ANTI-WAR STICKERS

Greymouth Evening Star, 20 March 1940, Page 3

ANTI-WAR STICKERS

STATEMENT BY MR FRASER. [I’ER PRESS ASSOCIATION.] HAMILTON, March IS. The discovery of stickers bearing anti-war iriscriptions on dairy produce loaded on an overseas ship at. Auckland was commented upon by the Deputy-Prime Minister (Mr Fraser) in an address at a recruiting meeting in the Bledisloe Hall. Amid applause, he stated that .the time had come when the Government must, put a stop to that sort of thing. “Attempts are being made to disturb, the unity of the people of this country,” Mr Fraser said. “1 do not want to speajc in anything like a threatening or an exaggerated way, 'for I believe these people are very few, but those misguided workers who placed the stickers on to dairy produce plates are doing the greatest wrong to this country?’ By ippans of these stickers a message might be received by dock workers. in/Liverpool and London that mis- . represented New Zealand and its people, for very , few believed the utter rubbish that .was printed upon them. The time had come when the Government, in the name of the people, must put a stop to that sort of tiling. It was. not freedom of speech or even . freedom of controversy. It was a dej liberate attack upon, the country, a j deliberate misrepresentation of the people and spirit of the Dominion, and , an apparent effort to hinder the war] - organisation and purposes of the i people. . i Mr Fraser referred to the type of > propaganda commonly used, and obt served that one of the most amazing > things to attempt to justify was the- -' attack upon Finland. He added that] > people who listened to the Moscow 5 radio accepted everything that was i said and acted upon it in this co.un--5 try, were acting not'as New Zealand ■ •citizens, but as representatives, proJtagonists and agents of a foreign s! country. And that would have to beX considered.