FARMERS' PARTY.

Auckland Star, Volume LIV, Issue 182, 1 August 1923, Page 8

FARMERS' PARTY.

WHAT MAT STILL HAPPEN. ENTERING THE POLITICAL ARENA. (By Telegraph.— Special to "Star."> WELLINGTON, this day. The possibility of the Farmers' Union nominating candidates for Parliament was referred to by the Dominion president of that organisation in his opening address yesterday. "If we are to obtain success," remarked Mr. Poison, "somethins must be done at once. I need not recapitulate what happened last year, when practically everything we attempted was frustrated by politicians, Cut let mc say that there is little encouragement'for your leaders to fight your cause with such a handicap as our present method imposes. Not one of our considerable reforms was granted. Pledges made to us were on more than one occasion not kept. Any section of the community politically organised has been able to show better results than we have obtained. I hope to lay definite proposals before you at a suitable time during the conference for your further consideration, but let mc conclude my remarks on this subject by the quotation from a letter received by the Dominion secretary from the general secretary of the Victorian Farmers' Union: 'I understand your union is non-political —that is, you do not contest seats in Parliament, and this ■is the great difference between the Victorian Farmers' Union and yours. Our organisation was nonpolitical, but it soon found it was absolutely necessary to have some political power and push in order to push through some of our most important economic questions. . Circumstances may yet drive us to adopt a similar course," added Mr. Poison.