"ART OF ADDRESS"

Evening Post, Volume CXXVI, Issue 6, 7 July 1938, Page 6

"ART OF ADDRESS"

CIRCULAR CRITICISED

Mr. F. W. Schramm (Government, Auckland East) dealt with,a circular which, he said, had been issued to National Party speakers containing in-1 structions in the art of political ad-! dress. He quoted Mr. S. G. Holland (National,. Christchurch North) to the effect that he had said that the Minister of Public Works had. said that the| coming General Election would be the, dirtiest political election in the history of New Zealand. "If one reads the circular issued by the head office of the National Party, which gives instructions to sneakers, it is no wonder the Minister made that statement," said Mr. Schramm. Mr. Holland: He made that statement before it was isstfed. Mr. Schramm read the ' following paragraph from the circular which, he said, was headed, "The First Duty":— : National Party speakers must remember that their first duty is to oppose the arguments, claims, and' promises of the present Socialist Government. Oppose, oppose, oppose. That is the essential duty of Nationalist speakers. Use every possible play of words, every fact you can advance to show that your political opponents are fools,, political hypocrites, opportunists, seekers of power, despots, traitors to their own class, to their country, or -to the Empire. If.a speaker can achieve this he has achieved the most essential thing. He has weaned his audience from placing confidence in or retaining confidence in his political opponent. In reply to an interjection by Mr. Wilkinson, Mr. Schramm said the circular was issued from the National party office to all its speakers. Another complaint made by Mr. Schramm was that the National Party had employed a band of women to go'from house to house to talk about the Labour Party. A boarding-house-keeper had been informed that if the present Government was returned there would be one central boarding-house and meals would not be procurable anywhere else. Propaganda was also being used against the Prime Minister, who was being referred .to as" "Michael Josephus Savitchovitch," who was an unnaturalised native of Czechoslovakia.