The Dominion. TUESDAY, JANUARY 17, 1911. METHODISM AND MILITARISM.

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 1027, 17 January 1911, Page 4

The Dominion. TUESDAY, JANUARY 17, 1911. METHODISM AND MILITARISM.

0 At the Primitive Methodist Conference yesterday a motion was carried, "That wo recommend our. Sunday School throughout the Dominion to adopt tho Boy Scout movement." The satisfaction With which most people, within and outside the ranks of Methodism, will receive this decision w r ill be greatly modified by the character of the debate upon the motion, for it would tw-difficult to imagine a more irritating slovenliness of thought than was exhibited by some of the opponents of the motion. AVc arc able to understand, while wo cannot approve, the Quaker attitude towards war, out between war and the peaceful training of boys to habits of Shortness and self-reliance there is so much difference that we are quite unable to understand tho attitude of the president of tho Conference and the Itey. E. Drake. It is a very great pity that neither Mr. Mann nor Mn. Drake favoured the Conference with a definition of "militarism,", for their failure to do so has _ left them in the position of having denounced as a frightful evil what everybody knows is a harmless and wholesome little movement. Wo feel sure, that Mr. Mann, who claimed to bo placing facts before the public, or, rather, before the Conference, was mistaking his opinions for facts; but we are open to correction, and we are ready to give an impartial hearing to any ' facts which will_ prove that the Scout movement is inflicting moral injury upon our boys. Nobody will question that Mr. Mann is sincere in his belief that "New" Zealand has gone .military mad," whatever that may mean, but niost people, and most good Christians will believe that no attitude could be more wrong-headed than that which is' revealed in such a statement as that "they did not want to teach the young pcoplo how to kill, but how to build up a splendid character and become of service to thoir fellows." This, we say, is wrong-headed; ior_ there could be 110 more absurd caricature of the Boy Scout movement than to say that it aims at teaching boys how to kill, and no greater injustice to tho movement than a failure to recogniso that it doos assist to build up tho character of the boys. ' They must be very fow indeed who are so brutal and inhuman as to_ love war, but to protest against military training for boys and young men is less a mark of tender and humano feeling than of a wilful blindness to tho fae'ts of life. While war is a possibility it is a crimo for a free nation to neglect to prepare itself against, destruction,, and he is really an'enemy of his country who counsels unpreparedness for war out of a dislike for .slaughter. 'One of the lay members of_ the Conference contributed ah admirable little speech to the discussion. "By sometimes neglecting to take the first step," ho urged, 1 "the Church had lost ground. It should take up this peace scout movement'arid', develop, it to,the .best j advantage." This is so obviously tho right view to take that wo are not astonished that tho Conference decided to take 110 notice of tho extravagant talk of tho president and his supporters. That the Methodist opponents of the Scout movement and of the recent military activities, of our country arc quite sincore we readily admit. The complaint against them is that thev will not begin to think clearly. How absurd is their dread of "militarism" will become quickly apparent to them if -they will _ set themselves to a careful examination of what "militarism" is and of the extent of tho danger that New Zealand will ever go "military mad." In point of fact tho danger has been all the other way.