WELFARE LEAGUE

Dominion, Volume 16, Issue 121, 7 February 1923, Page 8

WELFARE LEAGUE

POLITICAL & INDUSTRIAL MATTERS i — A GENERAL REVIEW - L The national executive of the New ' Zealand Welfare League has issued its ‘ general report for the year ended De- ' comber 31. Referring to the Public servants, the report says: “A very dangerous movement has been on foot to induce the > PubT’c servants in certain Departments to ally themselves to an avowedly re- , volutjflnary organisation—the' Alliance of Labour —an 1 a special attack was ! made on the P. and T. Officers? As* i sociation. Wo need not enlarge on the gravity of tliiji attempt to bring our public utilities under the control of an organisation whose declared aim is to introduce Soviet rule into this country and secure the control of all publ'c and private activities by the workers who operate them. Apart from this, however. the league maintains that the Public Service should not be allow od to link itself up with any organisation formed for sect'onal purposes; it shov’d be entirely free to carry on the public utilities without any risk of becoming involved in purely sectional disputes. . In the case of tho Post and Tclo- ! graph Association a ballot declared lor the alliance, and tho league worked tin i such public opposition to the proposal that it has remained in abeyance and appears to have been dropped. Wo feel it our duty, however, to warn our members that it may revive again, in which case it must be fought vigorously, and it is to b’ hoped that tho Government will legislate in the direction of making such alliance impossible Trade Union Funds. Roeent happonmys , have caused many of the rank and file to feel that f the funds of the unions are not properly safeguarded, some large defalcations having beqn disclosed. Several deputations of workers have called at our jOffice to discuss this c.uestion. Tho league’s officers have also been in close touch with members of the House and Cabinet on the matter. The main grievances are: —(a) Excessive levies compulsorily exacted by powers given under the preference clause. (b) Wasteful expenditure on salaries and travelling expenses and on payments I outside the unions’ legitimate objects such as sympathv strikes and politi- • cal parties, (c) Grave lack of proper accounting and inspection of balancesheets which permit of waste and malI feasance. To meet these the league made sug-. ; gestion to Government and members . of Parliament which resulted in the i introduction of legislation to protect tho members of unions from, and to control the imposition of, excessive levies, also to ensure the registration of properly audited balance-sheets. The proposed Bill, however, was dealt with very weakly 'by the Labour Bills Committee, who did not seem to realise tho great importance of the principles at stake, and. it was ultimately passed by tho House in a mollified form. The net result, however, is a I big advance in tho right direction, and no doubt the usual rush at tho end of the session > is responsible for the original provisions not having been insisted, upon. , The league has taken i this matter up in response to the urgent and frequent representations of men who hhve been the victims of i an official tyranny almost unbe’ieVable • in a country like Now Zealand. Instances have been brought to onr notice which show that the very men who condemn “Capitalism” are ready to inflict injustice and hardship on - their fellow-workers far exceeding' anything done by the much-abused Capii talist. The result of the league’s adI vice has proved in the Law Courts that thei above is correct, and recent 1 litigation has shown that certain compulsory levies from the rank and file '■ have been illegally enforced. Public Expenditure. It has long been recognised that our - present high’ taxation is hampering the expansion and prosperity of the and it is obvious that the only way in which this burden can bo relieved is to reduce Government I expenditure, which lias grown out of all reason. Ono of the original obi jects of the league was to endeavour j to bring about, by public, demand, a thorough overhaul of the public adi ministration, and place departmental activities on a sound business footing. ! Careful inquiry has convinced us that there is no way in which economy can i be so quickly realised as by bringing !• recognised modern business methods into our Public Service. AVe also felt thjat iriany of the devices for effecting savings were makeshift and unsound. Private concerns have 'been — faced with identically the same adverse conditions that Government has had to contend ,against, and these concerns have had to reorganise their businesses or “go under.” The Government, however, ‘instead of reorganising, has cut tho service, and, in ! most cases, increased tho charges. To effect some remedy the league has tried to rouse a public demand for retrenchment and reorganisation on sound lines, and the public Press has been unceasing in its support. The president, Mr. C. P. Skerretb, K.C., and the secretary have addressed several meetings of business men in various centres, and our publicity department has kept the matter alive by newspaper propaganda. There is no doubt about tho public demand for inform in the direction above indicated, but so far very little practical result is apparent in Government circles. This is possibly due to the general elections, and it is to be hoped that the new Parliament will get to work in a practical and energetic manner to cope with the whole problem. We venture to emphasise that no matter how flourishing the country is, the evil of , wasteful public expenditure is just as i great. It is no excuse for high taxation to say “the country can afford it,” so long as the revenue thus raised is wastefully spent. AA*e mention this point because we regret to av that wo have seen more than one newspaper ' say that the ouostion of taxation will not he such a burning one.if times improve. 'Unnecessary taxation is ali ways unsound. The Election Contests. The usual election contests often ! produce a campaign of mutual recrimination, and, too often, misrepresentation. between tho contending political parties, and in some cases between the i rival candidates. During tho recent elections, however, a new and disturbing factor has made its .apeparance, namely, the gross attack on the cniilmcrci.il and business community by tho “Rod” candidates and their newspapers. This pernicious nroixm-anda has exceeded in quantity and virulence anything that we have seen, and it is a phase in our politics which must be carefully watched and dealt with. Hitherto tho average . elector has stood aside and watched the mud- ‘ ~ throwing, or else been indifferent, and many business institutions, such as tho hanks, and trade organisations, such ' as chambers of commerce, have become accustomed to tho rule that they “don’t interfere in politics.” Tho time has now arrived, however, when ♦lie spectator finds himself the target for tiie mud thrown bv one of tho parties —the “Reds” —and he must, we think, reconsider his position. It i»

a matter for serious consideration whether such public institutions and.ti ado organisations can continue to maintain their present attitude of aloofness in matters political. We suggest that if they are to bo made the targets for misrepresentation and abuse bv ix.iitL cal candidates- their duty is to assist those semi-political organisations whose objective is to counteract such scandalous propaganda—for it must surely now bo evident that this propaganda is circulated with the sale object or undermining the whole structure *»• commerce, trado, and society. This poisonous campaign may cease if the “Red” element is eliminated from our political life—no true Labour Party would descend to such propaganda—but the question we have raised, must be decided. We quite realise that the commercial community is too busy to follow all the moves in the game, but we venture to remind members and othoro that the A\ eiiare League specialises on this work, and has an organisation which can effectively deal with this growing evil. Iho league will do the work if the business community will continue its liberal support. , Referring to the results of the election, the report says: “Outside tho loss of Reform scats to Liberal candidates the main feature, so far as tho Welfare League is concerned, is tho gain of seven seats by the Reds. Naturally this gain is made the most of by that party —but it is out of all proportion to the extra votes polled, and is due to vote-splitting. The Welfare League succeeded in negotiating tho avoidance of triangular contests in seven seats—in these two Reds were returned, whereas aad Jhere been a three-party split there is little doubt that they would have won four more. This conclusion is proved by the six contests in which we failed to make any arrangement. Had our efforts been successful, the ‘Reds’ would have only gained ono of these six, instead of which the split vote gave them four. In at least live constituencies it was evident that one or other of tho Reform or Liberal candidates had practically no chance of election —and if the weak candidates could have leen withdrawn the ‘Reds’ would not have won four of the seven new seats they now hold, and would have lost one of their old ones, making a net gain of only two. “In endeavouring to. prevent the feeling between the Reform and Liberal Parties producing a -plit-vote to the advantage of the ‘Red’ candidates, the league was working on the general principles outlined above, and we still maintain that these principles are approved of by the majority of electors. The result of the elections, however, makes it appear almost certain that seme party reconstruction must take place which will, however > ndesirable, practically put the country into two camps—loyalist and disloyalist. “One other matter deserves mention, and that is the advertising of ‘tickets’ by organisations formed for sectional purposes. This should be prohibited by law, unless the consent of the candidate has first been obtained. This practice has undoubtedly led to much mischief this year, and resulted in inanv surprises; it is unfair because it tends tix, throw all opponents to the organisation auvertising the ticket, against the candidates named, and also places the sectional interests before those of the country as a whole.”