FARMERS' UNION AND POLITICS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXI, Issue 18702, 7 May 1924, Page 7

FARMERS' UNION AND POLITICS.

Sir,—Mr. C. H. Mellsop, writing under the above heading, : shows great; zeal • on behalf of his party, v but on J this,occasion : he appears to have ; allowed 1 his* zeal to?. outrun his discretion. He says the : main v object of those who ;: are , advocating :_7a country party is to ' put; the present' Gov- . ; ernment out of office and put in the Labour Party. I can assure him that he need " not ■ worry or lose any. sleep over that question, for the . fortunes of the; Reform or afay> other party, as s> party, -do not concern us at all. We are out to end tho , • present state of things under which the 7 , farmers ''■> are j politically so disunited and disorgams<jd as to be of very-little weight- v 7.; in the councils of the Dominion. We feel sure that if they could exercise their due weight it would be not only for their own ': good but' for' the good of the whole" com- - . munity. There is no : hope "of '■ doing this ; under any of the existing parties. It has >. been tried long , enough. The disunity "gets worse and worse as time goes on, "and the only, hope is a complete new start on an entirely independent platform. ; Mr. Mellsop mentions vote-splitting, but the Re- ; form Party ; has had all along the oppor- - tunity of removing that danger, and if its ■ deathbed repentance •is not too late t it will ,be removed before the next - general . ■ election, so that bogey need not be trotted . out again. "In,any case if we can unite ■, : the farmer's vote the splitting of other people's votes need not concern us. Mr. Mellsop 's jibe at the advocates; of ; the 7 movement as not being, and never haying 77,7: been, practical farmers is so wide of] the mark as to indicate that he must be "only poking fun. But when he advocates the 7. : disruption of the Farmers' Union on account of its political action he is doubt-! f . less quite serious. It is the view taken " • by most strong party rc<iri whatever party 7" 7; they, belong to. They are quite ready ■to angle for any. support which the amon . , may obtain tor them, but when it proposes to take a line of its own " away with it; 7 it' is of no use to anybody.7) However all the signs go .to show that the >'-/■ great bulk [of - farmers are at last realising ■ where : they stand and that it : is futile to. pin their faith to Reform, Liberal, or Labour. They must depend on themselves. ; / "7> 7,7 a;■ 7-7 . A. A. Ross...' . ( ,