THE "GESTAPO" LETTER

Auckland Star, Volume LXXVI, Issue 163, 12 July 1945, Page 4

THE "GESTAPO" LETTER

Some sympathy may be due to the Marton lady of the "Gestapo" letter, as she seems to be one of the many victims misled by National party propaganda. Thus her first instance of Gestapo methods is, "Socialistic Government meant spying on internal correspondence." If go, Britain, Canada, United States, Australia and South Africa are all "Socialistic"* States guilty of a Gestapo practice of censoring internal correspondence in wartime. Here it has now almost ceased. The only other instance given by the lady is, "Everybody knows there was tampering with the soldiers' votes." Here the lady is misled by unfounded insinuations by party agencies. The fact is that a full and competent inquiry reported that the polling was correctly made; that the record of votes was re-checked and certified by scrutineers, but that the destruci tion of ballot papers was ordered by an officer without the knowledge of the Government. Party propaganda diligently spreads and fosters the erroneous view that most wartime restrictions are part of a Labour Government's permanent policy. Yet these restrictions are being removed almost daily and we have fewer than most Allied countries endure. Last Thursday evening Mr. S. G. Holland "did his bit" by actually including "coupons" with trade restrictions which he denounced the Goverment for not removing. He knows that coupons will have to be used in every Allied country for many a long day, yet he exploits for party purposes the discomforts of the coupon system, which New Zealand only shares with most other countries. CRICKET.