Election Issue Not “Class War”

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 14, Issue 53, 19 October 1949, Page 4

Election Issue Not “ Class War”

Introducing the Bay of Plenty Labour candidate for Parliament, Mr T. G. Santon, of Opouriao, to an Opotiki audience of friends and supporters of the Party on Monday night, the Mayor of Opotiki, Mr T. G. Johnson, deplored the fact that there were so few young people at the meeting. He said there were not nearly enough of the younger generation taking a r'eal interest in their own future and in the problems of their nation. In the years gone by a large number of benefits which the youth of today shared had been brought about by a few enthusiasts, one amongst whom was the late M. J. Savage, who had lived to see the sick and needy cared for. “Some think this is a class war,” Mr Johnson said. “That is not so. We fight for an ideal, the same as those before us did. And we are not attacking any individuals, but another ideal opposed to ours.” On Mr Johnson’s motion the meeting passed a vote of confidence in the candidate, endorsing Mr Santon’s views and his interest in the good of humanity. In seconding the motion, Mr L. A. Dain harked back to the days of the Massey Government and contrasted working conditions then with those of today.