AFTER THE BATTLE.

Manawatu Standard, Volume XLV, Issue 285, 5 November 1925, Page 9

AFTER THE BATTLE.

THE SITUATION VIEWED

BY NATIONALIST ORGANISER

Per Press Association. WANGANUI, Nov. 5. Interviewed this morning regarding the election results, Mr W. A. Veitcli, organiser for the National Party, said : “Tile Nationalists set out with the highest possible ideals of reducing the evils of party strife and establishing a party that would raise Parliament to a national conference. But party dies hard and the difficulties proved much too great. The long illness of our leader, Mr Wilford, the shortage of time and funds, and the splitting of votes made success quite impossible from the beginning. Want of funds prevented us from taking platforms in reply to Ministers who did a vast amount of travelling. . Mr Coates has had a great win and I for one congratulate him on his success at the jiolls. He now lias a great opportunity and the length of his term of office as Prime Minister will depend entirely on his policy of administration.

WATCHING THE FIGURES. HUGE CROWD AT “STANDARD” OFFICE. The arrangements made by the “Evening Standard” to display the election results were availed or by one of the biggest .crowds ever seen m Palmerston North. The big hoarding) lit by electricity, together with the lantern and screen, enabled the thousands' of spectators to follow without difficulty the progress of the voting in every electorate. The first small returns commenced to arrive shortly after 7 p.m., and by 8 p.m. the results from 'Aimerston North and surrounding electorates were well under way, and in some cases the issue was already beyond doubt. Shortly alter 8 p.m'. special telegraphic arrangements began to bring results from all jiarts of the Dominion, a large staff being busily employed until a late hour marshalling the figures preparatory to their publication to the interested spectators. The crowd was at its biggest between 9 p.m. and 10 p.m., when fully six thousands persons had taken up positions in front of or near to the “Standard” office. After midnight the crowd, which by this time had obtained a fairly clear knowledge of the strength of the various political parties and the licensing issue, began to dwindle, although several hundreds still remained until “lights out” at 1 a.m. Many eulogistic references have Keen received concerning the complete arrangements made by the “Standard” to publish the polling from all over the Dominion, and it is /leasing to note that our efforts to furnish residents of Palmerston North and district with an up-to-date election scrviic have been so widely appreciated. During the evening Mr W. A. Waters kindly telephoned us many results from distant portions of i.ho Dominion, which he had received by radio, in many cases the wirelessed results reaching us a considerable time before the urgent telegrams. As an instance of the speed of the radio we might mention the Dunedin results, which were broadcasted immediately the figures were available in the southern centre, to- he instantly picked up by Mr Waters and telephoned to our office, the results appearing on our hoarding within a few minutes of their publication in Dunedin. A large number of other results were similarly treated.