THE LABOR LEADER

Hokitika Guardian, 30 November 1922, Page 2

THE LABOR LEADER

Mu Holland has only himself to blame that a great many people in the Dominion doubt the sincerity of his professions of concern for the bottom dog. He will have no remedy but his own for the ills from which this unfuitunate individual is suffering, and yet long before lie came to New Zealand single hearted men and women had attempted much and accomplished much in the way of relief. The Leader of the Parliamentary Labour Party pays live tributes to John Ballancc and Richard John Seddon, but he misses altogether the spirit and the ideals by which those great statesmen were inspiied. They were not impelled by a desire to set class against class, or to magnify their own importance, or to belittle that of their political opponents. They sought to bring all the progressive forces of the country together in a united effort to build firmly on the sure foundations of equality of opportunity and equality of sacrifice. The measure of their success is written large in the history of the years in which Ballancc and Seddon served the Dominion and its people. But though Mr Holland mav applaud these great men. he would have none of their ways. He would pull down, not build up; he would create dissension, not harmony. This indeed is his policy from beginning to end. Just what is Mr Holland’s purpose in maintaining this policy we cannot pretend to know. It has been suggested that he is anxious to drive the Libel ids and the Reformers into one camp, and to establish a monopoly of progress for his party and himself. But the acceptance of this explanation would imply a very poor compliment to his intelligence. The Liberals and the Reformers, whatever Mr Massey may say to the contrary for electioneering purposes, are as far apart on every question that really matters as are the Prime Minister and the Lender of the Parliamentary Labour Party. In fact, we are not sure the gap between them is not much wider. The Reformers gave many votes to Labour candidates at the last, general election as the figures in a dozen constituencies show, but they gave none to Liberal candidates when they had any alternative. Mr Massey himself has said that Mr Holland is his best asset in the House meaning that the Labour Leader’s ex-

treme views and extravagant language give point to his own rather ridiculous declamations against revolutionary socialism, and we may be sure Mr Massey was not with us yesterday just for the purpose of sacrificing this valuable asset on the altar of party expediency. But there arc many inexplicable things about Mr Holland’s attitude and we must continue to wonder why the sane members of the Labour party allow themselves to he led deeper and deeper into the slough of politi- | cal iinpoteney. i The position is made all the uioio regrettable by the fact that there never ' lias been a time when the best and broadest brains Labour can supply were more urgently required in Parliament than they are to-day. We have no particular liking for sectional representation, but Labour stands apart in j this respect and we make an excep- ‘ tion in its case. We do not mean that

a Labour member necessarily must lie a toiler with his hands, or that lie should look only after the interests of his own class. But he should understand the point of view of the workers sympathise with their legitimate aspirations and frankly and heartily cooperate with their other genuine friends. The political charlatans who are telling the workers, or any other

section of the community that their only hope of economic salvation lies in capturing the legislative machine for their sole use and benefit, arc attemptting the most contemptible of the many wicked forms of deception. The worst service that can be done to L - .bour in its political activities at the present time is to separate it from the other progressive forces in the country and apparently this is the task .upon which Mr Holland and his colleagues are engaged. We should not care to stand in the*- shoes when their dupes come to their awakening.