Registered for transmission through the post as a newspaper. TUESDAY, DECEMBER 19, 1922. A REAL DANGER.

Northern Advocate, 19 December 1922, Page 4

Registered for transmission through the post as a newspaper. TUESDAY, DECEMBER 19, 1922. A REAL DANGER.

Mr. L. M. Isitt, member for Christchurch North, has been talking about the votes polled by the Labour Party at the general election, and he has been talking commonsense. Labour made a rfenuirkable advance at the polls, practically doubling its representation in Parliament, and counting in the 40 electorates :n which it was represented polled 150,000 votes. According to figures prepared by Mr. P. Fraser, Labour polled more votes in Dunedin than Reform and Liberal together polled, and in Christchurch a similar position obtaiaed, while in Wellington th 6 anti-Labour just about balanced the Labour vote. Auckland was the only city where the rest of the political interests had a big majority over Labour. Moreover, Labour was successful in one purely rural elec'torate and in such electorates as Lyttelton, Bullcr and Westland, which comprise both urban and rural populations. As Mr. Isitt has said, the growth of the extreme Labour Party is a menace, and the sooner the bulk of the electors realise that fact the better it will be for New Zealand. There are, of course, ' some planks in the Labour Party's platform to which most people can subscribe, • but undoubtedly the leaders cf Labour are, as Mr. Isitt says, growing more extreme in their convictions. Their objective is "the socialisation of the means of production, distribution and exchange.' It is easy to say that this is the dream of visionaries who are never likely to. attain their end, but the election figures compel us to admit that the dream is a great, deal nearer realisation than many cf us have been willing to believe, and if some of Labour's dreams came true New Zealand would be a very uncomfortable country to live in. One of the planks of the Labour platform is "immediate establishment of a' State bank with sole right of note issue and to the ultimate exclusion of private banking." Labour is not even willing to investigate the prospects of the State bank that it proposes, though there is much to be said against the idea. It would go the whole hog at once, set up it bank, collar the note issue, and perhaps in times such as the present supply us with paper money worth about as much as the German mark is today. It is indeed a cheerful prospect. Labour stands for "the extension of public ownership of national utilities and the speedy national control of the food supplies of the people." Where national ownership of an industry „is effected, "all labour for such industry shall be appointed by the union or unions, affected." If Labour assumed control how would it fare with those of us who cannot see eye to eye with Labour? With a Labour Government controlling all food supplies some of us probably would be denied the right to eat, and the unions probably would deny us the right'' to work. Labour prates of socialisation for the benefit of the whole people, but actually its platform and its propaganda connoto class legislation of the most repressive character. It is an extremely dangerous platform, the adoption of which would spell disaster for this country. Labour's aim is to rob the people of their heritage of freedom, which our #o refathers won for us at great cost. 'Every man Avho values his liberty and, the safety of his country should make up his mind to carry on just as active and persistent a campaign against Labour as Labour is carrying on against him.