LATE CORRESPONDENCE

Star (Christchurch), Volume XLIV, Issue 372, 14 March 1932, Page 7

LATE CORRESPONDENCE

“ THE La DIRECT.” To the Editor. Dear Sir.-I should be pleased it you will kindly publish the following letter in the next issue of your paper: •• Strong exception has been taken by the Christchurch Communists to the statements contained in your the meeting of the unemployed members of the General Labourers Union on Saturday morning. Several mem bers of the party are alleged to hate created a disturbance and maae things lively " for the chairman “While the Communist Party is •» atch. ing Mr Wo'rrall's move with the closest interest, and strong suspicion, it is not part of its tactics, and never will be, to disturb meetings of trade unionist, and we therefore give the lie direct to vour statement. Only three members of the Communist Party were actually in the hall during the meeting, and none of them took any part m the discussion or created any disturbance. Thev were not expelled from the meeting and voted to leave it themselves—■with their legs. , It is not difficult to understand wfty Mr Worrall does not want the Communists, and why he is at present sabotaging the United Front.” 1 am, etc., A. HOOK, Secretarv. Local Party Committee. Ch’ch Group, Communist Party, V z. Section of the Communist International.

{ \ paragraph in which Mr Hook suggests that the report was supplied by Mr Worrali has been omitted, _ as tne suggestion is incorrect.—Ed., star. i PRICE OF POLLARD. To the Editor. Dear Sir, —The prices of both bran and pollard are governed entirely by the Australian export quotations, which are virtually dumping prices being at times as much as 30s below Australian domestic prices when a glut in the Australian “local” market makes a clearance desirable. On top of this, the Dominion user obtains all his bran and pollard absolutelv duty free and subject to the full benefit of a verv favourable exchange rate, whilst most other Dominionmanufactured commodities are protected by a fair duty, a high primage duty and exchange regulations to offset exchange benefits. Over the latest available ten year period Australian exports of wheat offal averaged 10,000 tons per annum. “ Non-sitter ” and his colleagues between them use 60.000 tons per annum, so it will be seen at once that although Australian “ dumping ” prices decide the local price here, Australia could not supply our bran and pollard requirements if the New Zealand wheatgrowers and millers failed to do so. If “Non-sitter” has any suggestions to make about the price of pollard, I am sure they would be welcomed by the Wheat Marketing Board, whose special care it is to fix the prices of bran and pollard. Incidentally, I may add that any advance over and above the basic price goes into the pockets of the growers and not the much maligned milling trust.—l am, etc., MERCHANT. L.R.C. AND COUNCIL. To the Editor. Dear Sir, —May I crave a little more of vour valuable space to reply to your c orrespondent “ X.” Evidently when he butted into a controversy, that was not his, he did so, with mean intentions. Possibly he thought that hiding behind anonymity nobody would take up the cudgels against him. However, it is good sometimes to call the bluff of this sort of person and show the public the misleading stuff they write. “ X’s ” latest effusion in your issue of the 11th instant is a mass of pure fabrication and reeks with venom. “X ” evidently is one of the sort of persons who think that all you have to do is to tell a story a few times and whether it be true or otherwise, people will believe it. His statements about the Council Employees controlling the various unions and L.R.C. are absolutely untrue, also his statements about pledges. If “ X ” has all this mass of inside knowledge, why not publish it. I am sure he is the wrong type of person to hold back anything that he could stir up dirt about. I can assure your readers that I have never been asked to give any pledge, either when I was nominated for the Council or since I was elected to it, apart from the ordinary pledge that each councillor gives when sworn in. His idea that Council employees should be debarred from taking part in elections shows clearly the sort of tyrannical mind he has. Time is too precious to waste answering correspondence of the type indulged in by your correspondent, so in future, as far as I am concerned, he can wallow alone in his fabrications. Thanking you for your past courtesy in giving the required space.—l am, etc., E. PARLANE.