UNEMPLOYMENT DEMONSTRATION.

Evening Star, Issue 21006, 21 January 1932, Page 12

UNEMPLOYMENT DEMONSTRATION.

TO THE EDITOR. Sir, —In your report of the meeting held at the Queen’s Gardens you state that “ without any explanation being made by the proposer of the motion the ‘ Evening Star ’ was declared * black,’ and the same stigma placed upon the ‘ Otago Daily Times ’ without demur when its name was mentioned by a man at the back of the crowd.” In that statement there are two glaring examples of the reason why your paper was declared “ black,” and in the opening paragraph also there appears another example. The reason for the stigma was that since the day of the demonstration statements have appeared in your paper which have been absolutely untrue, and others which have only been half-truths and exaggerations of the truth. Before proposing the motion the speaker gave the above reasons, and asked if anyone in the crowd disbelieved his statements, and nobody, not even a reporter, dissented. With reference to the ‘ Otago Daily Times,’ your statement also is untrue, because when the motion was passed and the man at the back called out. “ What about the ‘Otago Daily Times’?” the speaker said: “Never mind that paper just now as it is not so bad, and if it does get that way we will deal with it then,” or words to that effect, and no motion against or for the ‘ Times ’ was proposed, let alone being passed without demur, as you state. In the first paragraph you state that quite a number in the big audience were unsympathetic with the incarcerated men, I think, sir, that this statement is far from the truth, because absolutely no indication whatever was given for your statement. If there were any there who were not sympathetic to the men they were asked several times to give an Indication, but no dissenting voices were raised. I trust you will publish my letter so that a little justice be meted out to the speakers, and the true position be placed before the public in general.—l am. etc., Truth. January 21,

[Our reporter, who was present, adheres to his report.—Ed. E.S.]