A COUNTER-ATTACK

Evening Post, Volume CXII, Issue 122, 19 November 1931, Page 15

A COUNTER-ATTACK

MR. WRIGHT AND COM-

MUNISM

"The Labour Socialist Party has for its objective the socialism of the means of production, distribution, and exchange," said Mr. Wright, in his address at Northland last evening. "That ig a cardinal pla.nk in their platform. It is true you do not see anything of it now; it is obscured; but when the policy was originally announced that was the principal plank in their platform. It is kept in the background now because they found that it was rather unpopular amongst moderate people." The speaker said that socialism of the means of production meant

control of the means of production— land, factories, and everything connected with it. It meant thatthe Government was to take control of the land and everything on the land. That could only bo done in one of two ways —namely, that adopted in Soviet Eussia —taking from the people everything they had, and declaring that everything belonged to the State A voice: "The same as was done under the Czar." Mr. Wright denied that they went so far in tho time of tho Czar as to shoot those who differed from the authorities; they might banish them. An interjector said that people were being allowed to-starve hero. Mr. Wright: "You do not look as if you were starving. When a man talks about starving, you look for an emaciated object." . A voice: "There is good grass just Mr. Wright replied that the intcricctor seemed to flourish on it. (Laughter ) AVhatever wrongs were done under tho Czar they did not take all the land from tho people. A voice: "You don't know what you arc talking about." . Mr. Wright: "Oh, yes I do. That is the difference between my friend and myself. I know what I am talking about, and he does not. (Laughter.) I may add that the Soviet Government has repudiated its debts to Great Britain and to other countries." Tho speaker said that Communists .were coming to New Zealand, and some Russian money was coming to help them carry on their destructive work. _ A voice: "Tell that to the kinder£T3.rton' . Mr 'Wright: "The. kindergarten is tho place where you should be. in New South Wales, he said, they were drumming these men out of the.conn, try; and in the course of time they would no doubt not be tolerated hcie, and they might be shipped off to some lonely island where they could carry on iv their own wa~.