THE STRAIGHT-OUT VOTE

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume LXXXII, Issue 19444, 2 November 1925, Page 8

THE STRAIGHT-OUT VOTE

The Prime Minister has completed a wonderful tour of the Dominion and now is off again to Auckland to give his final preelection speeches. Everywhere he has been greeted with the utmost enthusiasm. Electors have flocked to hear him, to obtain first-hand knowledge of his personality and its political significance, and everywhere he has created an impression. His achievements in the way of travelling and speech-making have shown that he possesses physical and mental power above the ordinary. He has taken up the most responsible office in the land while in the very prime of life, and his youth, virility and vivacity have commended him to the people. It is safe to say that if the election on Wednesday were a personal contest Mr. Coates would defeat the other leaders by an i overwhelming majority. But the test is not confined to the L leaders. The fight must be fought in every electorate ; the candidates of the rival parties have to fight to a finish in each case. Whether there are two or five candidates in an electorate, the j electors must choose one of them, and the choice should be made seriously and deliberately, each elector easting his or her vote in the.knowledge that it may decide the fate, not merely of a candidate, but of a Government. In a contest single-handed against his rivals Mr. Coates would be a certain conqueror. But Parliament is a place where parties count. If Mr. Coates is to be retained as the leader in Parliament he must have a sufficient army at his command. He must have so many members on his side that his party will be able to outvote any other party or combination of parties. The leader must be supported by men upon whom he can place the utmost reliance—not men who may vote with him to-day and with another leader to-morrow, but men who will back him up whenever the issue is the safety of the party. The Reform Party in the new Parliament must be strong enough to prevent Labour obtaining power, no matter what help Labour may receive from those outside its own ranks. The only way to ensure the strength of the Reform Party is to vote for a Reformer—a pledged supporter of the Government. Every elector holding moderate views who fails to vote definitely for the Reform Party will increase Labour’s chance of winning a victory.