THE BUILDING SOCIETY VOTE.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LII, Issue 15931, 31 May 1915, Page 10

THE BUILDING SOCIETY VOTE.

i. Sir,—J havo been expecting an impasjiraedptbmtrof, indignation relative'to the action of Mr, John Payne, M.P., and tne 74 members of the above society who supported his amendment at the recent j 'lejfeag,i.TiMxcix .nag, in substance, that I .-:e l^ty^dd.; .& provide any comforts for VTOunciwi Neir Zealand soldiers. ' I arc . atari . that w* are an unemotional WP'sM, ni!ul and 74 others - publicly resolve -. that: the organisation " of which tney , aro members shall not yield > to tho humane ; prompting* ' that are : actuating well-regulated ( minds at the present moment S The public remain tranquil. J.iw 1 j-M l * of 4 the movement is 5 a repre-1 ®f?j( °* poop!® in ; Parliament, and stiJf w pit remain tranquil. The stigma, rt'hjcl) attaches ; to that reprMtative in &ou.e degree fastens itself uoon his eonatituents unless protests are heard from them, &id no protests have ret been made. Tlifc/e are fathers and mothers in Siev Zealand whose gallant: mm have been; stricken ; in the Empire's " cause—in John Pay no'.,cauw, could , he ' have '-he wit to see it—arid I have seen no denunciation ■ froai them ? in the columns of the public prei)B. In other communities there ■»rou;d nave been a tumult—a righteous tumol' —out (■ itis : not •> so ; id Auckland. I At. : other fr.ae the, reason for this may, & vortl.erth'cg: at present I am ! concerned only to mine the logic of • 3 Parliament repreuei/..'ive of the people, says that tie var r is a capitalists' . v jcern, and tl'afc it, is, wrong that the attributions made by the. working classes should be employed in relieving the sufferings of men wounded in the war. His premise that the working closes make the contributions may be open to attack jb?V'let'it " ' v, tki' Rio 8 1 important ' "stion is • the war a capitalists' confnn? Germany , cor ~-bD 4 the allied lowers to take up',, is ■> me of the justest causes of whic.- his. 7 can furnish any rftord. The 'arly «ayi of the war were mtrked by a serious financial panic. The emil ymcit of *11 the 'operatives . in the _mpire l ' m seriously threatened. England's Navy cleared the teas. England and France s sons provented the enemy from reaching tho of Dover and so resuming some vestige of marii me control. New Zealand and Autlrtdit/s sons held the enemy at bay at the Suez Canal, and with the help ox forces from the alli<> 3 Powers they aire pu«'nir;„ vbe Turks back from (the Dardi ne)ie». Vhy? Tri order that 1 nUßsiat wheat may }.< liberated and so lenab)'! Payn.. Ann the whole ?omj muniu- to get chc9.pt* bread. It, this 1 no concern of the forking classes? Is it none of their concrvr that the efforts of,the army And navy 1! v &<-> allied Powers have ria'il, the fc&ridfef life 0/ the ; A-Jicle Era; e to yrricced in its i.trmal chsnnc's? tlaif cf r«trope is at w„r—a >/ar beside which .1" other wars pale into insignificance. An' yet tho industries of the Empire hardly know it. Consider the distress occasioned by previa wars in whico the Empire has a ten ei jaged againui. great Powers, and make a comparison. Mr. Payne, I have heard it stated, is interested in a picture theatre. Has he considered how many of the working classes would visit his theatre if. Great Britain did not have the unchallenged supremacy 01 tho sea. Perhaps it, is a mistake to "take Mr, Payne seriously and to ,disclose sis ill-regulated Method of ratiocination. lot, as thera may be'—l doubt whether there are— s"me of the working (lasses who may be misled by his utterances, it may assist them in passing judgment upon 'rem to see the obvious fallacy on which they art based. There remains the question whether the Building Society intend to allow this amendment to stay on their minute book—a mule witness against them in years to oome—silent testimony to excite the resentment and disgust of the future sons and daughters of our gallant boys. Is a special meeting to be called for the purpose of having this damning evidence of inhumanity expunged, or is it to be ■understood that John Payne and his 74 supporters voice tbe true sentiments «id opinions of the majority of tbo members? The public awaits an answer. Loyalist. Sir,—l have teen secretary of the Auckland Co-operative Terminating Building Society for the past 13 years, and I was always proud ; of it till called upon' to re-' cord the result of that unfortunate "snatch";vote , on tho above subject a*, the annual meeting j last Wednesday evening. Bub it is" not t as secretary that ; i wish tc speak now. I speak as a Urge shareholder ' since the ' inqep'tion 'of the V v- 7 i-'i'''?

society, and also as the father of one of our hereof the Dardanelles; who, inch by inch,' m the teeth of modern artillery and all the other devilish devices for kill-' ing one's ! fellow-man, r are ' fighting their way up precipitous cliffs, through barbedwire entanglements, from trench to trench, towards ; tlioir -first' and ' rapidly-noaring goal, Constantinople. Have tho 75 members of the society who voted against contributing, towards the fitting up of the Hospital Ship' realised all this! Have they considered that £500 from our society might enable tho, authorities to get the Maheno awa-.' a few days sooner, thus, perhaps, saving., the lives of some of our sons or brothers or sweethearts, who may bo in need of immediate succour? J ll it only saved one valuable life, would it not be money well spent! And how would it be felt? £500 would represent about ono year's interest on last year's profits! Moreover, it would come out of profits 'divisible, not now,' but in future years! It would take about 6d a share on tho 120,000 shares, or, approximately, Is 4d per head of the 7400 members of the society! And this is said to be robbing the workingman! It is not the workingman who says it, but the Socialist leaders of 'the workingman, who misrepresent hira. and his views, in appealing to class prejudices to further their own ends. The questions of clasa against class, and party politics, should never eater into such a subject. It devolves on us all, rich, comfortably of!, and poor, to give with ft generous hand, according to our means, without regard' to what our neighbours, whether squatters or workers, are giving.' A glance at the daily papers shows how splendidly others are responding to the call, individuals, corporate bodies, and institutions similar to our own. And, while giving individually, are we to be debarred from subscribing collectively, a much more effective method of arriving at the desired end? A co-operative society such as ours should be the first to recognise, and make use of, the advantages of co-operation in this matter. The question of tho legality of the proposed subscription was raised at the meeting. In my opinion, as a shareholder who knows the rules of the society, rule 41 makes it perfectly legal for the directors to vote such a contribution. That rale states that " the board •of directors shall hfkve the power to do all acts and things which it may consider proper or Advantageous for accomplishing their • objects, and carrying on the business of the society." Could anything be more proper or advantageous than to protect the securities of the society by assisting the Empire in every possible way in muzzling, or. better still, exterminating the 'mad dogs" of Europe, who would mike short work of the society and its funds if they came out of the struggle in the ascendant, and once got a footing on New Zealand soil. But this is riot tne point of view that, appeals with most force to me, « i feel satisfied, to the great majority of the shareholders. Wo all know tho parable of the Good Samaritan, ' who bound up the wounds of the man who had fallen , among thieves. Ave we to be . likened to the men who passed by on the other side, or are we to assist in binding •up the wounds?, Away ( With class prejudices! Away with political clap-trap!/ Let mi do all we possibly can to support and succour our noble sons and brothers who have taken their lives in their hands, and gone forth to fight our (battles, the battles of the just against <M j unjust; of civilisation .against frightful I atrocities j~ of humanity !' against bloodthirsty! barbarism! The .Latin proverb guvsHe gives twice . who gives, quickly." Let us , not delay matters, but, i by every means in our power, J support and | assist our directors; in any action they may take to remove the stigma attaching i to all the' members of the society at present; and let us, one and, all, refuse to be influenced by false aentimeiits, and, unhappily, nerverted views.' • k ; 1 " ' •; J. 0. Grikrsov. May 29,1915. "• ;v- , ;