BOYCOTT WEAPON

Waikato Times, Volume 124, Issue 20733, 17 February 1939, Page 6

BOYCOTT WEAPON

In a free country where every man has the right to his own political opinions and to support whatever party he chooses, use of the boycott -weapon to intimidate political opponents is an intolerable wrong that should not be countenanced for a moment. Mr Frank Goldberg, who assisted in conducting a political campaign on behalf of the National Party before the general election, tells an astonishing story of threats to boycott hotels at -which he has stayed. He has appealed to the Prime Minister, who has said that the matter will be adjusted.

Not only Mr Goldberg but the keepers of reputable hotels and the general public have cause for grave misgiving at the state of affairs described. Opponents of the National Party and those who assisted it have all the remedies provided by a democratic constitution without resort to tactics from which right-thinking people would shrink. Democracy does not deny but upholds the right of men to work for any political pa,rtv with a responsibility in the country, and the boycott method aims a blow r at the very root of the democratic system. It should be stamped out.

Mr Savage is inquiring into the legal position, and it is to be hoped he will use the full powers of the law to discover the cause of the complaint, and to apply a remedy. The question of the publicity given the matter by Mr Goldberg was the subject of some criticism by the Prime Minister, but from the public’s point of view it is as well that the matter should receive all the publicity possible. Mr Goldberg has made definite charges, and the public will not be satisfied until the matter has been investigated thoroughly. There is a strong public demand for the ballot box instead of organised coercion being upheld as the legitimate political weapon.