ELECTION CAMPAIGN

Taihape Daily Times, Volume XI, Issue 3345, 25 November 1919, Page 4

ELECTION CAMPAIGN

-—----.-O-"—""' MR BRADY AT THE TOWN HALL. Mr Brady, the Labour candidate for the Rangitikei electorate, delivered a political address at the "Town Hall last nig-ht before a good and appl‘ec.iatiVe. auidience. Mr Robt. Faire occupied the chair_.. stating that the Mayor (Mr A. J. Job» lin, Esq.) who was to have pre.~:ided, had wired I'egl'e.ttillg that he was unable to be present, as he was ‘engaged on Borough Council business. Mr Hocking, the chairman of the local. branch of the Labour‘ Party was alsoabsent. in Wanganui Mr 11‘uire~ said it was not necessary to ask for a {air and patient hearing for the speaker——— [he was sure he would receive thatI Mr Brady, who was received Wloud and prolonged applause, prefacecf [his speech by expres.~"ing his g\'atification in addressing smother meeting in. Taihape The cordial reception he Lad received on the previous occasion had -made a deep impression on. him. He [admitted he was a novice in matters politic so far as electioneeri: 1‘ was concerned, but he had made .; alcep study -of political. matters. He stood for the pl'incip,lcS and platter-in of the Labour‘ Party because he believed they were the best for the country, but it ‘was essential they should get together to explain what ‘the objects of ‘(to [Party were", and when election day

came he had no doubt what the decision of the people would he. Many people have an illusion about the aims of the Labour Party. The Labour Party has been accused of being ex-trc-mists~——that. is the only thing upponents of tlie Party can find against ‘it. The Labour Party has for us ob~ jects the betterment of the community and the l;=eti*.erment of conditions generally. He had been asked if he was a follower of Semple and Holl:x;1d. He had been asked if he got into Parlia~ mentiif he- would be a. folldxver of’ 8.: Joseph -Ward or Holland. He wished‘ to say right here that .he was a follower of the Labour Party, and would stand by ._it in ever’y case. The present leader of the Labour Party was the Hon. J. T. Paul, who is a young New Zealander, who if he gets into Parliament will _conduct the policy of the Party. The House had too many old men, who should retire into the backblocks; they were too old for anything else. What was wanted and what was demanded at, the present. mo. ment were men of enterprise and ginger to shove the country along. Tl ey did not want any party of inonopoly to oppress them; there had been too much of that in the past. The party of Labour probably had as much ‘brains as their opponents, and the only thing that could be hurled ‘against them was that they were ‘extremists. The land grabbcr.~‘,‘ the profiteers and the huge monopolists are the real extremists, not the Labour Party. It was necessary for the party to put its case before the country. He deplored the fact that 111‘. every meeting he was brought up‘ against the ignorance of their own men, which was largely due to the fact that they took‘ their politics from "the public press, which would rather do anything than tell the truth about Labour. “I-la‘-re you read,” he asked, “in a newspaper in Wanganui, of a certain doubledyed villain and seoundrel named Brady?'. That is myselfi,” (La.ughter.)‘ That was what he was up against so far as the public press was concerned, though -he must admit that the Taihape paper, though it did not support him, gave him a fair hearing. He hadbeell subjected to vituperation in Marten, solely, he presumed, because has was a Labour candidate. (Applause)

PROPORTIONAL REPRESE.-‘_\’ TATION. _ .He’wo.uld deal with the planks in the Labour platform in detail, and one of them was proportional,representation,tion, or one man one vote. The impression was that all votes were of equal value. The country had been suffering from the blight of Masseyism for years on account of the present system of I'epl'esentation ‘as the Rev form Party [held office by the will of a minority. Take Rangitikei electorate as a case i-n point‘. It was possible‘ that he might sneak in by one vote (of course, he knew he would have a bi gel‘ majority that thaf), and With three candidates in the field two-thirds of the electors would he unrepresented. If one vote——equal value obtained an instance similar to that which ocelirred last election would not have taken‘ place,iwh'ere a. Maori nanied J.oW. HUru was elected by 237, and T‘. K. Sidey had a majority cf 2697. That was the result of the faulty system 01 course, there was no extremism in that? INITIATIVE, RI~IF‘ERE.\"DU:\'I A I"'.) RECALL. The speaker explaineal tfiese principles, stating the x-efei-endum was a. measure for taking we opinion of the people, and the xarzail would give power to sack IL member who was not doing his <luty._~ M

._.._.__wy ‘L e , - ABOLITIQj\I OF LEGISLATIVE T.lle~Legislative Council was a bodyl of old-fashitmed‘; 11591955; and expen' sive old men, political rejects in most cases who had consistently sought the suffrages of the people" at the poll. Men had been ‘called to the Upper House whom the people would not have, and ‘_they had the power of veto over meas-Hm-es passed by the Lower House. This was undemocratic and the Labour Party stood for its abolition. (Applause.) ' -.j EQUAL RIGHTS FOR WOMEN. The -Labour Party, in season and out of season, have advocated -the equal rights of women. Since Women are "bound by the laws of this country and pay 20/ in the £l, they are entitled to equal rights with men. DISABILITIES OF CIVIL ‘ SERVANTS. The Labour Party held that no civil. servant *should be dictated to as to what he should do after his day ’s Work was idone; civil servants should have the same rights as anybody else. He had been a civil servant, :and_ knew from personal experience the disabilities under which they laboured. STATE BANK. After’ twenty years in office, Sir J. G. Ward brought down 8. propos'a.l for a. State bank.- Mr Hogg was thrown out of the Liberal Cabinet for advoca- » ting w'ha)t Sir Joseph Ward now proposes doing. He now proposes to purchase the Bank of New Zealand for ten millions, and run it on the lines of a State Bank. The Labour Party would start a bank from scratch. The State Blank in Australia -had stal'te.'d from scratch, and was now earning £IOOO a day, and ‘there was nothing to prevent the Dominion from doing the same.

STATE SHIPPING SERVICE. The spealier pointed; out the huge profits this country would have made if they had owned their own steamers. The P. & O. Coy. had, in two years of War, made three hundred‘ millions. The Union Company last year clealred £162,000, While ‘in 1914 the profits were £10,116; laslt ycarlthe idividend paid amounted to £150,000. The Union Company was one of the greatest monopolies this country knew, and had robbed the country, particularly the farming community, right and left. They carried coal from Newcastle to New Zealand 2/6 per ton cheaper than they did «the opposite way. They have put up the freights 70 per cent. The miners hewed the coal which was put on the boats at £1 a ton, but when it reached Wellingtoh it was £3 per ton. Of course, the miner was blamed for the rise in the price of coal. The Union Company goit. £6,000,000 for the hire of their boats. At one time Sir J. Ward could have bought the whole fleet for £1,600,000, anld £150,000 was paid for the hire of one boat alone, and not one nail of a boat belongs to the State. What of the men who took Ithe risks of being torpcdoed? They live like rats. The Government has winked at this huge monopoly, which has shamelessly robbed the public. Had the Government listened to the Labour Party they would have had a. fleet; of their own. This conipany had been extolled for its patriotism in subscribing £250.000 to the War ‘Loan (free of income tax, of course). but the people pay the piper, V THE LIQUOR’ QUESTION. The «Labour Party were in favour of ihe system of preferential voting being applied to the liquor question, by which in the event of three or more issues being placed on the ballot paper, voting should be in order of preference. The last referendum, which cost the State £60,000, was an absolute Waste of money, and the issue was left just where it was. FREE ‘MEDICAL SERVICE. The health of the nation was a maltter for the State to consider. No individual in the community should suffer 'in,h'e*alth because of his impeeuniosity. It was the duty of the State to see that the health of the people was maintained. With the present condition of affairs, no. working man could afford to pay for medical attention. It was a shame that anyone should have to go without medical attention. A healithy, virilc race was, a n.ation’s best asset. EDUCATION.

The Labour Party was in favour of free, secular, and compulsory’ education. The future of the race Edepends upon the education of the yollllg- It matters not if a man is ifhe poorest in . the land, his’ chil'd'is entitled to a. free education. One man always has 371 jdvan’cage——-the son of wealthy pal‘ents, because his father can afford to ‘pay. The poor cannof afford it. as the child has to goout and earn its own ‘living. He wanted to see every child. 4 33 far as possible. educated at the expense of vthe State, which would reap ‘the hééfit. There should be a uniform V set of school books. which ‘should also be free. (App]ause.) ‘lf he had his ' way he would ABOLISH TH}? VVHOLE MI-LITARY V v OUTFIT. V - The Labour Party recognises that e many -‘.‘_tin hats” hiadh a. vested interest _ inhthe military system. ’l‘hese gentle3M.pi“_s forming" I*oaJds,' shearing r.:=r§fnJ 0(‘-(3U]‘?..fiOY1‘., This;

country wouid. get more puioduction therefrom, and it would be better for them and for the State. (Laughter -and applause.) LAND VALUES. ‘ Mr Brady gave a graphic illustration on the blackboard of the increase in land values and the unearned increment. In 1913 the value of the land in the Dominion was £212,963,468; in 1918 it was £260,660,750. A man was not entitled ~to commuiiity-created values.‘ Even this went. into the pockets of wealthy landholders. ‘The value of improvements invested at 6 per cent would bring in £2;1_61,865, and was £861,805 more than the total paid to returned soldiers. This was a monstrous injustice, and they were being ruthlessly robbed. One of the aims of the -Labour Party was, tax the unearnefd increment for various national uses. EXTENSION OF PENSIONS. The Labour Party was in favour of ‘increasing pensions. The value of a pension should be fixed by what it would purchase. common humanity demands that incapacitated persons should be looked after. LAND AGGREGATION. {The greatest. curse in this country was land aggregation, and this was rampant in ‘the Rangittikei electorate. Aggregation _'iio.re..ed gpeople into ‘cities, and God knows the misery {there from c--ver-‘crowding fand slumidom. Therc were no cottages being built there for the people-—-only motor garages. Aggregation, it allowed to go on. woulrl accentuate the clinicallties. How could crowding into cities lfit in with the need ‘for more produc‘tion? Only land in small settlements »could bring that about. In the old 1 Liberal Party under ‘Ballance and Sed§don._ there was a‘ genuine effort made ifo; l-zmfd settlement, 'and their slogan wag “Land ‘for lthe ”Landless.” The policy of the present party was “-Land for the Landlord.” He dealt trenchi antly with the way men who had sold. ’ their farms and gone to fight, and who i on wishing to gepurchase werg asked to . pay from 50 to .100 per cent more. ' His l party was in favour of acquisition and cutting up of large estates -at pre-war values. Massey and Ward would never do this. The fo.rmer’s party had vested interests in large holdings, while ‘Ward held. vested‘ interests .in comcercial monopolies. {He congratulated those large holders who had made money out of their land; their sheep were wel.l shorn; but not all sheep had ‘four legs. Under Massey and Ward ‘the rich had become richer, an'.d the ‘p-not-' poorer; and so it would ever be ‘until ‘the people ruled the zountry. Never» was the gulf between affluence jaml poverty so wide apart as now. A i,e‘-sclnaited la.nd tax was -the only remedy. ' i LIFE OF PARLIAMENT. I He condemned the manner in which the Government had extended its Parlliament life, and clung to the ‘fat jobs as long as possible. If the people of this country put them back in power they deserved to be kicked from Cape Maria Van Dieman to the Bluff. . HOUSING PR(SBLEM.

_The speaker condemned the housing pl'o'b-lem of the Gav.=:.:nlent. It should have gone on hiiilding during the war, and had cottages for our soldiers when they returner]. A big brazing problem should be formulated and car.riod out vigor-ous’.y. ‘ » CONSa}R'.{’TlO‘l‘l. 3 The Labour P-irty had hen accused [of being opposed to the war-.. If coniscription of mm --'l/1 wealth -had been ‘in force early in the war the party would not have opposed it. Why, he asked, should one man goand another ;stay at home and fatten on the efforts ‘of others‘? Conscriu'tion was like a ,spidcr’g Wcb—it caught itnrl held the ipoor and weak, while the strong escap" '96. Many married men were lying in 'lonely graves in France, while young able-bodied single men remained at home and ‘became Wealthy. Men were sent to fight at 5/ a ‘day; others: relmained at home and got 41/ a day. lßeturncd soldiers knew those things, ’and that was why they supported the ILahour Party. (Applause). E PROFITEERING. ; Profiteering was going on stiil.-"—'-'it had never been demobilised. “And lwhat are you people going to no about 3it‘3,” he asked. Merchants in Wellingiton met weekly, and had an agreement as to what prices were to be charged for goods, and the people had to pay for it. He gave instances of the in crease in certain lines. Take boats, he said, they had doubled in price. Were farmers getting twice as much for their hides? No; the Government keep the price of hides down and the pl‘icé of boots up. Were Wages double what they Were. He left the answer to the wage-earner. It was the wives of the vvorkers the ‘cost of living hit first. - V House rents, clothing—in fact, everythinfi the workers need have gone up steadily in price, and this state of things would always be so long as the Party at present in power remained there. Put in ‘your own party, he said, and -stop this. (Cheers) INDENV-TURED ‘LABOUR. . He ,was strongly up against and condemned ‘the employmcnttof indentured labour in Samoa.fl_ . Theylwould

have the same in New Zealand if they

didnot watch. PATRIOTIC FUNDS. The patriotic funds subscribed during the war should be -handed over to the returned soldiers. The Gove-rn-ment should not be allowed to use these funds to arelieve themselves. of their obligations to the men. Patriotic societies had developed into huge money-lending institutions. A man. applying to them got a. loan. What of the principal, he asked. . CONCLUSION. ; In an eloquent peroratiovn, Mr Brady said he and his party were sincere in ltheir desire to benefilt. the country; it ‘did not want '3. fig-leaf to cover up i the truth. Members of party list- ’ cncd too much to newspaper opinions; l these were controlled by the men they l were up against. “Have. you eve.r seen llilttle kiddies going to school without E boots, and compared the wealthy ; people going about in their motor cars‘? :This state of things was made poslsible by the gross mosmuanagenient. of lthg party in power, Whose levgislatioin ]was for th.e classes, xrolt. the masses. Would you support a party which had ibeen guilty of permitting canteen iscandals, Union Co.’s hugeprofits. inlcrease in cost of .living, profiteering, land aggregation, and practically all 'thc ills the workers were suffering from to-day‘? You hiiye a, solemn duty [on election day-—the firslt.-' for five ,yeal's. Labour stands for the people, ‘the others for the classes. What are lyou going to do about it‘? Stop and consider, and when election {day comes round you will not be s-o foolish las to vote for the party which has ltreated you as they have done in the past.” Mfr Brady resumed his seat amidst {cheering and applause. ‘

There was only one question, which was rather incoherent, but. Mr Brady said the men who went away ‘should receive every considel'ation, not those who had only been in camp. The Chairman said as lthere were no further questions,‘ it was ev'L'd;ent the meeting was well satisfied. Chorus of‘ voices: Yes, well satisfied. ' A vote of thanks Land confidence was moved, the movier Saying they were proud this was the first 'o~ppo.~“.tuni'ty Taihape. had of‘ volt-in-g for a - Labour candidélte. . .. . The motion -was seconded, and carried unanimously, amidst applause. Mr Brady said it was not necessary to have a vote of confidence. He felt quite "confident, and thanked those present for their patient -hearing‘. b The meeting lthen broke up with ringing cheers for the Labour Party mid the eaindidat-er. : .