Loud and Ranting Voices!

Manawatu Times, Volume 63, Issue 236, 6 October 1938, Page 13

Loud and Ranting Voices!

(To the Editor.) Sir, —What a shocking dearth of arguments are being put forward by Labour in the course of the present campaign. Always it is the same endless theme; we tune in at night and Labour's voice (almost the only one we ’re allowed to hear) reels off a string of figures concerning the past three years and the preceding three: “The Recovery" v. “The Slump." The voice is sometimes loud and ranting, other times suave and plausible, but the arguments boil down to the same thing: Labour were responsible for the Recovery, and the “Old Gang" were responsible for the Slump! In the morning we read the newspapers, and beholdl There it is once more in the shape of reports of Labour’s meetings or letters to the Editor. I ask you, do the poor saps think we are a land of nit-wits? Or is it that they are only measuring the rest of us with their own yard-Stick? Whatever the explanation, one thing is certain—their ideas, like their grammar, could do with a great amount of improvement. Now then! Here’s something else. Think for ono moment what a priceless opportunity they had, because they live in these days, of securing the support of those scores and scores of tolerant souls whose motto is ever: “May the best side win," without using those silly, groundless arguraonts at all, but simply by each proving himself to be that greatest of all modern humans, Super entity No. 1, a Good Sport! If only they had allowed their opponents an equal use of the broadcasting facilities belonging to our Dominion, they would not only have shown that they were unafraid of anything the other side might say about them, but would have also shown their confidence in the general public and proved to all and sundry that they were indeed good sports. But oh, no—nothing like that! Instead, what are they doing? Monopolising the air; creating organised disturbances; sending their supporters out to interfere at small country meetings where

the electors arc known to be in favour of the Opposition. Should Labour chance to regain power, where will bo our much-valued freedom of speech, our British right to challenge wild and unjust statements? Does it not begin to look, after all, as if we might really havo to change the “name of God’s Own Country to “New Russia"? I reckon we can’t risk that, so it is certainly just as well that, by their own tactics, unfair and unsporting, they are losing votes galore and will bring about their own downfall, for which thanks be! And so say all of us who are ever lovers of fair play.— t am, etc., SPORTY.