LABOUR’S DEFEAT.

Evening Star, Issue 22973, 2 June 1938, Page 6

LABOUR’S DEFEAT.

TO THE EDITOR. Sir, —Firstly, I must apologise to the Labour movement for writing to the Press under a nom de plume. Circumstances, which would be misunderstood by “ Mr O’Donnell and C 0.,” have compelled me to do so at the moment. I, too, am a solid supporter of the humanitarian principles of the Labour Government’s legislation and also as interpreted by Labour councils. I have been a financial member of the Labour Party for 10 years; most of that period I have held executive positions in the movement. I mention this fact to show that I. too, have helped in some way to build up a movement that 1 honestly feel is now being torn down, perhaps unconsciously, by certain elements in the party. The defeat of the Labour ticket here in Dunedin is iproof that the wrong personalities are representing Labour. I am well aware of the so-called democratic selection ballot described by Mr Bryan O’Donnell. However, it just doesn’t work. Let us take an example. Mr O’Donnell is president of the Otago Labourers’ Union, with a membership of about 1,000. Sir Harrison is the paid secretary of that union. Mr MacManus is one of its delegates. Is it not a significant fact that these three men secured selection at the ballot? I firmly believe that not one of these men will ever win a seat on the council, and the very fact that they accept nomination repeatedly is, in my opinion, definitely retarding the Labour movement. However, until every member of the party and affiliated unions register their vote at selection ballots, other representation is out of the question. I admit frankly the remedy is in members’ own hands, but they are not all so well disciplined as the Labourers’ Union. Surely it must be apparent to even the Labourers’ Union that it is not only party votes that place either ticket in power, and they must realise by now that the public will not have their representatives. The fact that the voters chose Dr M'Millan, Mr J. W. Munro, and Mr R. Walls proves my personality argument. I do not propose to discuss the methods of the Labour council’s administration, but as again the voter has the final say, Mr Silverstone must have found food for thought. Would Mr O’Donnell like to say how many votes were registered in the selection ballot? I happen to know. What a glorious farce it all is! I have no complaint at all against a labourer being selected as a candidate, as we are all workers to a lesser or greater degree, but God help us if we are to have a packed ticket of Labourers’ Union representatives again. It just won’t work, and the sooner we all realise it the better. How can we expect the public who do not belong to the Labour Party to vote a ticket such as that selected? In the first place, these men cannot possibly afford to give the time necessary to carry out the duties if elected, even assuming they had the ability to do so, which I doubt. It is such a serious question that it seems to me our own L-R-C. does not realise how bad it all is to the movement. What sheer impudence a man has to expect the public to return him as a councillor when he is unable to control his own affairs successfully. In quite a few letters Mr Bryan O’Donnell has mentioned the fact that he is a returned soldier. It has puzzled me what that fact has to do with his ability as a potential councillor. There are hundreds of men in the Labour movement more suitable, who carry more weight, and. most important of all, would get more votes than the present old diehards who have tried many, many times and always failed. Another point is, I would like to see a complete ticket of New Zealanders, preferably Dnnedinites. I am tired, like many others, of the dialects, and every speaker at every meeting seems to possess a more atrocious one than the last. What is wrong with us New Zealanders for a change? Are we all afraid to speak? In conclusion, may I suggest, in the interests of the movement generally, that those who have accepted nomination so often and have been defeated so often stand down and give some others a trial who have a chance of succeeding. I am proud to think we have a man of the calibre and ability of Mr Phil. Connolly. In my opinion he is an excellent type, and was unfortunate in being a member on a ticket with the old gang, which it has been proved time and again the public do not want. Wake up, members, and get together; attend your branch meetings and do something before the kindness of our own friends kills us. Permit me to apologise to those whose names I have discussed without revealing my own. As I said before, it is impossible at the moment for me to do so. In any case, I guess they can “take it.”—l am, etc., Sound Labouh. June 1.