The Dominion. MONDAY, DECEMBER 7, 1914. AN UNJUST ASPERSION.

Dominion, Volume 8, Issue 2326, 7 December 1914, Page 4

The Dominion. MONDAY, DECEMBER 7, 1914. AN UNJUST ASPERSION.

Amongst the many reckless stories set in circulation by tho Opposition and the Federation of Labour during the present election campaign none is less likely to prove profitable from a political point of view to those circulating it than the slander of General Godley and the officers of the Expeditionary Force. The attack of course'is not made directly, against General Godley and his officers. For instance, Me. Jull, tho Wardist candidate for Waipawa, who is one of those circulating, the story, plainly sought to place the responsibility ion the Government, his purpose being to endeavour to injure the candidature of Mr. G. Hunter, whose services have deservedly won him the goodwill of the majority of the electors of Waipawa. Mr. JtiLL professed to belieye_ that commissions in the Expeditionary Force had been given to inexperienced junior officers over the heads of men of greater experience who were much more capable of carrying out the duties. Mr. Jull probably knows nothing about the matter at all and is merely repeating what has been told him by his party organisers. The allegation as stated is really directed against General Godley, the Commander of the Expeditionary Force, who was personally responsible for the' selection of its officers. General ' Godley is no longer in the country to defend himself against attacks, but fortunately he placed it on re-, cord before' he left that the officers of the Force had been selected by him with a single eye to their fitness, and that in practically ev6ry case he had himself gone carefully into their records and qualifications. As a reply to criticism which he himself described as a most monstrous slander, General Godley's statement must be accepted as final, but tho matter certainly, cannot be» allowed to drop at that. The public generally cannot have any sympathy with this form of political campaigning, which is calculated to causo uneasiness and unrest in the minds of those who do not know how utterly unfounded are the allegations made, and it may also discourage further recruiting. Those circulating the. stories have no regard for the anxiety they may bring to the mothers and fathers of the young men who have come forward so splendidly to ' fight for their country; nor do they apparently care for the. injustice they do to the whole of the officers who are thus insulted and placed under suspicion. It might be thought that after General Godley's emphatic contradiction the opponents of the Government, even if only in justice to the men themselves and their families and friends, would have dropped this mischievous and unwarranted form of attack; but that. is quite contrary to Wardist ideas of fair play. Exposure after exposure has been made of the misrepresentations and slanders circulated, but Wardist candidates and Wardist newspapers' in different parts of the country go on repeating them, in the hope that by repeated reiteration they may influence a few votes. It is very plain that a party driven to such methods must be very hard pressed, but even so no sympathy can be felt for candidates who are ready to disparage those who have come forward to fight for their country and if necessary to lay down their lives in its defence. The contrast between the carping criticism of, Mr. Jull and the active and practical assistance lent by Mr. G. Hunter in tho matter of providing suitable horses for the Expeditionary Force cannot fail to impress the electors of Waipawa in the latter's favour. But tho .effect we are confident will extend to a wider field than the Waipawa electorate—that is to, say, wherever there'are electors who believe in fair play and fair fighting.