POLICIES AND MOTIVES

Evening Post, Volume CVIII, Issue 134, 3 December 1929, Page 10

POLICIES AND MOTIVES

(To the Editor.) •riv^T? 1 reply,w"A Col°'»al," we may say at once that our league lias been actively operating now for eleven years and us anti-Socialist objecthe V very well known and understood, so it is ,ii£ of ChS alltt e tO dISCUSS &* ™>m • VortZ or Jus letter as we wish to stick to the point ire raised, which was to show how the Socialist parties here and elsewhere have adopted the policy of posing as Lib* fn l Socialist objective in the background. "A Colonial" says: "I don't want to be tiresome. I am just in search of knowledge. Mr. JSash is, I understand, a business man m quite a good way of business. This [socialist junk hardly seems to coincide with his interests." This is just one of the difficulties raised by political insincerity— for no one with any knowledge of economics, history, or human nature could, one would imagine, honestly support the bociahst platform and objective which can,.f. ave °ny one result, namely, the abolition of private property and enterprise However difficult it is to understand, the fact remains that many who! undoubtedly know in their hearts that this Socialist junk" won't work have pledged themselves to support and work for it.

The objective of the Socialist Labour Party is "The Socialisation of the meana of production, distribution, and exchange"! Its platform is, as we have already stated, and its official candidates have, under tha party constitution, to sign the following pledge: "I will faithfully uphold and wholeheartedly work for the objective and platform of the party and no other." These are unquestionable facts, yet we find that, having signed this pledge, the candidates skate merrily over the safe ice of Liberalism and deliberately shirk the real objective. If they are returned to Parliament they go in on a Liberal policy^ but once -there they are bound by their pledge to bring into operations the whola platform, -which your correspondent rightly, terms "Socialist junk." . "A Colonial" winds up by' suggesting that "Mr. Nash is following the exampla of the bright luminaries in the Old Country who have torsaken class prejudice.'' This shows that he has not read the proceedings of the Labour Party Conference recently held at Brighton. At this confers ence the executive brought down a reso« lution to broaden the basis of membership so as to include "associate members,'* but the conference threw the proposal out by a substantial majority, as it was determined to make and keep the party a class party. The whole tone of that discussion shows that it is yet another warning against confidence in the permanent predominance of moderation in the councils of this party. If this party is not out for Socialism then why don't they drop their objective instead of retaining it, and "wholeheartedly" working for it while posing as mod* crate Liberals?—We are, etc., N.Z. WELFARE LEAGUE. 3rd December. ;