USE OF THE BOYCOTT.

Auckland Star, Volume LXIII, Issue 135, 9 June 1932, Page 21

USE OF THE BOYCOTT.

The strong remarks of the Prime "ilinister and of the Minister of Finance during last session, when condemning the iction of Thames civil servants in boyrotting certain business firms, and the legislation put through to deal with •,hose who may follow their example, nay lead the public to imagine that the ise of the boycott by civil servants is something new. Such is not the case. Some considerable time ago the civil serrants of a King Country town decided ,0 boycott those' firms using freight services which ran in' opposition to the railxnye. Presumably the Department was r'avourable to this action, for the move.Dent spread and became effective in ;>arts of the Thames Valley at the txpe'nse of th© shipping and motor companies. Business men throughout :he district, including the writer, xere interviewed, and urged to ,-ransfer their freights from the shipping company to the railways. One of their strongest arguments was the statement that civil servants' wants constituted a large proportion of local trade, jikl tradesmen should not complain if, *0 protect their livelihood, civil sen-ants :ransferred their business to those firms which supported the railways. There is no doubt whatever that the system of boycott was openly conducted and condoned by the Government. As a business man I offer no defence for the use of the boycott, but when civil servants are. allowed to apply the boycott 011 behalf nf the Government, one can understand why, when the occasion arose, they were tempted to apply the same weapon to further their own interests. Another contributing factor may have been the use of the boycott by the business men of Thames against each other in their fight over the half-holiday question. I feel that the real purpose of the legislation referred to is to intimidate the civil servanjs and prevent them taking any political action against those responsible for lowering their standard of living and aiv own. D. LEACH. Paeroa.