TIED TO A CAUCUS.

Auckland Star, Volume L, Issue 281, 26 November 1919, Page 11

TIED TO A CAUCUS.

(To the Edltor.l Sir, —After the speeches of the official Labour candidates for the city seats one must confess to a feeling of disappointment, for one looks in vain for any freedom of thought, not to say of action. The nominees of the Federation of ■Labour come before the electors predestined, to do as they are told by the party; initiative is anathema, and departure from the Socialist plank spells chaos. From a voter's viewpoint the prospect is not alluring. The old shibboleth, "the socialisation of the means of production, distribution and exchange," is etill extant, and as a phrase to round off a period 'has its uses, but in these troublous times wisdom, truth and justice are better than chimeras. Vague generalities are not required, but men who have, the courage of their opinions, and sufficient backbone to stand alone; men who will neither quake at a 'leader's frowD nor be swayed by a howling mob. Men of this calibre could be followed and trusted by that section of Labour who, as one of the candidates has reminded us, "filled the trenches, and helped to win the war." This in itself is a sign of repentance; a tacit admission by one of it 3 own nominees that the Fderation of Labour touched a false note during the war, and is ready to readjust its eyesight to the popular focus. Such power, however, has required the imminence of an election to remove the scales. When one remembers how the manhood of the State ■flocked to the colours in defence of the country, the attitude of the Federation of Labour remains an irritating recollection in the minds of the men whose sons fought and suffered in that great and just cause. —I am, etc., ELECTOR.