THE DEMOCRATS

Evening Post, Volume CXX, Issue 125, 22 November 1935, Page 19

THE DEMOCRATS

"TREATED AS A JOKE"

"No one seems to be taking the Democrat Party very seriously," said Mr. R. McKeen, Labour candidate for Wellington South, when addressing an open-air meeting last evening. "In fact, in some electorates they are being treated more or less as a joke." Ec went on to allude to statements made by his Dempcrat opponent, Mr. J. I. Goldsmith. The Democrat Party, he said, had held a national conference in Wellington at which it was resolved to oppose the Labour Party in the event of a no-confidence motion being moved. Mr. Goldsmith at his first meeting had said he would do likewise. It showed the ignorance of that individual in making such a statement. He could only vote one or two ways, either with the Government or against it. Now they had Mr. Goldsmith at a meeting on Wednesday night, right on the eve of the election, stating that he would vote with Labour.

Keferring to a statement made at Berhampore by Mr, Goldsmith to the effect that he had done more for the unemployed than Mr. McKeen had, the Labour canc'Jdate dealt with the matter along similar lines to those taken at his Newtown meeting on Wednesday night. He wa§ too modest, he said, to say what he had done, and he would leave it in the hands of the electors to judge the value of his services in that respect.

A general enunciation of the Labour Party's policy was expounded by Mr. McKeen. He touched on what he characterised as "the Government's vile system of economy," stating that it had even been brought into the hospitals. The unemployment figures, with this policy of retrenchment in force, had jumped up from 11,000 to 79,000, and that did not include those under the age of 20 years or females. He criticised the action of the Government in extending the life of Parliament by one year.

Figures that were compiled by inspectors of health indicated that of the 56,000 children who had been examined, about 75 per cent, were suffering from malnutrition^—a word which was a most cultured term for starvation. In Wellington and suburbs, including Hutt and Petone, there were about 12,000 children, over 4000 of whom belonged to homes of relief workers.

Guaranteed prices to farmers and others who were producing in accordance with the Dominion's requirements, the further extension of primary and secondary industries, State control of currency and credit, and the extension of the Education Department's activities were among other matters dealt with by the candidate as being some of his party's main planks.