THE Hauraki Plains Gazette With which is Incorporated THE OHINEMURI GAZETTE. MONDAY, WEDNESDAY, FRIDAY. “Public Service” WEDNESDAY, JUNE 9, 1943 SEE THAT YOU ARE THERE

Hauraki Plains Gazette, Volume 52, Issue 3273, 9 June 1943, Page 4

THE Hauraki Plains Gazette With which is Incorporated THE OHINEMURI GAZETTE. MONDAY, WEDNESDAY, FRIDAY. “Public Service” WEDNESDAY, JUNE 9, 1943 SEE THAT YOU ARE THERE

At least five servicemen are to be officially welcomed back to civilian life at the . function which is being held under the auspices of the Paeroa District Patriotic Committee in the Regent Ballroom on Friday night. And once again every resident and business man or woman is urged to be present to show his or her appreciation of the sac-* rifice and effort these men have made in the interests of the community. Some of the men, it may be argued by those who do not wish to attend, have been home for some time, but though their reception in this case is no longer invested with the glamour of news, it is none the less a public duty to attend the official welcome.

This is, as it were, at once a thanks offering for the sacrifice that has been made by the guests of honour, and a hand outstretched to welcome them back to their place in normal community life. It is the duty of all residents and members of the business community to, lend wholehearted support.

TEST POLL For what it may be worth, the test poll of public opinion conducted by the New Zealand Freedom Association on the issues respectively “(1) Whether there should be a general election this year, (2) Whether we should carry on as at present for another year at least without a general election and (3) whether an effort should be made to produce a National Government with a Cabinet truly representative of ail parties in the House to carry on without an election until victory is more nearly within our grasp,” produced interesting percentages. It will have been noted that the third issue scored the highest percentage of votes, a fact which suggests that those who cast their support for this were thinking in terms "of national unity and a Government completely free from the influence or domination of sections or groups outside Parliament. Any suspicion of such influence or domination naturally leads to a feeling that sectional interests are given priority of consideration over the general interest and welfare of the country, and this no doubt accounts for the percentage emphasis given to the support of a National Government and a Cabinet “truly representative of all parties in the House.”

The Gallup polls conducted under the auspices of the American Institute of Public Opinion, of which Dr. Gallup is the prime mover, attracted widespread attention by their periodical check-up of public feeling in the United States as it developed from partial isolation to full participation in the war. As is reported to be the case in the Auckland test, these polls take a cross section of public only, the assumption being that what representative citizens of all classes and sections in a given survey might think could be taken as reflecting public opinion as a whole.