THE D,'s OWN LUCK

Maoriland Worker, Volume 12, Issue 294, 18 October 1922, Page 11

THE D,'s OWN LUCK

There is a cer<ian GREAT Statesman i ll New Zealand whose name i anks with Lloyd George and wno has got what very reasonably m'ght be termed the D.'s ( wn luck.

. Coming Int 0 power at the end of an inctastriai; trouble,, he had-n0..-soon-er Rpi over .tills, by subsidising tn© farmers in. : tnQi : r,sl? : clc season by. making ,them.;Sp6C%i:,' cons'tabies, wlitn certain p.epple who .were interesred in oil and other ..disinterested subjects, playfully ■, precipitatea a great war ana : got the world, fighting to protect small nations and to make the world safe for democracy. This kept mc 4jyea of .New Zealand pinned on to a . gentleman w.itfe turneoL-up whiskers in. Bei;liii,",, Our own Great who ranks with Mr. Lloyd George, only had to wave the.nag and then book .his. .passage to and from that great city that is the eap'tal of Great Nation off the coast of France.

The bankers were given a free hand to rook the people either by the three card trick, the pea and thimble, or the printing press. The bankers, being all gentlemen with college educations, adopted the Printing Press method. It was s a delightfully simple and the people loved • being taken down that way. So they issued more notes and more notes ,anu more notes. Only a faddist here and there complained. The girlies liked it because a few of these extra notes came their way; 'They bought peek-a-boo stockins and rabbit-skhi coats, and for a time things were merry. Dad ami Mum liked it because they wera the parents of a dear boy who was saving the Empire. ThS Old gentlemen liked it because tliey ccuM tell of the things they would have done if \iiey had only been forty years'younger.

So this G_.reaf.Statesman who ranked with Lloyd George, just settled down to the task that he had taken on and let things Elide. But like tke sailor who pawns his monkey-jacket and has a good time whilst the money lasts, there came t.lie" morning after. The war was stopped, the peek-a-boo stockings were sfopped_ rabbit-skin coats were., stopped, but the backers on smiling.

A slump came. !\o one knows exactly why the slump came, or what is a slump. All they knew was that they could not get hold of to many bits of paper with the bankers name on'itiem. The bankers who had played their hand to the safety point now beg/vi to put the screw on. They said to the Great Statesman who ranks w'tli Mr. Lloyd George: "You cannot have any more money because we have reached a point where hi Is dangerous to use the .printing pross to make move money" t 0 lend you. So you must ca , your expeiu.es tJovrn and pay us the interest. ,. The Great S(a:osman, who ranked, etc. cut down the Civil Servant's salary, but'allowed th© bankers to raise "thVir salary or what they termed interest.

Now the. Cocky, who * s r or becomes, a victim of lils environ men:, um\ who slowly becomes either a sheep or a cew, didn't, know what was hurting him but began to ba or I.q boo, according to hfe Hue of' development. He said, "We want cheap nionc/. Money make the grass grow."

So tho Great Statesman, who, etc., wen'; to the baukors and said; "Ycu must reduce your interest." And the bankyrs said to. the-Great Statesman: •'You must reduce your taxation, and vre will reduce cmr-interest.' . So tho Great Statesman that ranks wilh tion and the bankers reduced their, interest, and the Cocky, who, through his environment, has become either a cow or a sheep, said: "This Statesman ie ft Great Statesman .and Avt? must put him back Into power, Into rreatei , pove*."

Th's Great Statesman, has the luck of the l>., because Mr. Cocky, who becomes, etc., thinks there is to be another period of cheap money and high prices, ami that these good things are coming because New Zealand has a Orea tStatesman. that ranks with Lloyd George. But in the natural order of tilings there will he a slump bigger than the last slump iv or about next March, but Mr. Cocky will have placed the Great Statesman into power again and he will not know Trhat hit him.

But the bankers know. Arid the bankers know that the Great Statesman is not great, he is but lucky. That he has the D.'s own luck, hut fn the end the D. takes the trick.— THE VAG.

LAESfB PAETY, THE JtLLIAtfCE OOP LABOUR AND THE P, A"<D T. (Continued from Pag« 9)

I 'mak#hjbld to say that if it had been found: that the Post and - Telegraph pec-aple* had decided to take a ballot as to wJ&etlfei* they should join'the Employers' • Association or the Alliance of L.a_our, and it had been decided in favour ipf- : the employers of labour no exception would have been taken to' the ballot. They would have agreed with it. They agreed, however, to link-up with the Alliance'; with which the railway workers, who are' State employees, are affiliated. Now, these men do their work, and did their work during the war; but notwithstanding this we have the Government declaring that it does not think the Alliance of Labour is fit for the "postal officials to.:'associate with. NO GREATER. INSULT, could be hurled at the workers, menwho are rendering honest service in New Zealand. The Government is aware of the .fact that association is going on amongst the workers, and the stronger organised: Labour becomes so much the worse for the Government. The inference is that such an affiliation is dangerous to the public welfare of New eZaland, and that the Government objects -on these grounds. The- Government declare:; that such-an .-affiliation '-will prevent them from managing all the problems that arise, whilst the fact remains that ■this Government is not dealing with all the problems. If they were dealing with the numerous problems we would not have the difficulty arising out of this petition. The Government is imputing disloyalty to these men in connection- with the work they are performing. They practically tell us that- If they affiliate with the rest of their fellows, the public will immediately lose confidence in them! The action of the Government means that they are afraid of the other party using these men in the event of their ■affiliating, .and'-so-.there.we have the tacit admission that the Government can use them for their own ends if they remain as they are. After the ballot was taken, the-.-Government stooped;to., pertorm a,most despicable action in order to counteract a fair, and.legitimate poll* by issuing a coun-ter-petition. . Certain correspondence was.issued by the Postmaster-General himself, for the purpose of INTIMIDATING THE BOYS AND GIRLS

i working in his Department. Now, j what does that mean? I can only say { that that-must-be characterised as dej smcable. It violated the sacred rights ;of the citizens, Hie right to go info a J secret place and cast a vote. The ■ Government has an overwhelming mai joriiy, .and they used that'power over ■ the liitlo '.sirl who works in some Dej p&riment for a few .-shillings, a week. ; Surely ; it. is a question of her own ! conscience 8S to how she should vote. i The violation of that right was a mis- | erable and shameful, thing for any I Government to be guilty of. j Mr. Jones: Why don't-you prove it? I Mr:-Parry: I can prove It by letters ■ that--we have here.- I know that it j would •be absolutely impossible .to ] prove anything to my honourable I friend. Here is an extract from a letj ter received from Palmerston North, ; which r ; eads: — --■' "The procedure adopted in get- . ting signatures to the petition was i that two controlling officers can- | vassed tbe rank and file. There was no free circulation of copies, but officers. were requived to make up I their minds and .sign in the prei sence of those by whom they were I approached. This method would i have the effect, of intimidating jun- ! ior_.officers. Two", who were on ! leave, and living about four miles out of town received, telephone calls to come-to the office to sign the petition,'while one. member, sick in hospital, had his-signature recorded 'In that Institution." You see they were very much concerned. Just imagine a" Government j going" to'that extent of intimidating I them into signing the counter-petition. IWe all know that, complaints were ! made all over New Zealand that the ; people concerned I lIAD NO ALTERNATIVE the petition, and if they did not do so they were afraid of getting the sack. Before I would be guilty of an action of that kind I would sooner leave public life altogether. Mr. Potter: That won't be long. Mr.'Parry: We will see all about that. I will meet all the opponents of the Government, and give them the beating they deserve if they come into my electorate. Don't make any mistake about that. Mr. .Holland: They won't contest your seat. ■ Mr. Parry: No, they are afraid to. Mr. Parry: I have another extract from a letter from a man who had circulated the petition. He said that his instructions were to see that every man saw the petition arid be given a pencil to sign i>

/T&Gf MAJORITY SIGNED : ; UNWILLINGLiY; they thougK it was a matter of hold* ing their jobs. Of Oourse,; It was} \ question of holding their jobs! SomJ honourable members have argued th.S| if the. Association joins, the AllianS the members of the former body i| be absolutely undef the control of $& outside body. But such a statcm«M is. a grave allegation against the vtj&h and, ■wemen working in the Post aal Telegraph Service. I noticed the* the Prime Minister and the Postmas-ter-General quoted from certain le4>lets. The fact remains-that there ]| no organisation affiliated to the Aljfj* ance of Labour that can be called 4p to take part in a strike until it IxM had an opportunity of discussing tji[e position; and after full the members of that have the right to vote In with any important question. . /

Mr. Wright: And they will t>e called blacklegs if they do not vote as they are wanted to vote.

Mr. Parry: The honourable membej: says they will be called blacklegs J£ they do not vote in a certain way. Sefe how quickly the members on the Government bencnes are prepared to dcV fend the person who is always cringing about the liberties that trade unionism destroys—the person / WHO ENJOYS NO LIBERTIES

except those won by the people he I* anxious to destroy! There is one vital principle permeating us all, and that is life itself. As a matter of fact, ii ! a man commits an offence and does it openly-—if he does the thing he knows the majority has decided; against by a democratic vote, he eaji take no exception to the right nanje being applied to him. I fervently be* lieve in the right of free association of the workers, and in defending that right I do so as strongly as any niafc who takes up the opposite attitude. T.et mc conclude here. There is np point In this matter apart from fact that the Government endeavours to make the people believe that it would be dangerous to the safety of the Public Service In New Zealand for: the Government to permit the Public 1 Servants to join with the Alliance of Labour. This, I hold, is a gross injustice upon men who have rendered valiant service to the Dominion.