NATION BUILDING

Otago Daily Times, Issue 23718, 27 January 1939, Page 5

NATION BUILDING

ro fHF EDITOR Sir.—l think your correspondent “A. P.” is hardly fair to Mr Sullivan when, in his letter of to-day, he accused him of not mentioning during his broadcast of last Sunday week the many wealthy business men who assisted the Mayor’s Fund during the time of the depression. If I remember aright. Mi Sullivan paid a glowing tribute to the way in which people of all classes helped during those difficult years. This, surely, covers the bill. The opinion of your correspondent of how a

nation is built is interesting, but why deny the public works employee or factory hands the credit of helping in this decidedly desirable object? It would be a funny nation if we were all hard-fisted small farmers or merchants who would buy the farmer’s produce. “A. P.” seems to be most decidedly classconscious, and if he is of the class he favours he seems to have no small conceit of himself or his class. His remarks about spoon-feeding are also interesting. My memory carries me back to the days when a certain gentleman named Richard John Seddon was Prime Minister of this country. It was at that time a favourite complaint of the Tories about the amount of spoon-feeding that was going on. When, however, a few years later difficult and dangerous times came and men were required to play the part of men and face danger and death, they came in their thousands and acquitted themselves well. In conclusion, as your correspondent seems to be panicky regarding the morale of the people under Labour rule, may I ask him if he thinks the relief depots and sugar-bag parades of past years were calculated to improve the morale of the people.—l am, etc., The Man in the Street. January 25.