THOUGHTS FOR THE DAY

Dominion, Volume 34, Issue 123, 18 February 1941, Page 6

THOUGHTS FOR THE DAY

Comments —Reflections

“Character is higher than intellect. Thinking is the function; living is the functionary. The stream retreats to its source.” —Emerson.

“It is a good thing to remember that the United States is getting a. great deal in return for what it is doing to aid Britain's war effort. Major-Gen-eral James E. Chaney, who recently returned to New York from an observation trip to England, pointe out that the United States Government is receiving for nothing from the British Governient technical information and scientific data ‘worth hundreds of millions of dollars.’ Without this information, based on war experience, which the Government passes on to designers and manufacturers, the United States should today be arming with obsolete weapons.”-—New York “Sun.’

"At the palace of All Pacha Byron saw 'the wild Albanian kilted to his knee, with shawl-girt head and ornamented gun, and gold embroidered garments.’ Whether the fierce virtues and pride of these brave mountaineers whom Byron saw and admired, will enable them to win back their independence must remain iu doubt as long as this conflict, between Greeks and Italians lasts. If they saw their chance arid were well supplied with arms and munitions they might soon revive the fame that Byron celebrated : “ ‘Where is the foe that ever saw their back Who can so well the toil of war endure? Their wrath how deadly ' But their friendship sure.’

"They have old grudges against the Greeks, but it will be forgotten if Greek valour helps them to throw off the Italian yoke.”—“F.WH.,” in the “Birmingham Post."

"The truth is that Stalin has a much better idea of his country’s present weakness in the face of Germany than is generally held here. M, Molotov went to Berlin not because he wanted, to, but because it was politic, to say the least. Germany is now thinking very steadily of an extremely long war, a war in which the huge resources of the United States are going to be shared half and half with her main enemy. She must And some counter to this or resign herself to slow defeat. -Now Russia has the counter : she has the rich fields of the Ukraine, the mineral wealth of the Urals, and the oilfields of Baku. If some show of sharing this with Germany is not made Russia has good cause to fear that it will be taken. German troops face hers in Poland and they face hers again along the Rumanian border—-which runs through that vast plain of Southern Russia so like the fatal plain of Poland. By standing cold and aloof Russia would belie the promise of the Moscow pact and might find herself invaded.”—“Manchester Guardian.”

Goering, Goebbels and Himmler seem to think that hunger will mobilize public sentiment in the defeated countries against the British blockade, so that, the French, Norwegian, Belgian, Dutch and Danish peoples will come to regard Germany’s fight against Britain as their own fight against the threat of hunger and starvation. The Nazi politicians seem to think that hunger will make the conquered countries forget that it was Nazi aggression that caused the hunger. They also believe that German morale requires that the defeated countries go hungry while Germany has enough to eat. It appears therefore desirable, if not essential, to these Nazi leaders that there should be no equal and equitable distribution of food in Europe, and that the food deficiencies of the defeated countries should not be filled, but accentuated, as long as the blockade lasts. In every previous clash over the question of administrating the conquered territories the army lias lost; over Austria, Czechoslovakia and Poland. The last reports from the Continent indicate that iu this present conflict over the food supply for the territories conquered this year the army Is losing again, while the Goebbels-Himmler policy of kicking the opponent wbeu he is out seems to be winning. The Germans are now seizing foodstuffs systematically.”—New York "Sun.”

"All analysis leads to the conclusion that the dynamic partner in the SovietNazi pact is Hitler, and that so long as he remains undefeated by the British he is in a position to decide bow long the present pact shall remain unbreached. In this contract between two totalitarian States the term of its continuance depends simply upon the comparative military power of the iwo contracting parties’and upon the convenience of the more powerful party. The pact which brought together two parties of such unequal power was created by two forces of approximately equal strength operating from opposite directions. These two forces were Sta liu’s fear of the German military machine and Hitler’s desire to have a free hand to deal first with Poland and then with France and Great Britain. These forces were of equal strength only up to the time when Poland was conquered. After the defeat of Poland the factor of Stalin’s fear of the German might began to outweigh Hitler’s desire to restrict the war to one front. After the French disaster ■Stalin’s fear became far greater than before, while Hitler's anxiety to protect his rear in- the East almost disappeared. Since the failure of the German aerial attack either to prepare the way for invasion or to bring the British to terms, Hitler’s concern for protection of his Hank and rear has reappeared. The combination of Italy’s reverses in Greece with her naval losses has accentuated Hitler’s anxiety and has necessarily strengthened Stalin’s bargaining- power.”—Mr. Calvin B. Hoover in the "New YorkTimes Magazine." Forward. And this is the task before us. A task we may never shirk : In the gay time and the sorrowful time IVo must work, and do our work ; We must ma reh when the music cheers us. March when the strains are dumb. . Plucky and valiant, forward march! And smile whatever may come. Tor whether life is hard or easy. The strong man keeps the pace. For the desolate march, and the silent, The strong soul finds the grace. —Sangster.