Dead Heat On Communist Menace

There was a much improved attendance when the Debating Society met on Friday, August 14, to discuss the motion "That the Communist Party is a menace to the welfare of the people of New Zealand." Mr. Hutchings and Mr. Lyons pleaded the case of the affirmative and were opposed by Mr. H. Evison and Mr. O. Melllng. Mr. K. O'Brien was once again in the chair, and Dr. Kahn judged the debate.

In his opening address, Mr. Hutchings over-estimated the intelligence of his audience, and consequently his theoretical examination of Communism was unheeded and ridiculed by the jovial audience. Mr. Evjson, in opening the case for the negative, rather neatly side-stepped the arguments Mr. Hutchings had produced saying, "I am more interested in actions, not thoughts." However, he was even less sympathetically treated than Mr. Hutchings, and his verbal pictures of the "big, bad capitalist" provoked many awful "oos" from the audience. He was followed by Mr. Lyons who made a case against the practical menaces of Communism, making reference in particular to the Communism in our trades unions. He obviously impressed his audience with his catch-phrase, "Communist liquidation methods," and the audience voiced its approval or otherwise every time it appeared. Mr. O. Melling, the second speaker for the negative claimed that Communism was not a menace, but an improvement to New Zealand welfare. He pointed out the efforts the party had made to obtain higher wages, lower prices, more houses and football grounds.

Speakers from the floor were called, and hilarity reached a climax when Mr. Curtin commenced his speech. However, when, with some difficulty he had corrected a misunderstanding, he made several sound points regarding Communism and family life, quoting from the Communist Manifesto to prove his statements. Mr. Smith opposed the motion, also gained the audience's attention with his claims that Communism and Russian foreign policy were not synonymous, and that Communism was a democratic movement for the majority of the people." Mr. M. O'Brien said that no one had opposed Communist propaganda, but that he was opposed to the principles em-bodied in that propaganda. Mr. W. MacLeod told the audience not to worry about Communism, but to guard against capitalists and the Roman Catholic Church.

In his concluding speech. Mr. Evison said that religion was something for the private individual, which would die out, and that Communism was not a menace but the hope for the worker.

In his final speech, Mr. Hutchings regretted that his audience had not grasped his previous arguments and that to him they stood clear and unrefuted. He took great pains to explain to his illiterate audience that democratic thought and Communism philosophy could not be reconciled to each other.

It was fitting that the rather disorderly meeting was unable to reach a decision when the motion was put to the vote. There were 25 for and 25 against the motion. The chairman tactfully refused to record his own vote. Dr. Kahn placed the speakers: 1st, Mr. M. O'Brien; 2nd. Mr. Hutchings; and 3rd; Mr. Curtin.