CAMPAIGN NOTES.

Manawatu Herald, Volume XLVII, Issue 2957, 3 November 1925, Page 3

CAMPAIGN NOTES.

RANDOM SHOTS. $ (By the One-eyed Gunner). Before voting on the Liquor question, have a “spot”—and then ask yourself, is it worth the price of a quart of good milk? * * * Labour has taken stock of New Zealand, and has found that we are in a condition of insolvency, political dispondency, and heading for the demnition bow-wows. Well, well! There must be something wrong with the stock-sheets. * * # Says Mr. Ben Roberts: “If by a swing of the pendulum dairy produce and wool went up to war values, we would again witness that nightmare of speculation that the Dominion had recently gone through, and after it people would be going to the Government to be spoon fed again.” Labour says it will nurse the farmer at any old time, but who’s going to foot the bill for the patient’s nursing expenses? * * * “The exchange problem is one that no one seemed to be able to discover the meaning of,” said Mr. Roberts. Strange, because any decent text book on the subject will make the matter clear to an intelligent person. The problem is not the understanding of the system, but the solution of the puzzle which sometimes arises from an unequal balance of trade. But there! the general public don’t know that, and it is a good chance to get one on to the Banks and the Government.

“If Labour had been in power, what would it have done in the recent shipping strike?” —Mr. Roberts: “It would have called on the ship-owners to carry the produce, for the Dairy Control Board had a contract for three years with the associated shipowners to carry its produce, and they should have been made to carry it out.” We understood it was a seamen’s strike, not a lockout. How people do avoid the issue.

Manawatu Electorate. is the hub of the Dominion, and if the Government does not provide it with all its immediate demands, well, of course, the Government is inefficient, stagnate, and the Member is pushing for some other electorate.

It happened at the showrooms where the political motor-cars were on view.

I drew up in my old reliable, the Reform car, and approached the salesman with the request to be made acquainted with the superior merits of the flivvers he Tiad in stock

“You will be specially interested I know,” he said, “in this type of machine we have over here. It is the 1925 Forbes model of the old Liberal car, now known as the Nationalist. It is going cheap just now, because there is little demand for this make. The feature that will appeal to you, however, is its low fuel consumption, as it runs on the past reputation built up by such master designers as Ballance and Seddon. The steering gear, I will admit, is a little weak, and she knocks a bit at the big ends.” “No thank you,” I said, “I can see that your Nationalist model is really a collection of spare parts assembled from the political scrapheap, sound no doubt in their separate pieces, but won work well, and she isn’t much to look at. What is that flash-looking thing you have over there ? ”

Here the salesman waxed enthusiastic. “A handsome model, that! Very showy, isn’t she! Looks well in her fresh coat of pale pink. You know, we had her re-painted for this period, because the general public don’t take on to the original bright red. Labour, she is; absolutely full of machinery. Highpowered'stuff, too! And she purrs beautifully when demonstrating. Look her over.” . Lifting the bonnet, I looked into the power unit. “Why so many cranks?” I asked. “Weil, you see, she is designed on the Socialistic principle. Her power production system, distribution and exchange —you would call 1 differential —are all rigidly co-or-dinated with the chassis, w 11c means that when you start her up the whole car must turn over and over, otherwise you would get nowhere. Of course, we don’t usually mention that fact otherwise we would get no sales.” “Thank you,” 1 said. Not foi mine! My old Reform bus will do me for a while. She is a bit dusty as a result of years of wear, but, by jove! she gets me there. Good morning!”