.

Extracts from other letters on this subject read:— "Politics Only."—As several of the candidates of a certain party at present on the hustings lose no opportunity of telling their audiences that they served in the late war, I. as a former member of the late New Zealand Expeditionary Force, express my disapproval of such action. This old game of playing on the sentiment of the electors is entirely out of place and there is no need to keep the war alive even in an election campaign. The war ceased 20 years ago t Some of these candidates recently made the statement that the National Party when they were in office treated the former soldier pensioners in indifferent manner. Such is not true, neither is their statements regarding pension cuts. No disability pension was reduced. Allowances were slightly reduced, and such allowances are on all fours with the present form of sustenance, as when a pensioner gets back into employment, at a certain wage, these allowances cease, but his disability pension does not. We must be fair to the National Government. In 1935 the National Government extended the provisions of the veterans allowances to men who served in the South African War, a war which at that time had ceased 33 years previously- Your readers can judge even from this how generous the National Government were to the former soldier of South Africa. "Truth."—The Rt. Hon. M. J. Savage said in the House, "All the people of this country are better off than they were." That is not the whole truth, for there are thousands on fixed incomes who are worse off than ever. Incomes are the same but costs of living have gone up. With others, still worse off, incomes have had a big drop but costs have soared much beyond what the Labourites say. Again, Mr Savage said the cost of living had only gone up 11 per cent. Those who have to pay the household bills know that that is pure election bunk, as is also the statement that "the aggregate increased income is 50 per cent. A man who was getting £4 10s is now getting a little over £5 or about 11 per cent. Once more Mr Savage said that "Labour brought prosperity." Prosperity was galloping here before Labour was sighted. It might have been somebody else, but it was Mr Savage's fortune to lead the horse into the birdcage.

"Socialism Must Come."—What has private enterprise done for New Zealand? It'has built up a debt of nearly £300,000,000 for our children to pay off or pay interest on. It has burnt millions of feet of good timber, and to-day there is an acute house shortage; and as young couples accept this £IOO for furniture and get married it will get worse. Thousands of acres of land that the timber was fallen off and burnt has gone back to bracken and sheep have been starved on to this bracken in an endeavour to keep it down, without success, in the North Island mostly. Our agricultural lands have been allowed to f?o back to such an extent that now they are covered with all the noxious weeds imaginable, and we have to import a lot of our wheat.

"Kaye Hoe." —Speaking of the Prime Minister, Mr Hamilton says: "It is not his right to say what is the real issue" at this election. "We (i.e., the Nationalists) have the say in that." Good heavens! Then again he says: "Is New Zealand going to throw overboard the economic system that has built up a wonderful country?" Does Mr Hamilton maintain that an economic system of recurring booms and depressions is worth hanging on to? Is an economic system which forces liabilities on the people which can only be liquidated by a big percentage of bankruptcies, a wonderful economic system? Does he maintain that the economic] policy pursued by the Forbes-Coates government is superior to the economic, policy pursued by the Labour Government? I

"Worker."—One can be forgiven for listening to the many election promises being made by the National candidate i on the eve of the 1938 General Election. Mr Adam Hamilton promises to take special care of New Zealand's youth, the aged, the needy, and th • unemployed, and promises compensated prices for the farmers. Our Gisborne National candidate promises to build the East Coast line in half the time at half the cost. But I have my doubts.. In fact,

National candidates in all electorates are promising us anything and everything from hairpins to aeroplanes. They are going to make New Zealand a wonderful little country and a better place to live in than Labour has made it. But I have my doubts. The irony of it all •is that this same National Party which imposed these cruel conditions is endeavouring now to convince these same youths and their parents that it will never do it again. But will they- be believed? I think not.

Too Right.'—l am heartily in sympathy with "Spinster's" letter in your issue of September 23, and as an elector of Christchurch North I shall give my enthusiatstic support to the National Party.

"Woolston."—ln reply to your correspondent, "Nothing Fantastic, Please," might I remind him that having lived my "sweet 17. years" in that Labour stronghold. Wooiston, it is perhaps not so fantastic that politics should crop up while I was growing from 10 to 14 years. Perhaps my imagination gave scope to thinking of the causes of the degradations of the worker while collecting on "pound schemes." In reply to "Over 21"—There will always be the shirker, the waster, drinker, or invalid, no matter what the conditions or government. Hence the few cases still attending charitable aid day.

"Another Seventeen Year Old." —In reply to "Woolston," who in his letter to your paper stated what the views of the modern generation were, may I say that while his letter was very touching in its description of former poverty, his views were not the views of the whole of the modern generation. For, in spite of "Woolston's" bold claim, I know at least 100 youths who. given a vote, would not vote for Mr Savage and his colleagues. "Woolston" does not seem to realise that other countries, not under a Socialist Government, have come "out of darkness into light." New South Wales has now few unemployed, the bulk of, that class having been absorbed by private enterprise. Private enterprise in New Zealand cannot do that because of the blows it has been dealt by the Government. Companies suffering under unfair taxation imposed on them in order to bolster up the tottering finance of the social security scheme, cannot employ the same number of workers, and are cutting down their numbers of employees. Thus a blow has been struck at the working class by the Labour Government, a Government, moreover. which is pledged to that class. The ruination of private enterprise is the end of competition, and competition more than any other factor causes a rise in the wages of the labourer.

"Q.E.D." —I quote from the report of Mr Savage's broadcast address at Wellington. "If old people got 30s a week that would not be destroying religion." ,He omitted to state that the age benefit will be paid only to those who qualify. According to the estimate of the Minister for Finance, the lucky individuals will number 80,000.

"Average Man." —I have waited a long time to hear the National Party's policy, particularly regarding lowering the cost of living and tax reduction. We have been told a great deal about the high cost of living brought about by high wages and the increased taxation of the Labour Party, and have expected at least some reduction. At last the policy has been explained, and after listening intently to the speech read by Mr Hamilton last night and studying your report of it in the paper this morning, I have gleaned the following: The National Party is going to reduce the following: (1) Unemployment tax on women with income limited to £250. (2) Gold duty to help gold-mining. (3) Petrol tax by at least Id a gollon. (4) Radio licence fees from 25s to 15s. What are they going to do about the sales atx, exchange rate, income tax, etc., they have talked so much about? To the average man with the average home, family, and income this will cut down his cost of living by approximately 2Jd a week on his radio licence, and if he takes the average car for its average weekend run. a further l|d, making a grand total of 3|d, not a great deal when Mr Hamilton promises the landlord a free hand, which, with the present house shortage, will mean a rent increase of at feast 2s 6d a week.