INCIDENT AT HOTEL

Press, Volume LXXXIV, Issue 25483, 1 May 1948, Page 8

INCIDENT AT HOTEL

FEDERATION ISSUES STATEMENT “CONCERN AT POLITICAL DISCRIMINATION ” From Our Own Reporter DUNEDIN, April 30. “The federation desires to state that as it stands for democracy, it will not sit idly by and see any hotelkeeper discriminate against any guest for his political views, his colour, or his creed.”

This was the final sentence of an official statement issued to-day by the Federation of Labour about the incident at Wain’s Hotel yesterday, where four watersidefs’ delegates, Messrs H. Barnes, T. Hill, A. Drennan, and T. McGlinchy were asked to leave because Mr Drennan was president of the Communist Party. The federation, in its statement, traced the history of the incident (as narrated in “The Press”) and said that when the deputation from the national executive explained the matter to the licensee, Mr Lewis, “he immediately realised he was outside the law and agreed without hesitation for the four delegates to come back to the hotel.” It is understood that before the official statement was issued, some exception was taken by left-wing delegates to newspaper reports appearing, locally, which said the incident was amicably settled by diplomacy. The left-wingers were quite candid about their view that the real reason for the settlement was the threat of direct action, and that this should be published as “a salutary lesson.” The official report said that the conference was gravely concerned that a licensee, z of an hotel should discriminate against his guest because of his political views, and would like to emphasise that un.’er our democracy all citizens Lad an equal right, irrespective of their political views, provided they did not break the law. Provided a person paid his tariff, once he was booked into an hotel he was entitled to stay there, irrespective of his political views. The official report from the conference said that the licensee had said that if the four men did not leave their bags would be put on the footpath-, and they would be put there, too. This last statement, which was not reported by “The Press,” is unsupported by other versions of the incident as related to “The P r ess.”

The licensee, Mr Charles Lewis, /has no further comment to make on an incident which ne wishes to be considered closed.