FEDERAL ELECTIONS

Greymouth Evening Star, 10 November 1928, Page 4

FEDERAL ELECTIONS

COMMUNIST ISSUE PARAMOUNT. SYDNEY, November 1. The Communist issue, and that of law and order, are still paramount in the Federal election campaign. With the elections a fortnight away feeling is increasing every day, and is now much move pronounced than at any time the last General Election, which resulted in such a sweeping victory for the Nationalists. In this some people see an indication of a swing in favour of the Labour Party, but they are probably super-optimists. The fact remains, however, that Mr Bruce is not having things, all his own way as he did three years ago. He has been subject to a great deal of heckling at several of his meetings, and the Nationalists are beginning to realise that they will have to fight much harder on this occasion than they did on the last. Even when the Prime Minister visited his own electorate he was given a lively time, and that was a new experience for him. He was attacked on countless subjects, and he found it impossible to make anything like a speech. His audience on this occasion included a number of watersiders, and this no doubt accounted for the lively nature of the proceedings. He was asked whether it w-as fair that the Government should pay the chairman of the Development and Migration Commission £5OOO a year while there were men starving. Of course, he did not have much difficulty in justifying that. When he was asked about his expensive home at Canberra and about a. dog kennel which is supposed to have cost a considerable sum, Mr Bruce became rather annoyed. The liveliest meeting of the campaign to date has been one for wo-m'-n held at Melbourne which Mr Bruce was invited to address. He was greeted by 2000 women, the majority of whom screeched and yelled and used insulting terms. Policemen tried in vpjn to stop these hysterical outbursts, and Mr Bruce found it imposi sible to get on to policy matters. “Tell us something about your

housing policy,” shouted a woman from the back of the hall. ‘ Not the one for yourself and your dog at Canberra, biit the real dinkum one.” Mr Bruce commenced to explain the Government’s policy, but the questioner interrupted him. “I know all about the scheme, tell me when you are going to begin it.” “Well, most people are not such close students of politics as that,” said Mr Bruce. His remark was misunderstand by the woman who, leaving her seat, rushed up to the stage shaking her fist excitedly at Mr Bruce. “[ would have you know that 1 am not stupid,” she said. “I have spent iny life at the wash tub, and if youi wife has worked as hard as I have, her bruin would not be as clear as it is.” So noisv was the uproar that follower! that Mr Bruce had the greatest difficulty in explaining that he had not called the woman stupid but a student. This was only one incident, but it serves to show the Lemper of the meet-

hig. , Since the delivery of the policy speeches by the leaders there has been practically no mention of ordinary policy matters. The Labour Leadei (Mr Scullin),, who had a wonderfully successful meeting in the Sydney Town Hall this week, seems content to criticise the. past actions of the Bruye Government. He thinks that his Party has an excellent fighting chance of securing a majority. He says that he has received reports indicating that there has been a definite swing in all Stales in favour of Labour. He himself had visited Cour States, and in each of them be had had most encouraging meetings. He explained that the drastic regulations framed by the Government under the Transport Workers’ Act had enraged many peopk. and even some Nationalists were strongly opposed to any attempts to destroy unionism. They had been shown the way the wind was blowing and they were taking precautions ucOn flic other hand the Director of the Nationalist Campaign says that Hi” workers everywhere have been

flocking to the assistance of the Na-s|| tionalists, because they realise that the present Government is anxious to preserve sane unionism. And so, any review of the situation seems to depend on the point of view of the observer, but the unbiased can scarcely predict anything but a Nationalist victory.