Grey River Argus MONDAY, NOVEMBER 5, 1928. THE MAIN QUESTION FOR WESTLAND.

Grey River Argus, 5 November 1928, Page 4

Grey River Argus MONDAY, NOVEMBER 5, 1928. THE MAIN QUESTION FOR WESTLAND.

No question affecting the West Coast at the present time is of greater importance than that Of

finding employment for its workers, upon whom the great bulk of the community depend for prosperity, but to judge from much of the criticism levelled by the press of his opponent against Mr O’Brien in the Westland election campaign, it would seem that any other matter imaginable is given precedence of this one. Nobody is deceived by the red herrings dragged over the political trail to camouflage the apathy of Mr Seddon towards the fundamental economic interest of this electorate, such as allusions to the red flag, abuse .and such remarks as that on Saturday of the Hokitika paper, viz.: “Certainly Air O’Brien has been rampaging in South Westland and talking much extraneous matter about folk who do not count in this tight.” Not one instance of an extraneous topic mentioned by Mr O’Biien is given, but the choice of the term ‘ rampaging’is a pretty fair indication of the very nasty temper in which his opponents contemplate the success of Mr O’Brien in the course of his tour throughout the electorate. So far as Mr Seddon’s tour lias gone, he lias manifestly failed to arouse any enthusiasm, and the best his Hokitika booster can say for him is that his hearers are making a “dispassionate study of Ihe issue,” and that in his re- ■ gard. the Prime Minister has been .satisfied with his “pledges” and bis observance of those “pledges.” What right lias the member, of one Party to give his pledges to any other Party? No doubt, any satisfaction that the Prime Minister might have in the matter is due to the voting record of .Mr Seddon, which we recently quoted from Hansard, and which, despite its revelation of his utter unconcern for the workers and their hardships. Air Seddon lias chosen to call “silly little things.” That is no defence of Ihe stand taken in favour of the low-wage policy of 9s and 12s per day. I’ll is question really ought not to be one of party, and. as a matter of very obvious fact, Mr Seddon is one of very few West Coasters who have chosen to (real its parly of pledge aspect for himself as of more consequence : than its economic aspect for the West Coitsi. In saying this, we : have in mind the attitude of manv :. other Wes! Coast public men i; whose political allegiance is noil wise towards Labour, but whose :■ community spirit is with their ' own town and district every lime. Westland simply cannot afford a Parliamentary representative who ignores, the degree to which its every town depends, directly' and indirectly, on the wage-earners. There are indeed a few other public men who have made little or no move to relieve unemployment, although one of their number recently was talking glibly on a political platform about an elegant sufficiency of money being available for expenditure in the Grey County. 'When? however, it came to the tesl—’ when the unemployed within the county sought to know if they could be found any of this work to do—it turned out there was none at all for them, and that the best they could secure was verbal sympathy. In the case of another local body, the unemployed deputation met with a similar response. The action, therefore, of Ihe Greymouth Borough Council, in doing its utmost for Ihe unemployed within its area, deserves to be remembered by the public, and also the fact that it was that body which went the length of putting in a plea also with the County Council to adopt a more considerate attitude towards the many men within its aiea who have been attracted by wbat the' Borough Council has done to try and secure in this town the relief that they find nowhere in the county. We, therefore, think that a very instructive contrast might be pointed out as between the attitude of the Mayor of Greymouth. for instance, with the Borough Councillors, and that of Mr Seddon with those who countenance apathy towards so'pressing a need. The Mayor, whose political attitude is certainly not that of the Labour Party, has nevertheless shown a genuine sympathy for the unemployed, and has been second to none in demanding that the Government shall take steps to end the loss of shifts which the Stale miners have experienced for such a long time past. It is one thing to regard these mines, and indeed Westland industry, from a merely political or party standpoint, and quite another to realise that the general slackness from which so many West Coast towns to-day suffer, as well as the low-wage policy, bode ill indeed for the future of the district. The Greymouth Borough Council, moreover, did not stand for the lowwage policy, but unanimously decided for a minimum living wage, the work being so arranged on a co-operative basis that at least 15s 4d per - day could be earned, v it-h the result that men did not spare themselves, but did the equivalent of a wage of about 19s. It is not a question of ranting oVer Moscow, or any other foreign place, whereby to guide the electors as to what is best foi

ilieir interests, bui it is rather a ireail and butter matter for ibe mople of the West Coast. Wlio'ver fails to realise that, and to ( icl upon tne realisation, misses 'he fundamental issue of the election here. We have every reason to kirjiv, from the course of the contest, that the people themselves regard it in this light, and regal'd the candidates in the light of their ability and fidelity as to the restoration of district prosperity. Any other outlook is decidedly a short-sighted view for such as may not have felt the full effects of the stagnation in local ilidust vies, for unless there is something done to meet the needs of those who have suffered from these effects, the time is not far distant when apathy will give place to anxiety on the part of everybody. It i® therefore advisable for each and all, to quote our Hokitika contemporary, that they should make an even more “dispassionate study” of this issue than of the ones' on which Mr Scddon harps, putting before every other the best interest of Westland.