EXTREME LABOUR

Greymouth Evening Star, 16 August 1920, Page 3

EXTREME LABOUR

ATTACK BY MR JONES. AFRAID OF THE BACKBLOCKS. NOVEL PROPOSITION MADE. (Special to the “Star.”) WELLINGTON, August 13. An attack on the extreme Labour Party was made in the House by Mr D. Jones (Kaiapoi). He dealt with the arguments of the extremists in regard to the unimproved value of the land, which, he said, was ti e ”esu!t of what the farmers had put into it. He’twitted the Labour Party with staying in the towns .and not going out into the backblocks, where they could enjoy all the privileges they so envied the farmer. He offered to finance them if they would go out and deal with the bush lands in the backblocks. The Labour members began to sit up and take notice. “At what interest?” interjected one of them. “Oh, reasonable interest,” replied Mr Jones. “What percentage?” they demanded. “Six per cent,” said Mr Jones. “Right you arc,” they replied. “7’ll do it + ht whole eight of you,” said Mr Jones, and the House laughed. Ho gave several instances in which farmers laid expended many pounds per acre in draining and otherwise improving virgin lands, expenditure that was not considered when the unimproved value was estimated for purposes of taxation. Ho went on good-humouredly, amid a regular fusillade of interjections from the Labour benches, and finally challenged them with a desire to benefit not at the moment Ihe workers, but simply with a desire at all costs to destroy capital and then to build something on the ruins they would have created. They were fighting for increased wages because it was going to hit capital, for decreased production because that was going to hit capital. “You talk of Russia,” he said, “and there (pointing to the Labour benches) you have the New Zealand Lenin.” (Laughter.) They talked of the Bolsheviks, but what bad happened under Bolshevism? It had ■•esnliod in an iron law that forced men to work eight and ten hours a day. They wanted to get rid of the present system, akl then they would have a dictatorship such as they had in Russia, but which n r, ver would he tolerated in this country. In Russia to-day the wo’king man was driven at the point of the sword. Mr Holland. “What’s your authority’ “In Russia,” retorod Mr Jems, “day labour has practically ceased. The yhad to drop it and force the contract system. If they took a vote of the people of New Zealand to-day they would find it in

far our of good working conditions and fnb* wages, and these both sines of the House wore prepared to give. But that vris the last thmg the Dehorn* Party in New Zealand wanted. Another excellent fighting speech was that made -y Mr J. R. Hamilton i Awarua). The extreme Dabonr members, h'* said, could not point to a single man who was worthy to go on toe land, and willing to work, yet who could not get on the. land to-day. AI on who had conic to New Zealand without money a few years ngo were on farms of their own to-day, because they bad been prepared to work. Yet. there were two men to do one man’s work on the wharves, and the discontented workers were being taught by. their leaders that the way to get plenty was to produce little. > Labour extremists, be continued, would like to make it a criminal offence to practise thrift, economy, and industry. They stood on the soap boxes to tell the people that the man- who worked hard aod saved money was an exploiting capitalist, whose money ought to he confiscated. There was not a man on the Reform side of the House who had not had move blisters on his hands than all the ck’ht Labour members. The followers of extreme Labour flocked to the pictures in the towns while the farmers were still at work. Air Fraser (Wellington Central) replied to M r Hamilton, stating that the Labour members did net propose to destroy capita"'. that was the product of the industry of the workers, or to massacre capitalists, which would be useless and unnecessa'*y. Tbev m*o*'o*ed merely to adjust the distribution of capital and products on a fair basis.