SERVICEMEN IN POLITICS.

Evening Star, Issue 25714, 11 February 1946, Page 8

SERVICEMEN IN POLITICS.

TO THE EDITOR Sir, —" G.V.P." in his reference to my letter asks why should the Labour Party not have its own ex-servicemen's section. I did not suggest for one moment that it should not follow the lead given by the National Party. As a matter of fact, I quite expect that it will do so, judging by the barefaced way in which it adopts the planks of the National Party platform. If the returned servicemen wish' to give up the freedom for which they fought, by all means let them form a Labour Party ex-servicemen's section. Your correspondent refers to the difference in the rate of gratuities paid in World Wars I. and 11., but surely does not 'for one moment suggest that the purchasing power of the gratuity at the rate of 2s 6d a day has any more than one-third of the purchasing power of Is 6d in 1919. Moreover, in 1919 we could buy goods of decent quality. Let V G.V.P." study the cost of a house for himself, and he will find that the average house of four rooms and kitchenette (built of green timber and lined with flimsy wall-board) will cost at the very least £1,260, of which £204 goes straight back to the hungry coffers of Mr Walter Nash by way of direct taxation. £127 of the sum mentioned is by way of sales tax, which was imposed to help pay for the cost of the war. Thus, if your correspondent' builds a house, he is compelled to pay his share of the cost of war both by way of taxation and service overseas. " G.V.P." also conveniently overlooks the statement that he would probably have had to whistle for his gratuity until immediately prior to the Genera] Election .had it not been for the pressure brought to bear by Mr Holland and his colleagues, as. it was the obvious intention of the Minister of Finance to use the gratuity as purchase money for votes. As Tegards the reference to inferior land purchased foi soldiers after the first World War, the Government of that day, which was not a National one, could at least offer the soldier decent clothes at a reasonable price, a home to live in, which he would eventually own, and freedom from standing in a queue or having his name on a waiting list if he wished to purchase anything from a packet of cigarettes to a house to live in. "G.V.P." ends his letter by saying; " Good work the Labour Party; carry on." It has certainly " carried on " to the detriment of New Zealand.— I am, etc., Sincere. February 8. TO THE EDITOB Sir,—" G.V.P." is either very ignorant or very biased. The National Party was not in existence until many vears after the 1914-18 war. and cannot be blamed 'for the size of the gratuity or any faults of land settlement. Again the gratuity of this war was not granted by the Labour Party, as he claims. It was granted by the unanimous vote of Parliament, and will be paid for—as was the previous gratuity—by the people of New Zealand. And, thirdly, even the 2s 6d a day of this war cannot compare, because of the increased, cost of living, with the Is 6d a day, of the previous war. After 1914-18 I bought myself a suit for £5 ss, and to-dav I pay £ls 15s, if I can get one at all. Perhaps, after all, "G.V.P." is very .young, and does not know some of these things. Rehabilitation will be the major plank in next election's platform. The National. Party is quite right to seek the advice of returned soldiers in fitting itself to assume the reins of office.—l am, etc., Nationalist. Invercargill 7/2/46.