LABOUR’S QUESTION

Taranaki Daily News, 25 November 1935, Page 6

LABOUR’S QUESTION

CHARGE AGAINST MR. POLSON. PUBLICITY AND POINT BLANK. Contending that as yet Mr. W. J. Polson, National candidate, had not answered questions asked at Wharehuia last Wednesday, Mr. Peter Skoglund, speaking for Mr. Philip Skoglund in Labour's interests .at Douglas on Saturday night, again asked Mr. Polson to reply to tlie speaker’s queries regarding Mr. Polson's publicity methods and the Farmers Union paper Point Blank. “Mr. Polson has so far failed to answer my questions,” Mr. Skoglund said, “and I do not expect that he will attempt to till the night before the election, when it will be too late for any reply he might make to be contradicted before the election.” . Would Mr. Polson, the speaker asked, give the figures of the membership of the Farmers’ Union? Was Mr. Polson s publicity man the editor of the Farmers' Union paper, Point Blank? Was it right for Mr. Polson’s publicity agent to use that paper to attack the Labour Party and his father as its candidate for Stratford? Farmers’ Union branches had passed motions censuring the use of the paper in a way that was not intended, and he believed that one branch had urged that no more copies of the paper be released till those articles were deleted. jjuring the question period discussion turned on roint Blank. One member ol che audience alleged that the paper was Being used for “electioneering purposes" and because of that he intended “the same as hundreds of other farmers had done,” to resign from the union. Mr. T. Bird rose with a copy of Point Blank in his hand and referred to the controversy over the number of members of the Farmers’ Union. He said his copy showed a circulation certificate of 15,000. In that copy it was stated in an article that Labour .was interested in the farmer only at election time and that the party had no farmer member. “This is all electioneering,” he added, “and that is why I am going to resign from the Farmers’ Union, the same as hundreds of others have done.” Dating back over a number of years, Mr. Skoglund said, it might be possible for the union to claim 40,000 members, but Colonel Pow, who was secretary of the union till a few months ago, told him just before he left the position that there were 16,000 financial and 8000 unfinancial members. Mr. Bird: Point Blank has a circulation of 15,000. Mr. Wood pointed out that in the Auckland district members received another paper. Hence the confusion. Mr. Skoglund agreed with Mr. Wood that a different paper was taken by Auckland members but he was not conversant .with he position, there.