THE NEW ZEALAND LEGION

Otago Daily Times, Issue 21948, 9 May 1933, Page 10

THE NEW ZEALAND LEGION

TO THE EDITOR Sjb —The legion's criticism of my booklet in your correspondence columns completelv misses the point. My booklet is not nn attack on the legion. It represents a conscientious endeavour to understand from a scientific point of view the psychology behind the legion. The legion believes Cat it is criticising our kovernment in the interests of New Zealand, and I have criticised the legion in the same spirit. The problem in New Zealand is not to destroy party Government, but; to destroy bureaucratic Government and to rcstore'true representative Government; it is not to waste valuable energy tilting at the windmills of petty sectional pressure, but to devote our whole strength and energy to solving the unemployment problem. We should not waste time papering over the cracks, but should get down to root causes. The restoration ot true representative Government would get at the very root of the trouble. Itichard John Seddon did not waste time copying other distressed countries; he set out to lead the world with constructive ' One* criticism of the legion is that its best elements are represented by men who have only recently become politicallyminded. They are good, h°n est .,. h + ? D0U f r ; able citizens who really felt politics to be a little beneath vthem. They left polities to the more mundane citizens. In fact, their only fault has been the possession of a superiority complex. For many years past, but in increasing numbers, men of this class have been gradually awakened, more often than not by intelligent reading. The depression, however, has awakened the political consciousness of thousands of these people. .They have suddenly become politically-minded, suddenly realised that intelligent participa-

tion in the government of their country not only merits respect, but is their bounden duty. They are all eagerness to be doing something for their country. But they are still in the air; they do not yet realise that far from being the first to enter this new land of political consciousness and responsibility, they are really late comers; that farseeing, imaginative, intelligent men have been devoting their whole lives to the same ideals that these newcomers have recently discovered. These old pioneers have been regarded as cranks or misrepresented as rogues by those prac-tically-minded men whose only aim in life has been to outstrip their fellows in the great race to nowhere. In the midst of the hustle and bustle of prosperity the pioneers have been like a voice crying in the wilderness.

The newcomers in the Elysian fields have not yet found their feet. Many of them still have that feeling of superiority, and it prevents their seeing the pioneers on ahead, makes them intolerant of criticism, and preventJ them realising that other people not in their organisation or group can have and live for the same high ideals. Until they become reorientated and can corelate their new consciousness with .practical politics there will be a grave danger of their idealism being exploited by the shrewd old party racketeer. Dr Begg and the idealists in the legion must be ever on the watch for the appearance of this gentleman, though his entrance is often so insidious that it is not noticed. No Government can be # a true success unless it is composed of sincere men, but sincere men without experience may do more harm than able rogues, and sincere men exploited by able rogues will do most harm of all. . The citizens have so often been induced to elect a Trojan horse to Parliament that they will naturally be sceptical about any. new group that comes forward with al-i truistic professions. The people will' scrutinise very carefully the_ controlling elements of any branch to which they axe invited to ally themselves, and will look for more than words, for they have been told " By their deeds ye shall know them." —I am, etc., D. G. M*MILfiAH. Kurow, May 6.