The ODD ANGLE

Auckland Star, Volume LXXII, Issue 291, 9 December 1941, Page 6

The ODD ANGLE

(By MacCLURE)

• THE "CONCHIES'" POSITION Now that our little island home has declared itself at war with the three major Powers of Germany, Italy and Japan (to say nothing of the three lesser States of Finland, • Hungary and Rumania), this clothing, bedding, feeding and medical care of the "conchies" and defaulters in our midst must be viewed in a different light. Every man in New Zealand has now a front-line job • awaiting him. The spectacle of aged | returned soldiers and others defend-, ing "conchies," preparing their food and serving it up to them as well as caring for their folks is a disgusting one and one that would not be tolerated in any sane country— not at this critical stage of its existence. Yesterday's events has entirely altered the "conchy's" standing. He is a menace—just as those who, by their foolish and misplaced sympathy for him, are a menace— to our own women and children —to > our efficient defence of the country I —and to their own kith and kin. • "THOU SHALT NOT KILL" The old saying, "A little learning is a dangerous thing," is aptly illustrated by the so-called "Christian" pacifists who claim Biblical authority for refusing to kill in the interests of the State. Any Christian who knows his Bible must know the first seven Commandments carry the death penalty for any infringements of them. "Thou shalt not kill," is one of these seven. And just there is a first-class problem for the pacifist who insists on a literal carrying out of that particular Commandment. To insist means he must insist on the penalty —death—capital punishment—being carried out on him who breaks it. There is no quibbling here. The Bible is explicit on that point. Somebody must carry it out. Who? If the "conchy" refuses he refuses to carry out the Biblical code—if the Biblical code be insisted upon. To refuse to carry out a Biblical injunction is to merit death—according to his own Bible—that is to say, his own interpretation. Even Einstein could not work this one out. Paradoxical as it sounds, to refuse to kill in the service of the State brings the death penalty on he who refuses —the "conchy's" own logic is at fault somewhere. Where? I leave that to him. • YESTERDAY AND TO-DAY When the Hun is poor and down He's the humblest man in town. But once he climbs and holds the rod, He smites his fellow-man—and God. —So wrote Jacob Cats, a 17th' century poet and humorist of the Netherlands. • THE COST OF LIVING Leaving Old Alf to his own gloomy forebodings, I slipped up to Grafton Cemetery and lay full length alongside an old Maori War veteran's grave and meditated on the impending tragedy. If we'd only had a hint we might have staved off this tragic turn ,of events. As I idly watched a gravestone slide aside I saw a ghost-like head emerge. It carried a torch and, as it turned it on me, temporarily half-blinding me, it chuckled horribly. "Put out that torch," came the strident tones of an air-warden. Dousing the glim it joined me and I told it the whole sad story. "If Feeble does marry again he's only got the old-age pension to live on—even if his bride has one they'll never be able to live like human beings on £3 a week— unless, of course, the Government gt-ants them an increase to offset the fearful rise in the cost of living." With a bony finger the ghost made a rapid calcular on a gravestone. "You T re right, Mac," it admitted, "unless they come up here—this is the only cheap place I know of—the cost of living never bothers us at all —not up here." That's one solution.

• HAWAII

There's so many angles to this Japanese business that it might pay us to go back to school for a few minutes and see what we can find out about Hawaii and the Philippines generally and Japan in particular. Hawaii is the English spelling of the Owhyee of Captain Cook. It was ] here he was killed in 1779. Termed "The Cross Roads of the Pacific," the I . Hawaiian Islands number 20 in all, | only nine of them being inhabited, i 1 Extended in length for 390 miles i from north-east to south-west, the j f islands are mountainous and volcanic i i in origin, filled with extinct volca- i - noes. Always popular as a tourist' r resort upwards of 50,000 tourists I r visit Hawaii every year by luxury' 1 liner and Pan-American Clipper ser- i 1 vice alone. The capital, Honolulu, ! 2 has a population of round about < 2 160,000 and the total population is I 5 (1930 census) one-third of a million divided into the following princi-1 pal race-groups:—Native Hawaiian,' 22,000; Caucasian-Hawaiian, 20,000;; Asiatic Hawaiian, 20,000; Portuguese, 2 30,000; Chinese, 30,000; Japanese, f 155,000; Filipino, 55,000, and 70,000 y listed Caucasian. I • PEARL HARBOUR s Honolulu, on the island of Oahu, is l the capital and chief commercial city I - and port of the islands. It has a - fine natural harbour and is never k hotter than 88 degrees nor colder * than 55 degrees. The United States J Government maintains a large army 1 post on this island, with peace-time quarters for a division of 30,000 men at Schofield Barracks and its subsidiary ports. The Navy Department has a large base at Pearl Harbour - with dry dock. There are also an - aviation station and radio station. • In view of the threat to Hawaii of - recent years, the United States Gov- } ernment has spent large sums on equipping the Hawaii National >. Guards, and, since the outbreak of - this war, immense sums on the j island's defences. - • MANILA BAY f 1 - The Philippines, the largest island t group in the Malay Archipelago, . were, as every school boy should . know, dis'covered by Magellan in 1521, and conquered by Spain in 1565. They were ceded to the United States by the Treaty of Paris in 1898 following the Spanish-American War. r Admiral Dewey, it may be rememr bered, destroyed the Spanish Fleet I in Manila Bay (May 1, 1898) and - United States forces three months . later captured the capital, Manila. - There are over 7000 islands in all > the group and the Philippines extend I - 1150 statute miles from north to i south and 682 miles from east to i west. The largest of these islands i s is Luzon, on which is the capital, In! f Manila Bay. It would be a difficult » matter to efficiently man the coastf line with its 11,444 statute miles, r much of which provides ideal cover r for enemy craft. There are 21 fine i. harbours and eight land-locked b straits, and Manila l3ay has an area B 712 s SV are "s es v a circumference i of 120 miles nnd is the flnrfg* *Siftrb6iijr in the entire Far East. - J