TITLED LABOURITES

Otago Daily Times, Issue 19977, 20 December 1926, Page 11

TITLED LABOURITES

SMETHWICK BY-ELECTION. STUDY IN MOB PSYCHOLOGY. (Praia Association— By Telegraph—Copyright.) LONDON, December 18. (Received Dec. 19, at 5.5 p.m.) Smethwick is providing a new era of electioneering in which politics as such have no part except in name. It has become an experiment in mob psychology of an unprecedented kind, largely owing to the intervention of a section of the press which is concentrating its efforts to make Mr Mosley as notorious as possible. Lady Cynthia Mosley figures as something absurd to be associated with the Socialist movement, and she and her husband are the subjects of political cartoons of a quite unusual character. Her. title has been construed into plain “missus, 1 ’ while Mr Mosley’s father has been dragged in with the declaration that his son has not done an honest day’s work in his life. The meetings are more or less like university “rags.” The comments of humble folk, regarding the social status of Mr Mosley and Lady Cynthia are widely published. To-day Lady Cynthia was hoisted by a crowd to a precarious porch on a wall adjoining the Conservative candidate’s meeting. The latter chivalrously gave way to her, but he declared that he was not going to strike his colours at the bidding of any aristocratic pirates flying the Red flag.—-A. and N.Z. Cable.