"LEST WE FORGET!"

Press, Volume LV, Issue 16703, 11 December 1919, Page 5

"LEST WE FORGET!"

SOME HOME LESSONS OF THE "WAR. WHERE "WAS TnE LABOUR, TARTY? [An Open Letter to tho R-etiirnod Soldiers, their Ilclations and Friends.] Who stands upon tho ground that I "might is ripht" i Loosens the bonds of kinship 'tvrixt ! mankind; And opens up tho gates of hellish hato To flood the world with bitterness and strife. In tlio above verse is summarised the rliief lesson of the - .v;>r for all. The ■ Huns denied tlie moral law, maintained j that "night ri^ht, ; ' held that tho power to do anything (however bestial : or hellish) justified them in doing it, 'and were broken on tho wheel of God. | As an aftermath of this ghastly war, , which they instituted, we leara that i many thousands of their women and children have died of disease and starvation; wo pity these unfortunate victims of Germany's insano propaganda of hato. As a homo lesson of the. war, think! What would it have meant for our own women and c-hildren if Germany had won ilio war? In that case our Empire would have been shattered, this Dominion hocomo a German dependency, and in tho aftermath thousands of our women and children would Jinvo died of want, disease, and bitter suffering. To you 111011 01 our X.Z.K.F.. who have returned, we tender our heartfelt thanks for your noble fight for freo- ! donl, and we hold in reverence tho ! memory of our sacred dead who made their glorious sacrifice for liberty. WOMEN AND WAR WORK.

When you men wcro away what were tho people at home doing ? Well, many were working and so mo wcro. &mrKuig. Ihiring tlio war there were those wiio looked upon it as a timo to make moro wealth, and on tho other hand thoro woro many men of means svnd others who gave most lavishly in money, time, or service.-, "lor tho boys." Tin; women of our country in general ro.so to tho occasion, and to their everlasting credit worked, tended, and sacrificed lor the boys "over there"' as if each, man was their own son. Men of the returned forces never forget these wero they who ''kept tho home fires burning," and you may feel proud to hnve been in the fight tor such womon as thoso of your own little. Now Zealand. In all parts of the country —the Red Cro-s Societies, 1 .M.t.A., Patriotic. Societies, Church Societies (C'.itholio and Protestant), tho Commercial Travellers, Soldiers' Hostel Committees, the War Relief Societies, and numbers of other bodies wcro engaged constantly in relieving war distress, helping soldiers' dopondants, sending to tho front hospital supplies, money, extra, comforts, smokes, special parcels, and everything they could "for tho boys." Labour pcoplo soy the ''Government should have done all that." One of the lessons of tho war to us is that tho State machine is often slow and cumbersome, and the people, through their network of voluntary organisations, with thousands working without pay becauso it- was "for the boys," probably did the work quicker and more sympathetically than any State Department could.

NATIONAL GOVERNMENT. One important lesson of tho war is that in timo of upeeisil trial tlio laying aaido of party and forming a National Government proved highly beneficial. From tho time that tho National Government w;ia formed right on till its dissolution, tho pay, pensions, and benefits for tho wldiors and their dependants were steadily improved. All sorts of bodies urged the Government to mnko these improvements. It is ridiculous for the* Labour Tarty to poso os if it alone had done it. The Government might have moved quicker in eomo of these directions, but in fairness you have to remember that the Government did not know how long tho war would last, and, therefore, had to moro with caution. A CITIZEN ARMY AND PEACE. • By this war New Zealand- learned that it can raise a Citizen Army. '1 lie N.Z.E.F. was such. In tlio camp, and on the field, all sorts of citizens mixed and mated; men of means, and men without, employers and empioyi workers and capitalists, all could ijo found in our New Zealand Army. Nut means but morit counted, and men of huniblo origin gained hi'jii honours, and hold high rank. No vouiier your returned men are proud ot tho N.Z.E.I;. It j we, as a people, can create' this unity I in tiinc ot war, why should wc havo division in timo ot peace!- Did you men who bore tlio brunt of the war, and did the 16.000 who havo laid, down their lives in Gallipoli, in France. Belgium, Egypt and elsewhere, serve your countrv that you should como homo to find men fomenting class war m New Zealand, and stirring up strife which may end in civil war ? Are you not enttiled to peace now? WHERE WAS THE LABOUR PARTY? The present political Labour Party is very anxious to show its sympathy with you returned men now. At Mitcliehown, Mr Fraser spoke feelingly ' *of tl;° high ideals for which the men had fought." and yet the Labour Party, Mr Eraser included, puts Mr

Paddy Webb up on a pedestal as n hero, bceausc lie would not fight. The Labour Party, with an election looming, is strong for your gratuity, hut up till recently your Association fought the matter alone. "Beware of gifts from tho Greeks," which, being interpreted, wears. beware of those who oonie with gifts that they may use you to their own ends.

At tlio present time tlio Labour Party would, support 10s per day as a gratuity, if you asked_ for it. as it is out to buy support with support, and the gift would cost it. as a Party, just nothing. Mr Hirnm Hunter, of Christeliurch, as an officer of the Labour Partv or Federation of Labour —they are. Siamese twins—defined their position in respect to the war as one of "dignified neutrality." Think of it! You returned soldiers, whilst you were at the front, fighting and suffering for these men. they stood in a position of neutrality" between Britain and Germany! If there had been a sufficient number of<fools like these of the New Zealand Labour Party in tho liritish Empire, you would never have seen homo again, for tho German 'inkers would have walked over yopr dead and mutilated bodies to easy vie* Ictv. That is whero the men of the Official Labour Party were when you were at the war. "Dicrnificd neutrality,'' pah! You should give them a taste of it now. Whom was the Labour Party when you wero at the front? Answer: Spending most of its time shielding tho shirkers. You cannot fight battles with rose water and kid gloves. This is the time for plain, blunt speech. During the war the Labour Party said it believed in "a Citizen Army, on a voluntary basis." It did practically nothing io support volunteering, and thereby helped to bring in conscription. 'Whilst tho voluntary system was in force Mr Semplc. at a "public meeting in Wellington, said, ''Let Mr Massey get amongst tho rich sqnatters, and ask them to send their sons to tho front," and tho Labour Party opposed the Military Service Act, which did tbo very tiling Mr Semplo asked to bo done—it '"sent the rich squatter's son." the same as overvbodv else's sons. "When tho lied Cross Societies and kindred bodies were helping the sick and wounded soldiers, and caring for their dependents, where was tno _ Labour Party. With verv few exceptions its mpniDfirs were mainly conspicuous by their _ absonce. The" time you know your friends is when you are in trouble. You liavo your own Returned Soldiers' Associations, and Colonel Mitchell was right when he said. "You want no favours from thoso who would liavo let yon down in the war." If the lead which wa« given by the N.Z. Labour 1 arty hnd been adoDtcd by all, then you men would liavo been let down properly, indeed yon would liavo been trampled down * under the Jack-boots of the brutal Huns. Nothing could have saved vou from it. That is the home lesson "of tho war, for you and for us all. TAbtt.]