THE PASSING OF ST. GEORGE.

Wanganui Herald, Volume LIII, Issue 15978, 21 November 1919, Page 7

THE PASSING OF ST. GEORGE.

ST. THOMAS-A-PAINE ELECTED. To the Editor. Sir,—l was glad to see last night that your correspondent “St. George" had got to the stage of seing the absurdity of such a principle as “Mosstown for the 'Mosstownites.” I think I can claim to have advanced on the road to human brotherhood nearly as far as Thomas Paine had reached 130 years ago, for I can say,“ The World for the Working Worldites arid Death to the Aliens of Mars.” Our dividend-making newspapers have not yet reached this stage, and they arc very angry indeed with those who have. Notice their efforts to hypnotise our “should-be friends” into believing that the members of the Labour Party stink beneath their nostrils; and all because the party has advanced along the aforementioned road so far as to say “Europe for the Useful Europeans.” I am willing to confess, sir, that I have been somewhat “doped” of bid—by the footpads of Britain—into believing that the footpads of France wished to take the lives of Britain’s starving millions, though they had no moeny to deliver. When I recqivcred from the drug, and the strains of “Britons Never Shall be Slaves” were growing dim in the distance, it occurred to me that as I only received from my British masters enough to keep me in working condition, a change of masters might not be such a dreadful calamity after all, and I resolved to let my British capturer defend himself against the French footpad, who was after me as well as my master’s money. I remember thinking what a good thing it would be if I could only tell the poor beggar in the French footpads’ gang—who had not yet quite recovered from the strains of “Yankee Doodle’ or some other jingo scream—that I was now awake and rational; we might be able to stand out of the scrap together and hey the footpads on until they had crippled one another, when we could blow the whistle and take them to work. Now, sir, in face of the fact that the enemies of Bolshevism (whether Americans in the north or Frenchmen in the south) will not fight Russia’s working men, once they are satisfied that they are Russia’s genuine rulers, I think yon have no reasonable ground on which to stand and yell; “Send Red Feds to the front, I’d go and WATCH them kill the Japs, but 1 m too old.” The cat concert will now oblige with the rousing strains of howls in this run shall never- be slaves.”—Yours, for “No more War,” THE WORLD IS MY COUNTRY.

P-S.—l see you are squealing to-night about the Labourites having too much to say at Lieut.-Col. Mitchell’s meeting in Semple’s constituency. I agree we should have free speech, and ask, “Was it Labour who throttled it four years ao-op". The World, etc. ° OLD AGE PENSIONS. To the Editor. Sir, —The extreme or official Labour candidates for Parliamentary honour cannot deliver a speech without misrepresenting or incorrectly referring to humane legislation introduced and passed by past Governments for the benefit of the people. The candidate for Wanganui is reported to have said in a recent speech, he condemned the Government practice of witholding the old age pension on account of a pensioner having an annuity bought with his own payments. A clause in the Old Age Pension Act reads as follows:—“ Any money received from a friendly society or a charitable aid 'institution not exceeding £SO per year shall not be taken into consideration.” There is no friendly society, so far as I ■am aware, whose sick pay exceeds £SO per year. It was a Liberal Government that introduced and passed the Old Age Pension Act, and it is a libel on some of these great statesmen, some of whom have passed away, to charge them with penalising members of societies. They had the greatest respect and admiration for and the noble work they were engaged in.—l am, etc., SECRETARY TO , A FRIENDLY SOCIETY.