Is War Inevitable?

Dominion, Volume 27, Issue 32, 1 November 1933, Page 11

Is War Inevitable?

Sir, —Allow me to congratulate your correspondent "Pro Pace" on the splendid sentiments expressed in his letter to you of October 2L Would that it were possible for his great ideals to be realised, blit, alas, I fear it cannot be. There must be some ’ means of avoiding overpopulation, and surely war, cruel as it is, is preferable to disease epidemics, which would be one of the other alterua- . fives. - Right through the Bible from beginning to end there have been wars and rumours of war. Did not our Lord say to Joshua, “Go‘forth and smite the Amorites and the Hittites, smite them hip and thigh until not one of them is left alive"? And His commands were faithfully carried out. On another occasion, if I remember aright, the Amalekites met a similar fate. As 1 have said before, anyone who has to deal with animals must realise that it is impossible to attain universal peace. Human nature, ambition, avarice, and other factors which can never he overcome are fighting against it. Take the sport of wrestling; in olden times this was always conducted fairly and strictly according to the rules. But now the more they kick and bite the better the majority of the audience appreciate the match. •■ No, it is waste of effort to strive after the unattainable, but let our best endeavours be directed toward eliminating chemical warfare. Personally, I would like to see mechanical methods in war done away with in favour of the old hand-to-hand style. History from the beginning of time has shown us that an undisciplined mob of human beings can be just as cowardly, cruel and lacking in all sense of fair play as a number of bulls among which a strange one has been turned. Unless a big stick is brought into play, the chances are that he will be killed. I suppose it is a reversion to the old law of the survival of the fittest. In every school the best fighter, provided lie is not a bully, is looked upon as a hero bv the other boys, and this will nlwavs be so. The surest deterrent to fightins is the fear that the other fellow may be too strong and well prepared. Therefore there can be nothing more certain than that nations which allow themselves to be lulled into a false sense of security by disarmament ideas will eventually'.go'under. The only possible insurance against war we can have is for a sufficient number of the Great Powers to combine and be prepared to enforce peace.—l am. etc., G. F. MOORE. 1 Bushy Park. October 30.