CORRESPONDENCE RETURNED SOLDIERS' ASSOCIATION AND SECOND DIVISION LEAGUE.

Southland Times, Issue 17790, 16 October 1917, Page 2

CORRESPONDENCE

RETURNED SOLDIERS' ASSOCIATION AND SECOND DIVISION LEAGUE.

To the Editor. Sir, —A letter to the Second Division League over my signature appears in your paper this morning. Whoever handed you the letter for publication appears to be endeavouring to perpetrate a deliberate fraud on the public, and deserves to be exposed. Nearly a month ago certain members of the Second Division League waited on the Committee of the Returned Soldiers’ Association to discuss the matter of the League’s aims and objects. At that meeting, as the result of information given us by members of the deputation, the motions were passed as published to-day in your paper. A month later, on Thursday last, another committee meeting of the R.SA. was held. By this time events had shown that we could not possibly support League in their dictatorial attitude towards the Government. Consequently motions were passed as published in your paper on Saturday condemning the work of the League. In my opinion the publication of my letter without showing the date on which it was written, namely the 20th September, was a deliberate attempt to mislead the public in regard to the attitude that the Association has taken up.—l am, etc., H. P. FOUGERE, Secretary, Returned Soldiers’ Association. Invercargill, 15th October. To the Editor. Sir, —In your issue of to-day appears a letter signed by the Secretary of the Returned Soldiers’ Association stating that our Association is wholly in sympathy with the aims and objects of the Second Division League’s scheme of pensions and allowances. As President of the R.S.A. I should like to be allowed to point out that the League is misleading the public with this letter, which I may state was forwarded to the League about a month ago, after the committee of the R.SA. met their delegates, and as their “demands” were then totally different and much more reasonable than at present we saw no reason why we should not support the League, hence the letter. I would just like to point out again that the opinion of the R.S.A. to-day is embodied in the resolutions of the committee as published last Saturday, namely that they condemn absolutely the methods of the Second Division League, inasmuch as they are embarrassing the Government in bringing the war to a victorious conclusion.—l am, etc, GEORGE LOGAN ROBERTSON, President I.R.SA. 15th October. To the Editor. Sir, —I think the feeling is strongly growing in the community that the Second Division League has gone too far. By its demands and propaganda it has plunged the country into a crisis from which only the statesmanship of our leaders can extricate us. In asking for reasonable allowances and pensions the married men have had the general support of the country, but in forming a political organisation, whose very existence is a menace to His Majesty’s Government they have overstepped the marie. Hieir attitude to the First Division was: “As you are free from domestic obligations, you go first and we shall follow.” To this no reasonable man can object. Their later attitude was: “We are willing to go, but we ask for reasonable allowances for our wives and children, and for reasonable pensions for ourselves.” To that also no reasonable man can object. Their attitude now is: “If you wont pay us our price (which is so high that you cannot afford to pay us) we trill use every constitutional means to gain our object.” Their object is obviously to - reduce the reinforcements to a minimum, to prevent themselves if possible from going to the war at all, and to leave the whole burden. of fighting on the shoulders of those already at the front. » In this I believe their vaulting ambition' hail' over-leaped itself, and they are losing the moral support of the patriotic members of the community. The attitude of the League to the New Zealand Government is not very different from that of the Sinn Fein organisation towards the British Government. In this war we sink or swim with Great Britain, and most of us believe that we pKonlH do as modi to win the war as the Mother Country is doing. Great Britain has already sent her married men to the front. Only when New Zealand has done the same can we afford to slacken our efforts. The League, however, is even now doing all in its power to reduce our participation in the war. Because America is in the war, because the Main Body men cannot have their furlough, because there is a shortage of transports, because the married men must make money to pay for the war, because we have already a large body of men in England (who by the way are only in training there), because of all these reasons the Reinforcements must be reduced! The League by its organisation is attaining its objects, and if unopposed will put New Zealand out of action in the war. As the result of its propaganda our men at the front must do a greater share of the fighting, Great Britain is forced to realise that her colonies will not follow her example, and the heart of Germany is cheered by the knowledge that the British colonies arc wearying of the war. It is small wonder that the returned soldiers, as well as the older members of the community, men of mature judgment and experience, are asking where all this is going to end, and are throwing all their forces against the saturnine influences of the League.—l am, etc, 15th October. PATRIOTIC.