HOPE FOR WORLD

Auckland Star, Volume LXXII, Issue 229, 27 September 1941, Page 7

HOPE FOR WORLD

SCIENCE AND PEACE Vital Factor In Preparation For Victory Bnttsil Omoal \Vtrr**s*. Rec. 2 p.m. RUGBY, Sept. 26. A message from the Prime Minister, Mr. Churchill, was read when the three-day conference of science and new world order opened in London to-day under the auspices of the British Association. Mr. Churchill said: "One of our objects in fighting this war is to maintain the right of free discussion and the interchange of ideas. In contrast to the intellectual darkness which is descending on the freedom our scientists enjoy is a valuable weapon to us, lor superiority in scientific development is a vital factor in the prepare tion for victory.

"The presence of representatives of so many different nations is a striking proof," he said, "of the universal desire for the liberty of thought which the all-powerful Gestapo would never entirely stamp out. It will take a long time for civilised Powers to repair the trail of material and moral havoc which the Germans leave behind them. It will require all the resources of science. But I look forward to the day when the scientists of every nation can devote all their energies to the common task." The conference was opened under the chairmanship of Sir Richard Gregory with a discussion on "Science in Government.* , Selene* and Hunan Betteraeat Presiding at the afternoon session of the British Association Conference where the scientists of many nationalities of world reputation are meeting to make their contribution towards the planning of a new world order in which the resources of science will be used for the betterment of the human race and not misused to degrade and destroy it, the American Ambassador, Mr. J. G. Winant. said. "In my judgment the first service that may be rendered by science to human needs at the moment is integration of scientific methods and applied science in support of the Allied armed forces that are organising to destroy Nazi power. It has, with relentless efficiency and cruelty, degraded the dignity of the individual and attempted to abolish the rights of man. "Nazi-ism has stolen and run amok with the great inventions of free and inquiring minds, and is using them not to liberate but enslave the ; human spirit. Yet men of progressive minds cannot meet in these troubled times without daring to look beyond the war to victory and peace and to consider the re-establishment of science in the service of a constructive civilisation with a greater consciousness of the need for international science as the servant of mankind. We must recognise already that, when we leave the battlefields of this war we shall move into a wounded world of immediate needs and crowded wants. "The hewing, hands of science and the constructive powers of mechanical arts form an essential part of any new world in our great effort to reestablish the political rights which are necessary if we are to have scientific progress and free minds. "Let us never forget the obligation o. science."' he concluded, "to satisfy the primary needs of man so that the essentials oi life are recognised equajly as part of the rights of man. This is necessary if we are to have security. We must abolish hunger and the sword as a means of forcW labour. In that way only can we give a meaning to that equality which proclaims for all men everywhere the rights of life, of liberty and of the pursuit of happiness."

WELFARE OF NATIONS World Co-operation Instead Of Competition HOME SECRETARY'S VIEWS UrtJiMi Official Wlree««s. Rec. 2 p.m. RUGBY, Sept. 26. Mr. Herbert Morrison, Home Secretary, speaking at the British Association Conference, said that he was speaking for himself and not as a member of the Government when ne urged the abandonment of the familiar party politics in Parliament after the war. "The politician with n»s ear to the ground must give way to statesmen with eyes on the future." Mr. Morrison said that a scientifically defined welfare standard created an opportunity for international co-operation instead of affording occasions for destructive competition. "Within the limits of the British Empire we have in the colonies a field that cries out for development on these lines. What is true of the colonies in themselves and of their relation to us is true of every economically backward country in the world. All are awaiting the help we can give. What is true of Britain is true of the United States. 'There is but one basis upon which the economic relations of Britain and America can avoid collision and shipwreck after the war—a conception of positive economic welfare as the mainspring of policy at home and abroad. In this both partners can find an outlet for their surplus materials and labour. Both our dignity and our interests require that we be the directors and not the victims of technical and scientific advance."