COMMUNIST'S REPLY

Hawke's Bay Herald-Tribune, Issue 39, 2 March 1937, Page 8

COMMUNIST'S REPLY

PreRt A«aociation.»

Hon. R. Semple's Remarks Resented CHALLENGE T0 DEBATE

(Bj Telegraph

DUNEDIN, Last Night. j In connection with the statement! jmade by the Minister of Publie Works jwheu he referred to "poisonous literature" being disseminated by the Com* Imunist party in Public Works camps, iMr. Leo Sim, general secretary of tho iCommunist party in New Zealand, has .'issued the following reply to Mr. •Semple's allega'tions: "Mr, Semple has from time to time made very wild and unfounded statements against the Communist party and this latest statement, wherein he refers , to the literature we distribute as being poisouous, is, in my opinion, made solely with the object of undermining tho infiuence our party has at the present timo. Such statements as these made by Mr. Semple would hot, I am sure, be endorsed by the majority of people comprising the Labour party and no doubt it is time that the Labour movement took steps to prevent its leaders from adopting an attitude which would tend to disunite the forces of progress and allow the forces of reaction to gain ground. "Such statements as the refusal to! allow halls in Public Works camps to; be uSed for holding meetings where workers might invite a 'Communist to j address them can hardly be roconciledj with Labour 's advocacy of freedom of : 8peeeh and freedtom of assembly. ' 'I repeat my challenge to Mr. Semple j made in Christchurch a few days ago to ; debate with him from any public plat-! form in New Zealand that any literature the Communist party circulates { can be characterised as poisonous. It would seem to me that Mr. Semple hasj ■hanged his colour somewhat since hej aiade a public utterance in the Empress, Theatre, Wellington, some years ago when he stated that if he were in Ireland he would be a Sinn Fe'iner and if he were in Russia he would. be a Bolshevik, He further stated that the day the capitalistic press eclogised Robert Semple would be tho day the workers of New Zealand would disown him."