FIGHT FOR FUSION Truth

NZ Truth, Issue 890, 16 December 1922, Page 4

FIGHT FOR FUSION

Truth

BRANCH OFFICES— AUCKLAND: 3 Customs-street East CHRISTCHURCH: 102 Gloucester -stieet DUNEDIN: 111 Stuart-street. AUSTRALIA— SYDNEY: 112 King-street. NEWCASTLE: Scott-street. MELBOURNE: 244-6 Litti c Lonudale-street BRISBANE: 215-217 Adelaide-street. PERTH: . 39-41 King-street. ADELAIDE: King Willtam-streef TASMANIA: Hobart.

WILL MASSEY AID IT BY

RESIGNING?

Juggling with figures has kept the Reform Press busy since Election Day m a vain endeavor to prove that the Massey Party is more popular m the country than it was three years, ago. It will require more . skill than these Journalistic mathematicians and loglclans' have yet displayed' to e>plaln away the bald facts: (1) The number of Massey supporters elected (as . shown by the initial count) was 38. (2) In last Parliament Massey had a solid following of 49. To-morrow is the day on which it will be shown that reaction m the ' guise of Reform has been found out, and found wanting. These words of the leader of the Liberal -Labor Party, a portion of his final rallying call, proved prophetic. A 1 though Reform had 81 candidates carrying its standard — some of them splitting votes— and was supported by '•90 .per cent, of the papers m New Zealand, it polled substantially fewer votes than Its opponents. Well organised campaigning and the possession' of more substantial fighting funds than the other parties combined could scrape together could not compensate for the unpopularity of the Government. ii . i : : i "Truth" admits frankly that some of this' unpopularity was not warranted. No Government m New Zealand could ' have kept the country entirely untouched by the wave of economic stress that has swept the whole world. That conceded, the fact remains that the Massey Ministry's financial administration was one long dismai story of muddling. For it 9 maladministration alone the Government had earned dismissal from office. It ha 9 squandered millions m extravagance. It has shown c-.-ass ineptitude — not to use a luisher term— in its purchases of land for soldiers; also m imposing crushing taxation, the burden of which not only contributed to and accentuatod unemployment, but inevitably added to the load which already pressed unduly on the wage-earners. Excessive taxation of industry unquestionably falls on the workers ultimately. ii IV »» The belated policy of economy and retrenchment forced upon the Government added materially to the adverse results disclosed by the ballot. A Reform apologist has declared that it ir. unjust to blame an administration that faithfully discharges Us unrleasont obligations under circumstances due to world-wide conditions.; In refutation of this special pleading it is only necessary to state a few farts to show that these obligations were m great measure the outcome of the Government's own financial folly and incompetence. :: tt t: Take the wanton extra vaga,ncr m tho Civil Service alone — one direction from which resentment followed retrenchment. When the war ended there were some fifteen thousand civil servants (not including working railways) whose salaries aggregated about two ahd a half millions sterling. By List year the reckless, plunging Reformers had increased the number employed to 17,564, who received £4,328,856. In four years when prudence was essentlil ,the Government n.oro than doubled departmental expenditure. In the same period the annual expenditure increased from fifteen to nearly 28V4 millions. > i: st ti ■ But at this Juncture it is akin to Togging a dead horse to recapitulate details of the financial mnlndmh 'ctratlon of the Government. Obsessed by Its supersensitive regard for tested interests tho Party m power hr.s displayed m its attitude to industrial legislation a bias against tho wage-, earner. It appeared to ignore, or wan heedless, of the fact that the wageearner's vote at the ballot-box was of equal value to that of. the capitalist, nr d that tho wage-earning clns* Is ln the majority. : i ti :: In tho . recent campaign Official Labor made the most of this ati'tudo of Reform, and. adopting a more moderate tone In its plntform pronouncements, benefited accou'.ngly. Sr"illl. It would be a colossal mistake for < >nVlal Labor to imagine th: t the heavy polling it registered constitutes un endorsement by each voter for Labor of tho Socialist objectlvo of Its real platform. The discontent with v.htch tho country seethed, the Intense dissatisfaction with tho Massey Government, drove many to support Labor candidates for tho good points In labor's electioneering platform. If the Issue becomes more acute. "Truth" v-HI domanrt that Labor shall come out lr.to tho open, shed Its camoutlagc, and explain exactly what Its Socialistic objective means. : : : : :t That the Official Labor Party* objective would result m the destrvctton of Individual effort and of thrift In obvious. The British Labor Party h;is r* fused to ndmlt a Communist to rrcmborshlp. Would the New Zetland

NEW ZEALAND HEAD OFFICE:

SATURDAY. DECEMBER 16, 1922,

WELLINGTON. LUKE'S LANE

Official Labor Party, which professes to be of the same color as Britain's, take the same attitude? :: :: t: At time of writing, the state of parties m New Zealand is m the melting pot. We are told that most of the wcrk involved m securing absent voters-p ermits was undertaken by the Licensed Trade. The Trade we s entitled under the law to take every legitimate step to protect Its interests. It •is only reasonable to expert that most of the persons who utilised their absent voters' rights at the instigation of the Trade would at the sanio time cast their Parliamentary vote m favor of the anti-Prohibition candidates. So the final result proved m most cases. When Sir Joseph Ward facuU the electors m 1911 and was returned to .■power on the initial count with a majority of four, he was m a much stronger position than Mr. Massey was last week. Yet the Opposition (Reform) Press of that day shrieked for the resignation of the Liberal leader. He held a majority of supporters elected on the Liberal ticket. , Four "Liberals" ratted. They were so "liberal" that they gave themselves away. What happened to the last Liberal "rat" that deserted tho good ship "Liberal" is now common knowledge. Vigor Brown,' the Official standard-bearer of Reform m Napier was sent i well down to the bottom of the poll. • • • • • • ! Has the Liberal Press on the present occasion emulated the example of its Feform contemporaries m 1911? No! Then what has. the Reform Press done as it saw its idol shattered? "Office at any 'price," has been its cry. The Liberal-Laborites, described during the Election as a Party of Incompetents, as ,a Par^y of Wreckers, are now appealed to to save; Reform from annihilation. It Is . a sorry volte free on the part of quondam Giant Reform — plus its Press. Is the fusion for which Reform now appeals • really possible? Are there enough members under the Reiorm banner, who will subscribe lo the L'berals' political faith that makes liberty, equality, fraternity its objective, m utter contradistinction to the svul -destroying' and initiative-hilling objective of Socialism? . , ' :s is it Can Reform so unbend as genuinely to endeavor to hold oven the bo.'nnce between classes? Can it go evc»i further and, do what Liberalism has always endeavored to do' and sw«*ep into oblivion any class distinctions whate\er? *Wiil it agreo to banish altogether it 3 appeal to class projt dice? Li this appeal to the baser side of human nature Reform and Official Labor are equal offenders. lt is a poor cause that rests its chief claim to support on the unintelligent and debasing appeal of class. Liberalism knows no class and trusts democracy. Is the suggested fusion practicable? s : t : * ' *. i We have no desire to recall some of the bitterness of the recent Election campaign. Most of it emanated from the ranks of Reform. Some of i* was cf a personal nature, as, for lnrtnnce, the Press and platform campaign of malignity and misrepresentation panned for the purpose of.drivn.g the Liberal leader out of Parliament. Fven the Prime Minister joined In the finy. What mattered it if Official Labor won so long as the liberalLabor Party lost its live-wire leader? The human equation must be Pllowed for when we start to weigh -t p the pcssibillties of fusion. That beir.g so, vec cannot see how many of the Liberal-Labor Party could possibly s n rve In Parliament under the leadership of William Ferguson Massey. X'asßey'a long reign m office, combined with tho Inevitable result of hi:i being surrounded by a Ministry of irudiut titles has overburdened him. Apart f.'om politics- he is not even the same genial personality of, a few years back, 11.'.s health has suffered. He has been overworked; he has become moro I autocratic, lens tolerant of criticism and of opposition. Liberal -Labor elements will find it difficult to submit to the dictatorship o." Massey. With all duo regaid for nny records of good work that Massey may havo done for the' country m the past, wo venture to suggest Mm I he could not serve it better at the i resent moment than by retiring fron office. Jt a Unking -up of th*_* moderates Is desirable, nothing is more likely to expedite tho nuptial ceremony than tho standing-down of tho man whoso continuance ln ofllco cffectlvelv "forbids tho banns." I : '. : : : We do not believe that Mr. Matsoy, personally, has any doeply-ini,ialnod obsession In favor of vested interests. It our belief Is correct, ho wih carry out hlo Inclination to retire from tho hurly-burly of political life. Such a decision would havo the backing of a n ujority of the electors of Now Zcahmd, as disclosed by tho G?ncrnl Election ballot. * mrmmmmmmm i i ■■

"WAR'S IRONMONGERY. "War-trophies are a proper -washout these days, 'Truth! Nobody wants to know much about them now, do they?" "No fear. The war cost us too much to "think fondly of it. What about the trophies, anyway?" "Oh, I mean those old lumps of ironmongery m the parks and stuck away m all manner of places. Once they were guns. Now they are .ruEting heaps, certainly not ornaments, and m any case they are neither moro -nor loss than relics of barbarism. I reckon they should all be buried. Frople want to forget the war and Its brutalities." "You're right there. Goodness KnoVswhatlt cost to land the rubbish m the country. I remember when the local bodies were circularised and offered guns galore, half of them assented to having something of the sort out of a queer sense of martyidom. They certainly didn't want any, and when they got the stuff left it, m most cases m country districts! to rupt and rot where it was dumped. Some of the local bodies forgot to answer, I believe."

"Go on. What happened to that long-barrelled affair on wheels that was stuck up m Courtenay Place? I ccc its disappeared now." "Yes, it has. They're going to put a little garden there shortly. That is more like it. Its the same all over the place. Why iri Sydney there is an enormous German gun and nobody wants it. It has become a veritable 'football.* The Federal Government has offered it to the State Government, which, m turn, has passed on the offer to the City Council. The council, however, does not want the gun either. The" citizens reckon the Federal Government should lump the d thing. to Canberra." "Goodness me, you needn't go to Sydney to see guns that nobody wants. Have you ever been round the Te Aro .railway 3tation and seen all the useless, unsightly and rusty old pieces piled up there? Nobody will have them at a gift, ' How would you like one for your front garden?" "Gee, I don't, want one." "Neither does anyone else. Bill Massey and his henchmen are enough big guns for New Zealand. They're gas cylinders, too." BOOMING THE PLATE. "Hello, 'Truth,' did you Hee tho sinners rolling up the other night?" "Not particularly, there's always a good few rolling up somewhere "No, but to church I mean. You never saw such a bunch of sinners m -your life. You know the Sistine Ch^ii wm» flinging at one of them m Wel'.'nston last Sunday night, and there was the biggest congregation you evoi saw. Half an hour before 7 o'clock you couldn't get In the door." "That's good, but how did yo:i know about it? You weren't trying to get lin. too? Don't tell me that." "Ye 3 I was. Funny thing, I was walking down that way on Sunday night and I saw v couple of bookmakers blowing along with prayer books under their arms. I knew one cf them; m fact I'd taken n matter yf 600 to 5 oft him about Woodville and I thought ho must bo worrying about that. I hoped he was anyway, but when I pulled him up he told mo about the choir, and I blew along, too" LIKE' BIG KIDS. "What thought you of the burning of the award. 'Truth'?" "You mean the Wellington "Water«'dors' scrap of paper as dealt- with by the Big Chiefs of the Union? Wo don t think over-much on such idiotic actions as that, though wo have pondered a spare moment or two upon the likely consequences." "Like bis kids, «.-h. 'Truth .-" "PreclKtMv; but Big Chiefs can'c play ;i* being big kids without losing o lump o r authority with the plain man with a wife and odd nippers at his place. That man simply hasn't •■ time foist hoolboy heroics of that type. Also the Big Chiefs can't play like kids as they did without being downright Insulting to the Court and thu law generally." "You weem rather hot on tho point.' "No more than I can see that you are, no more than most men with ordinary hosii sense, and not nearly iv» darned mad as the offending wateraiders." "Yes, it's said that not moto than three hundred out of the sixteen bundled members were at the stop- work meeting, r>uywa>. Wonder what the other thirteen hundred were about?" "Probably wasting no time, maybe thinking it Jur.t about time the t.ourt granted the registration of the new union they've asked for." "Well, here's a roiiKh guess, "r>uth,' they won't have too long to wail for it. Burning scraps of paper! Yt* gods. It's really funny when you think of what darned fools they've made of Hhemselvea m the eyes of the public. . l"p north and In most other places they are showing a trifle moro dignity, Eo'ng to take a ballot to see whether tho new award buUs them. Rather a p*iy Isn't it that the Wellington ceremon'v couldn't have been not oft nn November B: they could havo made quite a ulffi little show of It with a few bunches of crackers." THE MILK EXPERIMENT. •■Say. friend, you haven't had much to tell" about the working of the Wellington Municipal Milk Scheme lately." "No. Most of tho crinkles m the scheme which 'Truth' hit up have been smoothed out. The criticism did a lot of good and tho authorities" and citizens alike aro reaping tho benefit." ".Towns m all parts of tho world are closely watching the progress of tho experiment and as many papers have quoted our reporu we must keep them penned. Would you say tho municipal scheme In a succpmb?" ; "No: llmt'H too big on ordt.»r yet. m»l i It has Improved. t->wi-r roir. plainttt iirc lu-nrd now about th« qtmlity ot tho j mltk nrnl mortf hi:.d:uv-*:il{f method* , h:iv* been Introduce! by the mutiuju- j nient." • ! 'That wns :i f.-nihcr In the cap of \ thf* mn«mjjotn« v nt KHttm; tin* contract j for thf supply "f Wi-UluKton Hospital.' ] •"m**: but tin' cin.:u*rt*':.*:r<?:< wwe ill- I "Vis,. 0 lily p-i *.•••.•••: i.uJy indicated the plain fact And *.tid Uiat Strand, the j

former contractor, had expressed a desire, that the City Milk Depot should get the contract. Bit of a philanthropist apparently." "No; he doesn't claim thatM think. He used to supply the hospital at is 9d per gallon, less 10 per cent., and had offered to reduce it tb Is 6d nett (plus freight). Mahgaroa farmers — just beyond Upper Hutt— offered to supply at 2d a gallon less. Strand further reduced his price to Is 3d — delivered at station." "What price did the Munioipal people quote?" „ - , .- "They will get. Is id a gallon for tnilk arid 10a for bream— -delivered at hospital. The milk Is to come from a model , dairy , farm at Haywards— on the HUtt line. The place is the last word m cleanliness. The milk will be delivered first to the milk depot for the usual tests and then taken to the doors of the various hospital institutions — uripasteurised milk. Pasteurised milk from selected farms will &6 Is 3d." "That sounds all right." "It Is." BEER MEASURES. "Wfe trust that you registered your valuable votes on the seventh, Mr Man?" "Certainly. Don't ask how I voted as to parties, for that's my business; but I will tell you that Bung didn't get any lift from mine:" "To our certain knowledge, by reason of the fact that you have frequently invited us out ln office hours~which invitations have necessarily been declined — ypu are no blue-ribboner, a moderate, we take It, so why so set against the trade?" "It was the matter of beer measures that turned my vote, 'Truth'; not so great a matter, but enough to Bet one thinking. There was a time when a. man could hie him to an hotel and .ask for half a pint and get half a pint and pay for half a pint, just as his wife could walk into a draper's shop and buy half a yard of stuff and. pay for half a yard. Nowadays, speaking generally of pubs, a man can ask for his half- . measdre, but he won't get it, though ho will pay for a full pint." "What is this which so upsets you, a hurt to the pocket or to principle?" j "Both; but no hurt to the publi- ; can's pocket. Bung holds that the labor m pulling over a pony beer is. the same as m working the handle for a full pint, and to some extent he's right, so perhaps two half-pints should cost a fraction more than one full handler, but one half shouldcertainly not be charged for as one full."- r "We do agree." "In any cas« if we went the round of all the hotels m this city. . . ."'77 "Which, -heaven forbid, '• for there are very ' many of 'em." ' ,'y ". . . .if we went tho rounds we should, find but some houses where a handler or a pint could possibly be coaxed from Hebe or Charlie." ' "When we. have called m on hot day&r-quite seldom la the weather really warm -hereabout— we content ourselves with short ones." "Never mind what you may call for. We'll suppose that I'm calling for a full to the edge. What do I get? A Wanganui, hdlding but 14 or so ounces out of the twenty that make up full measure You , can't tell me that Bung buys his liquor by hogsheads m which the pint's are. measured up by fourteen ounces." "You'd be- quite lucky if you got a Wanganui m some bars." "Was just talking along to that pub myself: that's the place where the longest pint is what Bung calls a long one, . sort of geometrical pint. Remember what old Euclid had to say of a line. 'That which has length but no breadth'?" "Wo know the hotel you think upon.The ounce content of that classy but unsatisfying glass is what?" "Somewhere about twelve ounces. Bung, so to speak, puts the other eight ounces m his pocket. Now let's turn to the pony beer at sixpence;" "We think you have mentioned quit© enough to mako your point quite clear. No, you won't turn any more this morning. Next thing you'll be talking whisky at a bob a measured nip. Good morning." HALT, PRICESI j "Notice that short cable from Lon- | don. the other day, 'Truth', re cloth prices?" "We read the papers. We did, ! and wo have It right here. . This the one? Glasgow reports state that the wholesale cloth merchants In London are refusing to pay tho hjgher prices which the manufacturers are asking for new season's' cloths. Tho merchants say the tailors will not pay the 'enhanced prices which the manufacturers maintain are necessitated as a result. of the dearnoss of the raw matorlal.' Consequently tho manufacturers' travellers are returning to Glasgow without having sold v single piece of cloth," "That's it. Looks as if tho vicious circle has started to circle again, but round about the other way."

-We cut the par. out especially to havo ii think upon It."

"Guess v lot of folk did tho same. Calls to mlnd tho enthusiasm with which quite a few shop folk out here backed up tho wholesalers when they bunged In war prices. Remombor. ! 'twas quite the regular thing for retailors to step into the witness box when tho Board of Trade — pardon mo one moment while I Indulge m a little harmloss laughter — was spurred on to a profiteering prosecution, and Kwenr that «uch and such a price was not excoßslvo. particularly when 'tullor'fl stuff was being talked about."

".Maybe there was sonso m their «en*ielc«anoßK."

"Sure thing then) was. Soiling price.** are reckoned up on buying prices m that CM 1/?. per coinage so popular with the man who slando behind tlu? counter, Tho higher the wholesale price the higher tho profit, for no oik* h«>t-d« to think long 10 n-ejeon up that i>3 1/3 on 30h Im v little more than 33 1/3 on 15s. Of