The Bay of Plenty Beacon Published Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 8th 1939 CALL FOR STEADINESS

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 1, Issue 60, 8 September 1939, Page 4

The Bay of Plenty Beacon Published Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER Bth 1939 CALL FOR STEADINESS

EMERGENCY conditions may naturally be expected to create a little nervousness, and it is only reasonable to expect a certain amount of re-action following the declaration of War. But in a country such as ours, thousands of miles removed from the scene of hostilities .deliberate scaremonger in g is an action to be utterly despised, a,nd should' be scorned as a; display of weakness and ill-balance. There is ever a section in every commun- ® ity which delights in vulgar sensation and the spreading of unfounded rumours and ridiculous stories which if given a moment s reflection will not stand consideration by any rational person. Unfortunately, although we 'pride ourselves ( on the progress we have mad'e : over the past twenty-five years, the _ herd instinct is still deeply ingrained, and' it is to prevent r some of the absurd statements from going the rounds and' doing their poisonous work, that we write as we do. The state of war, as far as New Zealand is concerned up to the present - is purely one of declaration. It has not made its influence felt in any manner other than those of our own creating. Yet we have withj us already, the hoarder, the sensation seeker, the i scaremonger. All these persons appear to take an unholy de- ; light in seeking to instil a feeling of fear amongst otherwise solid and well-balanced' citizens. Stories of raids on the Pacific coasts have led one frantic woman to make every possible effort to move inland from Ohope. A hoarded grocery supply has been displayed by one man who informs his neighbours that he will not be affected when the blockade is imposed. There are other and even more wicked rumours in circulation which must be combatted. Where are we drifting to if we are to tolerate the vicious work of these vulgar persons who exploit the present world emergency. New Zealanders should thank the fate that decreed their distant removal from the dreaded scenes of war. True there is a danger from possible raiders in the Pacific, True the possibility of our supplies being interfered with and even lost, but as far as the security of the people of the Dominion is concerned, at the present moment and provided Germany remains unsupported' their position is to be envied rather than feared. The example of the people of Poland, largely of peasant origin, is one whicfr should meet with our silent admiration. Not only are they the: immediate victims of the most powerful war-machine of the age but they are also subjected to bombardment, aerial attack, and incendiary and gas .bphjbiflgs. Yet reports state that Poland remains grimly .determined arid unmoved. This is not merely the military attitude, but is also applicable to the Polish populace as a people. What finer example of steadiness in the face of terrible and real emergency could be furnished. Take again the amazing calm of the English people themselves,, with all the major towns within comparative easy bombing reach of the German raiders. Their morale remains unbroken and ] there is too much to be done to be worried with the cheap in- '1 ventive storiesf'of the scaremongers. In New Zealand we should take pride at the manner in which the people in the Homeland { are meeting the; situation—-not begin to feel sorry for ourselves j The shortest shrift should be afforded the circulators of panic * tales, the foretellers of national disaster, or the selfish hoarders of commodities. If we had less of their influence and more t of .the steadier British traits there would be a far better nat- 1 ional reaction and a total absence of such pathetic incidents as of children deliberately injuring themselves in order to prevent their fathers going to the war.