GENERAL ELECTION

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume 79, Issue 167, 19 July 1935, Page 8

GENERAL ELECTION

FIRST SHOT IN WANGANUI LABOUR IN ACTIVE MOOD Al KEYING AT: CASTLECLIFF i bp lif.-,!. shots in lhe Wanganui General Ele<tic-n campaign were tired ai I'astlctiiff last night, when Mr. J. j->. Cottenll, who is standing as the Labour candidate, addressed a well-attended meeting, lie was supported by the Rev. ’ lyde Uarr, M.P. for Timaru, who. as the principal speakvr of the evening, stressed the Labour Party’s conception of what is required to right the present ills besetting the country. Mr. J. Robertson, the Deputy-Mayor piestdc'l. Mr. Uotteiill said he was very pleased to make his lirst appearance in the campaign at, Castlecliff because that district had always accorded wonderful support to the parly’s candidates. “I am entering this campaign as a young man offering his services to the community,” said Mr. -Cottenll. He realised that the complex responsibilities ttrid vast task ot readjusting the economic ills of the Dominion would fall on the country’s youth. “I am -lot seeking to- enter Parliament to better my personal career,” he said definitely. “As a matter of fact, to con test this election, 1 am leaving a far better job than that held by any mem ber\of Parliament. We do not want to send men to Parliament who seek careers, but people who will faithfully carry out the. responsibilities entrusted to them in the interests of the people of New Zealand. ” Mr. Cottcrill stated that the present unsatisfactory slate of affairs in New Zealand had been brought about by the. Government’s policy of deflation. There were two schools of thought arising trom present-day conditions. Ou the one hand was the Government, which said in effect, that nothing could be done to right the position within New Zealand itself, and so it was a case of waiting lor something to turn up trom overseas. On the other hand was the Labour Party, which said that something could and would be done. “L have not accepted my position lightly,” the speaker went on, pointing out that he sought to give vxpression to his loyally to New Zealand by serv-

ing its people faithfully —“Because 1 feel that the Labour Party is the only party which has the vision, the initiative and the courage to make New Zealand what the laic Richard John t>eddon wanted it to be —God ’m Own Conn try,” ho added. “This election is not going to be a question of whether Bill Veitch or Joe Cott-erili sliould go hl It is to be one based on principles of economic justice. The electors will bo asked to decide whether the present unsatisfactory condition of New Zea land is to continue, or whether the necessary steps should be taken to bring forward prosperity and enable lor every man, woman and child « fair participation in the country wealth." (Applause). Mr. Cntterill explained that, in view of the piescnce of Air. Clyde Carr, his remarks had to be brief. Fine Type of Candidate. Mr. at the outset, complimented Wanganui on bringing forward a type of candidate like Mr. Cottenll. The speaker had been greatly impressed with the type of men in the group of electorates about Wanganui who were offering themselves as Labour candidates—men like Mr. Cottcrill, Mr. Ormond Wilson, Mr. Lowry, Mr. Skoglund. If the little band who had represented Labour, so long an outnumbered force, were showing the effects of the strain, the party’s supporters would honour them, for they had stood four square to “all the winds that blow.” They had had to stand up to villifica tion and distortion of views, and, as they were getting a bit bailie worn they could do with reinforcements from men of such calibre as Mr. Cot'terill. (A pplause). “Labour’s plan is going Io work,” Mr. Carr proceeded, “because we are going to work. The plan may not be perfect. Nothing human ever is, but the policy Labour is adopting will soon prove abundantly and gloriously effective in delivering this country from the condition it groans under today. (Applause). Something is due to the spirit of those who put their hand to the plough. We are not looking back, but forward. . . . We propose to re-

semble bees rather than bluebottlesand we prefer to take a little bit of honey from every flower. If there is something of a single tax, something of a Douglas Social Credit in what we offer you, or a little bit of Liberalism, as John Seddon, John Ballance, Pember Reeves and the rest of them knew it, do not condemn us, but congratulate for seeking the, best and standing for a policy that has vision. The Labour policy has ben adopted to suit new conditions and problems. It is something which is alive nnd moves nn-l grows and faces up Io den a nds as they arise. ’' The Four Planks. “ Socialisation of production, distribution and exchange,” was the policy Labour stood for. The speaker stated that much had been clone in regard to the lirst two, and it had been abundantly proved that the, community could do for lhe individual more than the individual could do for himself. He pointed to the Department of Agriculture. of Scientific and Industrial Re-'-earch, tu the Cawthron Institute, and Massey College as exam [des of socialisation of forces foi the good of lhe whole. 'The country was learning to pool its resources and share in the results. He was not one who believed that production had reached its limit, and would not believe in ovcr-ptoduc-tion until every man, woman and child in the country had plenty to cat, and drink, plenty of warm clothing to wear and comfortable houses tu live in. (A pplause). The speaker went on to stress the value of the Post and Telegraph De partment, the railways and other social services, and pointed out. that th-, people uf this country would not like to hand those services over to private individuals. Although a great deal had beet* done in the direction of furthering the socialisal ion of production and distribution. precious little had been at tepted in the wav of socialising the medium (if exchange. That was where the IDouglas Social Credit people came in. Once upn a time the party had advmat cd a State Bank with the right of note issue, but it was retilised now that legal tender was really only the “petty cash,” of lhe problem. ‘‘lt is credit wp must control and nationalise.” hi*, said. “A 1 the. Laid woik of useful people will be vain and valueless and entirely negligible, until we gain control of lhe monetary medium.’' .Mr. Ca held that the usef.il people had lorm been the 'oo’s and puppets

of the financiers of the world. He did not say that the bankers of New Zealand were bad chaps. They simply gol instructions from head office and head office got lhein from somewhere else. Labour would create a (State Bank overnight, lie did nut know whether it could be made to ('unciion in as quick time as that, but there was nothing to slop the country using the Treasury. It had been dune in vva/ time Io cause dcsl ruct ion. Everyone knew the story of how lhe Bradburys had been brought about. He contended that. Labour's pu.by of inflation was sound. There, wa.s nothing Utopian about it. It was true, that with freer money prices would ten! tu rise, but there was lhe other side to be reinciu bered, that there would be greater demand and therefore mure product ion. It. had been said by competent autliori lies that it was just as easy Io rai-e tin 1 standard of living as to 1 »wt‘r it. Il was Labour’s plan to make the monetary medium dependent rpon .he vvib and needs of the people, and not upon the will uf lhe few liiiamieis ot' lhe world. Money, alter ait, was merely a mathematical symbol, but, under the way it had been cord io.led by the few it had become tin* mister instead of be ing merely a mcdiuir of exchange. “I feel like misquoting the. Apostle Paul who said: ‘The love of money is the root of all evil’,” Mr Uai'r went on. “and say that money is lhe root of all evil.' I am inclined to agree, too. vv it h ( ha rli * ('haplin, hen he says, ‘ The want of money is lhe rout of all evil'/' (I .aught er i. ( oncludiag, the speaker saia that it was Labour s pan to foster secondary indu st r os. 11 was not the rigid thing, he said. Io lake boys from Tec|inic:il School engineer shops and sei them to hoeing turnips. “They waul Io go somewhere where they can see the wheels go round,’’ he added. The meeting '.dosed with n heart v’ vote oil’ thanks to the speakers, move-1 be Mr C. E. M< f.elh