WELLINGTON CENTRAL BY-ELECTION

Evening Star, Issue 16846, 23 September 1918, Page 2

WELLINGTON CENTRAL BY-ELECTION

A.S.R.S. ATTITUDE. I Mr R. Hampton, national president of the Amalgamated Society of Railway j Servants, has replied to the protest of ! the Grey Labor Representation Comi mittce against tho alleged vote-splitting tactics of Mr Mack, secretary of the ' society, in standing as an Independent I Labor candidate for the Wellington Central seat. He stales that Mr Mack be- | came a candidate at tho request of a number of workers who have conscientious j objections to joining the Labor party as lat present constituted. Tho_ railway servants’ society are not a political organisation, and contain men of all shades of political belief. Mr Hampton takes exception to the suggestion that their executive exercise autocratic censorship over tho political opinions of servants of the society, especially os tho demand of full civil political rights for all railwayman is a permanent plank of their platform. If Mr Mack should be elected for Wellington Central he understands that it may involve a reconsideration of his appointment as secretary for the railway servants’ society. In reply to a question about the protest of tho local branch of the Amalgamated j Society of Railway Servants against his | candidature, and demanding his resigna- ‘ lion, Mr Mack said that as secretary ho was concerned only with the societyV’executive, and his position would come before the executive in the ordinary course.