THE LABOUR VOTE,

Dominion, Volume 5, Issue 1277, 4 November 1911, Page 13

THE LABOUR VOTE,

Sir,—Mr. Edward Tregear is very angry with those Labour candidates who have advised tho workers to vote for Opposition candidates in tho second ballots. He says it would be "ungrateful" to do so; that it would be "dirty work"; that it would bo "to act lies." As to tho ingratitude, there. is no such thing us gratitude in polities, therefore there can be no ingratitude. Why on earth'should wo bo grateful to men for doing some small pari of the work they were paid to do? The idea is absurd. "Dirty work"? If so, Government set the workers tho exnmple every time they voted with the Opposition, and especially when they voted for dear food. "Acting lies"? Rubbish I » hen workers vote for Opposition rather than Government candidates they simply say that they prefer Tories to sham Liberals, who, while professing the principles of freedom and justice, have, nftcT a reign of twenty years, left the majority of the people landless and as much enslaved and as much robbed by monopolists as at any former time. It is really the only way open to the workers to protect themselves from politicians and (Statesmen who promise largely, but neglect to remove tho injustices which have so long afflicted all people who have to toil hard for their living. When the Opposition is in office wo shall havo a now Literal party, with new and bold lenders, who will soon be in power doing' the honest work that ought to have been deno long ago. "Acting lies," indeed! Tho people who act lies are in high places. This is a question of tactics, and it.;)s-.,certninly good tactics■ to' voto for Oppositionists rather than for professors of Liberalism who, in tho face of monopoly and great injustice to the wealth producers, have no policy. Some reformers say, "We cannot vote for Mr. Massev because he is the leader of the landlord part}'-" Why, the Government of the Inst twenty years has put many millions of the people's hard-earned money into tho pockets of the landowners, and aro doing it still, while they impose about upwards of 700 taxes on labour and labour products. Talk about Toryism! AVas there ever greater Toryism than this? Ido not think Mr. Massey would dare to bo such a Tory in practice if returned to power. The true Liberal policy is not tho policy for which Mr. Edward Tregear has claimed some credit—the policy of restrictions on employers of Labour—but tho policy of untaxing labour and labour products, and taxing land values instead. These values are mado by the people, and represent tho wages of labour withheld from the workers. When this policy is carried out, the workers will be free, and they will bo enjoying tho whole of the fruits of their labour, instead of a small part of what they earn. This is the testimony of political economists the world over, and they support it by unanswerable facts and arguments; but Mr. Tregear has vet to learn the simple lesson they teach. I say to the workers without hesitation and ,wit.h emphasis: "Vote for Oppositionists rather than for sham Liberals, who refuse to support a truly Liberal and honest policy." If such so-called LiberalLabour candidates are hoofed off the platform, and hooted all the way to their places of abode, they will get no more than they deserve.—l am, etc., EDWARD T. EVANS. Auckland, October 24, 1911.