“MALICIOUS LIES”

Evening Star, Issue 20958, 24 November 1931, Page 10

“MALICIOUS LIES”

FORBES MEETING CHARGES HILLSIDE MEN DEMAND APOLOGY Indignation is running high at the Hillside Railway Workshops over the charge that the disgraceful demonstration which disturbed the Prime Minister’s meeting on Friday night was organised by the workshops’ employees. “ Malicious lies and “ slander ” were terms used at a mass meeting of the employees at lunch hour to-day, when the workers unanimously decided to demand a public apology from the ‘ Evening Star ’ for “ its unwarranted attack on the Hillside men and their womenfolk.” “ I have been asked to take the chair to-day at this mass meeting to consider what action, if any, should be taken in regard to tho sub-leader in the ‘ Evening Star’ of tho 21st inst.,” said Mr W. Grahanij the workshops manager. “ This article alleges that the disturbance at the Prime Minister’s meeting was organised by Hillside Workshops employees. It is hardly necessary for me to deny, knowing the staff as I do, that such a scheme would be contemplated by the staff of the Hillside. Workshops.” In the first place, said Mr A. J. Morrison, executive councillor of the A.S.R.S., he wished to thank Mr Graham for presiding over the meeting. It showed the men tnat everything was above board when the manager, of the workshops presided over ■ a meeting of that kind. As the inen knew, they had taken strong exception to the statements in the ‘Evening Star.’ Mr S. W. Caspar, secretary of- tho Hillside branch of tho A.S.R.S., said he had taken exception to the statements in the paper itself, and their letters had appeared. Evidently that was not sufficient. They thought that a mass meeting should be called in connection with the malicious lies. They were lies—nothing else. Evidently the ‘ Star ’— and perhaps some of the readers of the ‘ Star ’ —thought there was some truth in the statement; but where they had received ,their information he did not know. “ They say circulars were issued,” said Mr Morrison. “If that, was so, none had any connection with the Hillside men.. Evidently the ‘Star’ forgets the great amount of work done by the men for charity. They have looked to Hillside on every ocasion. During the war period the men worked overtime, for nothing, to gather funds for the war purposes and for peace celebrations. Yet the ‘Star’ puts trash in the papers to condemn our men. It is alleged that the Hillside men, and nobody else, went to disturb Mr Forbes’s meeting. I did not see more than a dozen present.” A Voice. About 3 per cent. The advertisements appealed to the people to attend the meeting in their hundreds, said Mr Morrison,, and hundreds had attended. There were men and women at the meeting who were unemployed, and whose children were starving. Their opinion was that their plight was the result of the Government’s actions. , He did not know whether or not that was so. The people had expressed their opinion at the meeting. Mr Morrison moved—.

That this mass meeting of Hillside employees wish to enter an emphatic • protest against the statements appearing in the ‘ Evening Star ’ wherein they said the workshops men were organised to disturb Mr Forbes’s meeting, and wo demand an apology from the editor. “I think it is only right and proper that the paper should make a public apology to our men,” said Mr Morrison. “Whether they will give us an "apology or not.l do not know. I think they will when they see a meeting of this description. Many of the men buy the ‘Star,’ and they have the matter in their own hands as to what they do in the future.” The statements in the 1 Star ’ were not only unwarranted, said Mr Caspar, who seconded the motion. Tho statement attacked not only the Hillside men but their wives, children, cousins, and aunts. Ho thought it was most despicable _to drag the ' womenfolk of the Hillside workers into the political arena to bolster up tho ‘Star’s’ side of the question. The meeting that day was representative of every section of Hillside workers, and he had never seen such a largely attended meeting at the works, in proportion to the number of men employed. That every section was represented and that the manager presided should prove conclusively to the ‘Star’ that there was not one atom of truth in the statements made. When a wrong statement was made, there was only one course open to the maker —to, apologise. And it was only fair to call on the editor of the ‘Star’ to make an opology. If tho ‘ Star ’ could prove its statements,- he hoped the editor would get busy and do so. No one knew how ho had struggled in politics, said Mr Caspar.. He had voted and struggled for Labour all Jus life, and he did not care whether or not the ‘ Star ’ appreciated that. He made that statement to prove that if there had been any organised disturbance he would probably have been the first man in Hillside to know about it. He knew nothing about the alleged organisation, and he was not present at the meeting. He was'not going into details ,as to whether the demonstrators were right or wrong; the meeting was not concerned with that question. “ The onlv concern is that the employees of Hillside and their womenfolk were slandered by a paper, probably for political purposes,” said Mr Caspar. “ Wo should take strong exception to that.” It appeared to him that the papers, in Dunedin at all events, had a grudge again the Hillside workers. What that grudge was he did not know; but he knew the papers had no reason for it. He had worked among men in various places and the men at Hillside were ho different from anywhere else. “There may have been men from Hillside who kicked up the disturbance,” said Mr Caspar, “ I was not there. But I am satisfied that no organised disturbance was created by tho Hillside men as a body and that there was no vsvstem of organisation existing at all at Hillside. The least we can ask the ‘Star’ is to withdraw the statements made and tender us a public apology.” Mr J. Riley said he had been told that morning* that he was responsible for the organisation of the disturbance at the Prime Minister’s meeting. He was no Mussolini, and he wished to assure the men that he was in the same boat as Mr Caspar, and was not present at the meeting. The tactics of the demonstrators were not those which he adopted. Ho could give punches to politicians and take them in return, hut only at the end of a meeting. That was the proper way. The motion was carried unanimously.