THE TYPOGRAPHICAL UNION'S MEETING.

Dominion, Volume 7, Issue 1909, 18 November 1913, Page 9

THE TYPOGRAPHICAL UNION'S MEETING.

Sir,—Any person reading your report of tlio '.typographical Union ljieoting, held on Saturday evening, would-come to the conclusion that Jl£ Hickey was present at the meeting. You stato; "After the members had rejected th* Strike proposal on an open vote, Mr. Hiekey is Reported to httve thrown overboard his principles and pleaded for a secret ballot—anything to cut off the free expression of public opinion through the Press. It was of no avail, however, and 'the. wreckers of labour unionism.,' as tha Federation of Labour have- been accurately dubbed, arc disappointed of another hoped-for victim." Now, sir t whether your reporter set to work to embollish the official report of the meeting sent along to your office, which was published in the other two daily papers, exactly as supplied by mo, or whether ho obtained'.his "information" from any other source, the report published in. to-day's Dominion is inaccurate and misleading. Mr, Hiokoy Was not present at the meeting, no-r any other representative of'the Federation of Labour, and just as the members declined to go on strike at the requost of the Federation of Labour, so, in their name, I decline to allow the union to bo used by any newspaper as the medium through which it may attempt to throw discredit on any person whatsoever. Trusting you will give publicity to" this denial,—l am, etc., JAMES HARPER, President, Wellington Typographical Ihrioii. , [Mr. Hiekey was not present in person at tho meeting, It Has his telegram calling on " the Typographical Union to strike that was midoi consid-

oration, and the supporters of Mr. Mickey— not Mr. Iliekey liimsclf—when beaten on tho open voting then throw overboard tho ] lit key principles and pieade-d for the ballot.. Might wo suggest to Mr. Harper that he rather oversteps tho bounds of His authority when no sots himself tin as ti censor as to what iiew'spapers shall or shall not say concerning individuals who have tleai,BS® with his onion on matters of public concern P Possibly, ho waver, ho has merely expressed himself unfortunately 011 tho point, its wo ourselves Would seem to have done in giving rise to confusion between Mr. Hiekey aiid those who.hold Mr. Rickey's ideas.]