CORRESPONDENCE.

Manawatu Herald, Volume XLVIII, Issue 3655, 21 June 1927, Page 2

CORRESPONDENCE.

(To the Editor)

Sir, —In reply to your correspondent, C. P. Gray. His letter is an admission that he is unable to sustain the attack upon me personally. He brings to mind the old saying that “ fools rush in where angels fear to tread.” He says I show bad tnste when I said that Mr. Avreton should have been the Labour candidate. He further says, “I know the candidate is chosen by bajlot.” Granted, but is the candidate allowed possession of ballot papers to distribute, to non-members who happen to be persoual friends of the candidate, in order to obtain a majority of votes over the other candidate’? Well, sir, that is what happened. But of course your correspondent doesn’t know that, nor does lie know that I challenged the candidate's bna-tides at a meeting in Levin. Further, he does not know that had the candidate of that election been elected, the scat would have been vacant inside one week. As I said previously, should one happen to stand by the principles (which Mr. C. P. Gray cannot grasp) as enunciated by the party he is misrepresented and castigated by them, hence C. P. Gray’s venom. He says a man is judged for what .he is, hut he does not say who made him judge and jury. -His idea of democracy no doubt. Evidently he forgets the electors of the Manawatu were keen judges of a man in 1922, and the majority of them toilers. He says further on that I would like to see the Flax Employees “scab” —how dear that word is to his heart —by taking a less wage than the award —really. He has utterly failed to produce a single argument a.s to why the men most, concerned should have turned down an offer where they could have made in the vicinity of £1 per day, co-operative. C. P. Grey seems to me to be one of those individuals who set their sails to suit the wind; thus, if I desired to sell boots in Shannon, where it is those mostly depending on the mills for a living, then in order to sell my wares I should be a supporter of Labour. If I desired to sell them in a. Liberal community, then I should be a Liberal, so on, ad lib. Yes, Mr C. P. Grey, my actions are typical of me, i.e., what I say then I stand for it, and all names the Labour Party’s bible contains for hurling at those who refuse to be blindly led by them don’t hurt me. I cannot grant C. P. Grey his self-appo-inted judgeship; it savours too much of the methods used which resulted in a large number of men being put out of work locally. “Bolshie” methods pure and simple. Personally I prefer to be judged by those whose education and mental balance arc such that they are capable of arriving at a rational decision. Such standard my opponent has failed to reach, as also he fails to understand that what one preaches he should also have the courage to stand up for. Again, he is afraid, no doubt, because of his business, that what I have writ-' ten will prejudice the Union’s ease. For him to say that the Court cam be swayed by my letters or anyone rise’s, is an insult to the Court, typical of the man. At the same time it is an unwitting' admission that 1 have put up an argument reasonable with sensible men. He then proceeds to say I “ratted” on the party. How so, when, with the exception of the - 1922 elections, I voted Labour? That word, Sir, is more fittingly applied to those tradesmen who prefer to sell a foreign article to the workers while our own operatives and others engaged in the manufacture of a siini-

iar article are at present unemployed, and in some cases starving. The main trend of his screeds are to hurl epithets at me peculiar of the party his business demands he should support, but his antics only amuse me, but at the same time it does bis party that much harm, because it let's the public see just what sort of people would control the country if they had a chance. If you dare to disagree with the C. P. Grey ilk yon will hear the cry from a distance —“scab!”; the same argument that was used to prevent those men working. If I can help the local men along legitimate channels I shall do so, irrespective of any individuals from Shannon or elsewhere, and, unlike Mr C. PGrey, what. I say \ can be relied to stand by, and not become a quitter when up against a problem. Take a lesson, C. P. Grey: it’s common sense that’s needed, and also counts —such which he has failed to produce. —Yours, etc., E. G. MARTIN.