THE GERMAN1 ELECTIONS.

Press, Volume LXVI, Issue 20037, 19 September 1930, Page 13

THE GERMAN 1 ELECTIONS.

» TO TUB EDIT OB O? TIDS •'EESS Sir,—The cables from Europe giving us tlie numerical results of the German election are apt to mislead those of your readers who are not "in the .know'' • concerning • tlie • political movements pf Europe. • The. 'first reports seemed to give undue importance , to this ■ so-called Fascist victory, as these Fascist! are a number of small political .groups composed 1 - of' heterogeneous ele..ments, . distrusting each other. ■ Herr ■Hitler is head of only one of them. /They- have ] no constructive ; ex* cepit the usual parade of promises and g.ood. intentions, ornamented' ; with a flourish of words, and the only affinity th.ey have-with their Italian brethren is - their 1 reactionary tendencies and intense hatred 'towards liberal reforms and th£ other democratic Parties. .•These.-latter Parties, as in all 'other, places of the world, have great leaders, also/, a great' number • of,' adherents; honest, -upright,'full .of self sacrificing spirit, a love for humanity and an intense feeling for justice, but. some in their rank and file are animated by a strong feeling of injustice, and hatred for society as at present constituted. This hatred finds vent inmost inflammatory speeches .advocating .social remedies which rather intensify .than, cure the- present social evil. ' Of course,.-'this-'-phenomenon is not peculiar to one' bul' ~to 'all ..advanced "political or religious-'movements' advocating needed reforms, as in the case of Jesu's,: • Whose foUowers were inen not from, -among--the' elite: but from the le'nes' and the .fishermen'-of ' Hia : timip' So .it ■ .was' also -with the early; - Chris .tians/ whose .chief-adherents were noi,. ':'the ! -'pa'trician*s : but ' the .'proletarians.' ! plebeians,. the' the'unwashed The";fear- of' these- extremists '•ause. of thi's: seeming backwash i'in'; the great" wave of'social .advancement:'and

the results of the German elections must bo viewed as tho expression of this nervousness, but there is no :possibility of Herr Hitler influencing,, or staying the onward progress .of democracy in Germany, for he, is recognised all over the world as a political turer whose ephemeral success Is wholly due to a time of world .crisis. I would also like your readers to know what the word. Fascism . means. It has no equivalent hi the English language, but the German words; Bund or Gebunden, come nearest 'to I 'it as . meaning.'bound and tied together, as fasce. in Italian, is reallv a bundle or; wood, bound and tied. But Fascist isaccepted and used, like Chauyinigt, after M. Chauvin, a fanatic "whose hatred for foreign nations-, has .-made him an objectionable person.- So Fascist signifies also a fanatic whose "hatred for democracy has made him a danger to society. Any fanatic. ivho is against Labour in Europe calls, himself'.;a.Fascist, although he might be a Conservative or a Nationalist or 'an anti-Semite, or anything at etc.), ; HiJDOLONNA. September ,18th, 1930; POLITICAL QUESTIONS, TO. THE EDITon OF TUB PEKSb. ' Sir, —In the-course .of pertain political discussions- with a friend of mine who is imbued with Labour principles, he has made certain statements which seem to me to be. probably, inaccurate. Perhaps you could reply to .them. The statements are. '■■ (1) The Coates Government; spent £IO,OOO in three years on ,the'. Prime Minister's, residence in Wellington. (2) Great Britain takes only 10 per" cent, of Australia's exports, v- > (3) Of the millions *of. .rounds of ammunition piled up. and wasting in New the . greater; \ part is manufactured in Germany:*""' ; : 1 shall be pleased if your. lighten me on any of these .p^mts.— Yours, etc.. '-.'■ '-... . '■.'. TORY, ■; September 18th., 1930, ■'■■.■;' [(1) It,was stated in-, the Houserlast year. ! that during;, the three years ended Match 31st; "1929, 'the~cost ~oF alterations to the' Prime Min-, ister's residence,'N.p.'26o Tinakori'road, fur-, •nishtog and -'the-'upkee'p of the gardens had 'ta&ount'ed,' approximately, to £JO,SQO , The ..Minister for ,~ Euhlic * .Works' CHon-. E. A ,JRsnsom},stated -that about-.one-h'a.'f Of the StaounY spent.'was ,* ■ dituro' (as distinct frota maintenance').' c. When, matters relating to»thei.; sale of the.PrimrMin-.

residence were undar disciißsion in October last,, the present Prime 'Minister (Hon. G. W. Forbes), then Minister for Lands, said that the Government's attention had been directed to the fact-.that, the upkeep of'the residence would be, on an.aver-, age, £3OOO per annum "notwithstanding the heavy, though justifiable outlay on the pro" perty that had .taken, place." The Rt. Hon, •J. G. Coates reminded members that each i Minister had his reduced by £2OO a year if he elected-to live in a'Ministerialresidence; 50 that, there, was a credit to be set off against the' maintenance cost. The Minister for. Public Works had given the total cost in respect of the three Ministerial residences • for ten yflars as £22,8,83, and Mr Coates said that since 1919 the State had had the benefit of £2OO a year from three or four Ministers." ; There would thus be a credit over the period of nearly £BOOO. (For fuller details, see Hansard; 4929, vol. 222, page 295, and Hansard;. 1929, vol:,. - 223, , pages 479 to 486.) "(2) The Commonwealth Year Book for' 1929. gives : the ''information' 1 , that k in 1927-28" the percentage of Australian exports taken by the United Kingdom (exclusive of the Irish .Free State) was 37.90. In v 1926-27, it .was 33.37; in 1925-26, ;it-was. 4i;431 in 1924-25 i it .was -42.67; and-in 1923-24 it was 38.09. (3) There ig»:;no foundation in fact, for this .statement .No,ammunition. ever, for the. New Zealand Government has come from' Germany;°it bias-all beeri : ' manufactured 'by .the Colonial Ammunition : Company,. Auckland, and the- contract, had to he for a lengthy'period to induce the; company to tike, it' Tip:'!' •" " ..