THE GENERAL ELECTIONS

Dominion, Volume 13, Issue 46, 18 November 1919, Page 8

THE GENERAL ELECTIONS

Liberal Wire-pullers. i The P,ub,lic Service never was cleaner ': -'than it-was to-day, said Mr. W. J. Cuttle, Reform/.candidate for Wauganui. iWhen ,the.,"speaker joined the railway service 19 years ago a mnn could not ' open his mouth unless to speak Liberal- : ism. To-day a man .could hold any political views ho liked. At that time ' in the Duncdin workshops a little coteri* I which ran the Liberal campaigns had all ;.. ■ tho "cushy" jobs. The speaker had seen ; , a foreman hand a man a head office :. decision; TJireo days later the foreman 1 had .to como back with the head office decision reversed simply beoauso tbo man ■ had a friend in tho Liberal Cabinet. Hβ : had known cases where men had got instructions" to emit to anothor place, but, ; instead .of complying, had got a Liberal friend to get'the wires pulled and the decision reversed. To-dny that sort of thing was cut out of tho service, and it was cleaner than it had over been. A Tactical Mistake. . When tho war closed tho task of tho National Government camo to an end, ; said Mr. R. A. Wright at Karofi. It ; could not be denied that Sir Joseph Ward had been entitled then to leavethe Ministry. But tho Liberal Leader ,;- ought to have given somo notice of his ; ' retirement. . Ho had made a tactical i mistake when he retired abruptly with !. his colleagues without assisting Mr. Massey to settle such outstanding prob- ; lems as repatriation and gratuities. By resigning at an .hour's notice and n't once issuing an election manifesto, ■ Sir Joseph Ward had .stolen a march on the Reformers in ti way that did not . , appeal to eporfsmen. ; A Fusion Prophecy. ' "Wβ do not for a moment:believe that ' Mr, Massey would make, terms with the extremists in order to keep himself, in power, nor do we think that Sir Joseph Ward would be justified by that action either," says the Clutha "Leader." "Since the issue is to be good government or bad, wo do not understand why tho rties dominated by these two leaders not combine to makd good government eecure. The pressure of circumstances will yet bring about a fusion, • and. the ono> party which stands for the law-abiding, responsible,. patriotic clements of the community, and. the other party] which_ stands for a sane and 1 progressive policy must eventually come together on ono platform." The Man Who Went to Gaol. ' The "Matauja Ensign". points out Ohat the alleged moderation of some of tho Labour candidates woiild go for nothing if the Labour Party gained office, since the present leaders ot the party would remain in control. The Labour Portly,. -' says the "Ensign/- , lost tho confidence ot the people during the greatest crisis in our history, and which in that crisis displayed a 6pirit utterly repugnant to ; _ the people of New Zealand. The slackers ', and disloyalists.of tho community rallied' round the' Labour standard then.'and are : not even now ashamed of their past record. Mr. P. C. Webb stands- ouli as the man who went to gaol'rather than fight for,lis country, and he is tho.man who has been feted with sucb nauseating oeremony by followers of the Labour Partiy'on the AVest Coast and elsewhere.' At a meeting last week in Wellington, when Colonel Mitchell opened his cam- ■ pajgn as an independent candidate, a certain, section of those present, which presumably favoured his opponent, gave cheers, for Mr. Webb, despite "the fact that.he'spent part of the war period un- ., der State-supervision, while Colonel Mitchell was away fighting and suffering . for his country. Thai) sudlv conduct should bo ■■' possible should' serve as a ' timely warning to the public of the degrading and dangexous influences that are at'work in our midst." '■ Law..and Order v, Anarchy "Whatever else they stand for, the forces.of Mr. Massoy and Sir Joseph Ward all any "rate represent the lawabidiiig7:"r.esponsible elements in the community," states the "Mataura Ensign," "and it is a national misforhmo, as we'h'avo'previously pointed out, that they should ba marehalline their ranks tor a> suicidal contest in tho face of a common danger. It is current talk in C;ical and mercantile circles that a ur and industrial'upheaval is imminent in the Dominion, and that it is merely delayed so as not to prejudice tine ohances of Labour candidate ut Mic elections.- -The action of tho miners in • adopting the "go-elow" policy was simply, .a camouflaged strike. Uur readers could probably imagine the state of chaos tliab would follow a general strike with direct , actionists holding the' wins of Government. We cannot blaino the Labour Party for making a big effort to gain control at the present juncture; ■what we do blame is the selfishness of the leaders of ths other parties, inoro especially,,-Sir Joseph Ward-for Mr. Massey has expressed a keen desire for amalgamation—in not combining their forces. The' times call for just, strong, and capable government; tlho electorsaro to choose who aro to ropresent them, and '■' by whom they will bo governed, but the Labour Party will have- to throw overboard tho whole crew of extremists before it can expect the support of the people." That Precipitate Flight. '. "The' haste which Sir Joseph Ward Bhowed an quitting the Nat.onal Govero- .. ment and issuing his manifesto after his return to the Dominion wa§ precipitate," Bays tho "Southland Times." "He certainly took the country by surprise, and, rightly or wrongly, tho impression left upon tho minds of many people was that ? his object was to put Mr. Masscy at a I disadvantage and score- a point in tho party, game. Sir Joseph Ward maintains that had !ho remained in tho National ' Cabinet ho would havo been a traitor to_tho Liberals. That ia argument stretched to breaking point. How could his position, or that of Ids party, \ have Wen affected had ho allowed the National Government to meet Parliament and the Liberal Ministers to squarro up their Departmental work by presenting their ~ .annual statements? That is what most •_ people expected to happen, and notwith- ■! (standing the text of the agreement it would havo 'been the natural and proper way to bmig tho National Governmentto an end. Tt would havo given Mr Alassey a reasonable opportunity to got ready to meet Parliament with a Gov- ; eminent of his own, and it would have j clone no harm to tho interests of tho fi' , o- On tho wlrary, we feel sure that Sir Joseph Ward would have strengthened his position as a, party leader by so acting, for in tho opinion ot a very large number of peoplo quite reascnab.e and.impartial people, the in- .-,. continent haste ho showed in disrupting the National Government and springing his manifesto on tho country was "not 'eportiug.'" A Hard Battler for New Zealand. "It is putting the ca. c ß very mildly," said Mr. W. H. Triggs, at Christchurch (luring a lecture on his experiences during his recont trip to Britain, "to stato that Mr. Massey did splendid work, ami r . created a' most favourable impression. Two members 6"f the British War Cabinet spoke., to mo in the highest terms of his work, especially on the Crimps Committee. , They also told me Mr. Massey wa.s a hard "'battier' for New /unlnml. I have a very good reason for saying that if Jie had chosen to stiiy.in England he hud temptations to do so which would hiiVr proved irrpstible to a in.iu not so absolutely derated to Nw Zealand, and,, 4is,'''Xi'w'#q«)aml friends, .as, Mr. Massey has. .proved", himself...(6 be." Thero whs a largo meeting atDr.NowmanVcommittee room last evening, when , committees were formed for the various districts of the electorate to support.Dr.. Newman's return. '

CANDIDATES , SPEECHES . BATTLE BEGINNING IN EARNEST NEW NOTES AND COMMENTS

When the Wardists Backed Webb. ; The Wanganui "Chronicle" thinksthat it is all very well for Sir Joseph Ward, Bart., to 6ay thai; ho has no time for the "gMlow" policy of certain citizens of New Zealand becauso ho knows it is a popular thing to say. "He goes oven further," says tihe "Chronicle," "and roundly denounces the Labour extremiste. Ho says ho will not have anything to do with them, he would not even hold office if ho we dependent on the votes of Holland,.Semplo, and Co. That is also a popular iihing (fo say. Mr. Massey said it long ago. But it is only a few short years since Sir Joseph Ward and tlhe Liberal Party backed Taddy' Webb and were hugely delighted at his win." A Political Predicament, "Manacled between the corpse of its political idol and the titled capitalist who !has converted Liberalism into Wardism," is tho W'anganui "Chronicle's" view of the political predicament in which its contemporary, tie "Herald" finds itself in the present campaign. A Call for Level-headed Men. There 'is call for level-headed men in Parliament. Speaking at Tauniri Mr. E. P. Bollard, candidate for the Raglan seat, said he believed that) cranks and extremists of all kinds should be kept out of Parliament, for it was very necessary that only lovel-headed men should be returned to deal with the tremendous problems that faced tho country. Mr, Facing-Both-Ways. I Says tho WaDganui "Chronicle":—"Sir Joseph Ward is at present in the South Island circuit and is making full use of the Press and telegraph. lie is presenting the nnique spectacle of a reputed financier condemning the Government for tlhe amount it proposes to spend and in the nexli breath saying that he would spend more if ho had tho chance." Heads I Win, Tails You Lose. ' Mr. Massey. can afford to smile at this: "Lyttelton Times" Hon. W. D. S. (Liberal)— Mac Donald The use of tho (Liberal)— Labour extremist ■ The Liberal Party by the sacrosanct has put up men Reform Party is against the Labour nicely exemplified extremist members in their treatment in tho elections, of Messrs. Holland It remains to be and Fraser, whom seen if the Reform the party does not Party would- put consider it neces- up mpn to split sary to challcngo tho vote. In Anckfor their seats, land the Reform The Liberal Party Purty ihad put up has its representa- , men against Libtives in the field firals who were against these two being opposed by members, but Rc- extremists,' and if foriu nominees are the Bolshevik still conspicuous Party camo into by their atejnee. power who would bo to blame? The State at Auction. "Cynic" writes:—"Sir Joseph Ward's electioneering finance is described by 1 Mr. Massey as humbug and bunkum. People, ho says, object to public affairs beinj* put np to auction in this manner. Come to think of it, tho Liberal lendor's celebrated manifesto and his extravagant bid 9 for political favour does suggest the auctioneer's flag, bell, and hammer. With Sir Joseph AVard, I am afraid that it is a case of 'going*—going— . The Housing Problem. Air. It. A. Wright said last night that he believed that tho Housing Act was going to relievo the shortage of houses in tho not distant future. Labour was difficult to secure at present, and if this trouble continued tho Government would haro to increase the supply of labour by means of immigration. Homes could not bo provided unless artisans wera available. Tho policy of tho Government should bo to assist every man to own his own home. An elector: And cheaper tram fares. Mr. Wright agreed that low tram fares were an important factor in > solving the housing problem by getting tho Ijeoplo away from tho congested areas. Two Leaders Compared. ■ Mr. W. D. Powdrell, who is standing for Patea as a Government supporter, told a, meeting of electors that he considered that Sir Joseph Ward was against .the interests of farmers at every turn. The Liberal leader misrepresented Mr. Massey's borrowing proposals, and raised bis.voice against borrowing 32 millions in ono j-ear, when he knew quite well that 12 miKions was all that was asked for. Again, Sir Joseph Ward bad raised an outcry at spending 14 millions on land for soldiers, and supported Holland, Scrapie, ancTCo. over tho coal situation; stirred up strife by offering Is. a day extra to railwajflnen after an agreement had' just been reached, and proposed to give 2s. instead of Is, Gd. gratuity to soldiers, while all the time he was howling over the ; reckless proposals of the Massey Government. Against all this, Mr. Massey was a farmer who had tho producers' interests at heart, and was also a strong freeholder, and won the last election practically on that issue. Mischief-makers Not Wanted. "In America to-day tho authorities are taking 6teps to expei a number of people who are mischief-makers or actual revolutionaries," said Mr. R. A. Wright last night. "The United States Govornment does not want these people, who havo been seeing to stir up trouble, and wo do not want them here." He was glad that the Government had taken power to excludo undesirables from Now Zealand.