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"Woopenatty"
ARRINO.
11th October 194
The General Secretary
Dear Sir,
Herewith a mite towards the fight for freedom, accompanied by a few constructive suggestions from an aged stockman who has never been a member of a union, recognises the necessity for their existence, yet deplores the ignorant, selfish, unpatriotic way in which Unionism wields the power it has wrested from Capitalism,
In spite of Unionism's strength, the Moderates ean still swing any Federal or State election, but they need to be convinced of sincerity and honesty of purpose and here are some of their lines of thought.
Menzies a brilliant orator with a rapier thrust in repartee, yet nought but a hired professional talker who cannot lead us out of the wilderness. They remember that he tried to engineer a Motor Monopoly, bludgeon through the Dried Fruit Case thet was obviously contrary to the Constitution and when in power never made a single gesture towards State rights.
I know men who have been all their working lives financial unionists, yet have most cynical disillusioned views of their party and leaders, and under the lap would, although he is unproved, support a Casey led Party on the principle of"try anything once".
A sense of frustration is abroad, end our side is partly to blame.
For instance, the Bulletin boasts that B.H.P. produces the cheapest steel in the world.
Share farmers say the B,H.P's interlocked subsiduaries produce the dearest agricultural machinery in the world, and further they say the price rises not only with production costs, but also whenever wheat value rises.
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Many farmers could grow more wheat but their view is why feed Australia and New Zealand at one third market value and not ven receive full value for the exported balance, whilst on the other hand they can get market value for wool mutton and beef?
Again take gold; if a man sweats his guts out around Marble Bar, Bamboo Creek or Nullagine in an alluvial show, a leader or a reef, he gets £10 an ounce for it, but if he can smuggle it out of Broome or Darwin on a pearling lugger to Koepang, he can get £30 an ounce for it.
Take kangaroo skins; one of the leading woolbrokers in Australia told me personally that the price was controlled by one man in Sydney ex U.S.A., who put the price up or down according to whether there were too many kangarooers at work.
Sandalwood - in the grip of Plaimars. Some years ago I located a patch of sandalwood and asked Wise M.L.A. Carnarvon, if he would facilitate a permit for me to take it. Reply - China at war, Plaimars cannot export, and are £90000 in arrears at the Treasury with their royalties. "Nothing doing". Yet buyers in Koepang were paying £30 a ton.
Wyndham meat works. No one in Wyndham can get work in the meat works, all employment there is under the patronage of the Secretary, A.W.U. Perth office. I pointed this out to an East Kimberly Stock Inspector, his reply was "Quite right, the men recruited in Perth go up to Wyndham from a temperate climate and can work harder than the local men." Yet our Party pays lip service to peopling the Far North.
Just now the Broome pearling is having an "open go", but pre-war it was completely in the grip of an American monoply which paid £160 per ton and limited the production.
As to copper I cannot speak personally, but am told by a £2000 a year Mine manager, that it is, as far as Australia is concerned entirely in the hands of the Bailleu Group. This is not carping criticism, it is written in sorrow not in bitterness.
What I would suggest is that our Country Party and Liberal leaders reduces their energies towards making political
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capital of Labour's ignorance, selfishness and stubborness and endeavour by honesty axl sincerity to win the support of the before mentioned Moderate Vote.
One great fundamental truth greatly needs stressing, i.e. that Capital in the final analysis is only another name for thrift, that thrift, labour and enterprise spell prosperity. That National Prosperity cannot be obtained by taking from the provident to "hand out" to the improvident. That Capital is a fruitful vine that only needs pruning, not destruction.
Let the Country Party and Liberal Party urge Premier McLarty to promptly amend the Constitution of the Upper House so that when Assembly has, after say two or even three General Elections passed an enactment, the Council should be deprived of the power of veto and thus demonstrate "Acta non verba",. As an instance in point, the State Insurance Bill. Surely if the Improvident are allowed a State Lottery Bill, the Provident as they manifestly desire, should be allowed a State Insurance Bill.
In brief let us "rend our hearts and not our garments" "Cast out the beam in thine own eye, then shalt thou see more clearly to cast out the mote that is in thy brother's eye".
Why tolerate such meddlesome, petty fogging legislation as the suppression of gifts in return for tinned milk and soap labels, whilst there are so many important matters needing reform. After all the Gift System is only an obscure form of time payment and if a needy housewife can obtain a kitchen dresser on time payment, why not a tea towel or a tea pot.
Finally isn't it fully time for us to muster our courage and fight Sectarianism. The R.C. Church has sub rosa packed our Parliaments, Civil Service and Education Department with its adherents, although numerically they are less than one to three, yet we are frightened to say so.
Whilst there was a preponderance of R.C. jockeys in the saddle Labour could do no wrong according to the R.C. Church, but now that some Communist jockeys are climbing into the saddle, the R.C. Church grows critical of the Labour Party. In other words
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for Australia to be guided politically by an alien church in Italy is good, but for Australia to be guided politically by an alien political party in Russia is too horrible to contemplate.
Only that the Just would perish with the Unjust I could wish that Chifley, like Blind Samson, might pull the National Structure down upon his own head and those of his fellow traitors.
If you have followed me this far I feel that I have had ten bob's worth of your time and patience.
I wish you God speed in your work, don't let obstacles or disappointments discourage honest unselfish endeavour.
Truth is eternal and those who seek to destroy it perish in the end.
Yours sincerely,
(Signed) H.A. HALL.
CP/JMD.
St. George's House,
115 St George's Tce.,
Perth
1st November 1947.
H. A. Hall Esq.,
"Woopenatty,"
ARRINO.
Dear Mr. Hall,
I must first of all apologise for not having acknowledged your letter and your ver welcome donation before this, but I have been out of town for a few days and with other matters being rather pressing, I am behind in my correspondence.
I appreciate your letter very much, and may I say that I wish there were a few more 'aged stockmen' amongst us.
I shall have pleasure in discussing your letter with our Executive and with Mr. McLarty at the first opportunity.
In the meantime I hope you will let me write to you more fully at a later date, saying at this stage that I agree to a very great extent with all you have written.
I am enclosing a Membership Card, for you to sign if you so desire. I hope you will. Official Receipt attached and many thanks.
Cheerio for the present Mr. Hall,
Yours sincerely,
C Palmer
General Secretary.
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