Post and Telegraph Association.

Press, Volume LXI, Issue 18348, 3 April 1925, Page 8

Post and Telegraph Association.

If the frank speeches at the annual meeting of the Wellington section of the Post and Telegraph Officers' Association represent the general body of opinion within the Association, jthey mean that the rank and file have at last determined to assert themselves over the few- who would lead them astray. The meeting carried a resolution expressing the opinion that the Association "should be entirely dissociated, either directly or indirectly, "from any political party, and' that "the service journal should not be "used in any manner for the purpose "of political propaganda." There is no .mistaking such a carefully worded resolution. It expresses plainly the determination o,f the Wellington members of the Association to return to constitutional methods, and leaves no loophole for misunderstanding or misrepresentation. Though it is reassuring to know that the Wellington postal officers have realised that political intrigues, far from assisting their cause, can only do it injury, there is much more, of course, in the resolution than a general statement against political action. It means that those who carried it—and it is worth noting that the resolution was carried by a "very "large majority" at a largely attended meeting—do not want to hear anymore about the Alliance of Labour, as the notice to rescind the decision for affiliation shows. It is satisfactory to discover that members, of the Association have recognised the Alliance for what it is, and if the Association at the same time turns its back on political methods in general, it will gain in public standing and sympathy. And it is, of course, only the sympathy and goodwill of the whole of the people that can do anything for the Association, whose votes form only, a small proportion, although it may be too large a one, of the country's voting strength. Whether the secretary-organiser is permitted to retain his position while he is electioneering as a Labour candidate for Parliament is a mattor for the Association to decide. But it will be wise if it remembers that there are not a few offices which cannot be linked with political ambition, and that the public may look askance at the combination of the two in this instance.