The Dominion SATURDAY, APRIL 18, 1942. WHAT DO THESE THINGS MATTER TODAY ?

Dominion, Volume 35, Issue 173, 18 April 1942, Page 6

The Dominion SATURDAY, APRIL 18, 1942. WHAT DO THESE THINGS MATTER TODAY ?

Citizens reading their daily newspapers during the past two weeks must have been struck by the futility of many of the discussions at the Labour conferences at a time when the attention and eneigies of everyone should lie concentrated on the one vital thing that matters. What will the sheaf of resolutions on topics ranging from job control down to the question of corporal punishment in schools amount to if this country is overrun and conquered by the Japanese? I lie whole business is utterly incompatible with the grim tealities of the wai situation. People talk with confidence about the final victory when the immense and overwhelming resources of the United Nations will be brought to bear on our enemies with decisive effect, but how many pause to reflect that it is what is done today, and every day from now on by every individual citizen, that must count in the sum of these resources ? Wars are not won simply by hopes and confidence m the future, . but by action immediate and concentrated. We have before us the tragic lesson of Singapore as a warning of the danger of complacency. To the great majority of the people of Singapore—this on the testimony of witnesses on the spot—what has happened in the Malay Peninsula and to the famous British Base had been previously considered unthinkable. Yet it happened. Also before us is the spread of the Japanese invading hordes throughout the East Indies, into Burma, even touching ports of India, into the Indian Ocean, the air attacks on Australia, and very definite warnings of attempts on this country. Yet there is strangely lacking among a certain section that spiiit of intense urgency that should mark not only our defensive preparations but also a determination on the part of all to abandon interests and activities that have nothing to do with the war and its obligations. The feeling appears to be too prevalent that everything will be all light unless anything happens, that after all, nothing may happen, and if it does happen it may be a hit-and-run affair of little consequence to our own security, even if it does some damage. Such a state of mind simply plays into the hands of the enemy, and might play havoc with our security. ’ What, we have to do is to make certain of the present, ine future then may be safely left to take care of itself. In many parts of the country, noticeably in the rural districts, people are taking thenresponsibilities very seriously, giving every hour of their former leisure, and cutting into their business time, to preparations against enemy attack. These people realize that if an attack is to be made, it may come at any time, without warning or indication of its nature and extent. Every day that passes is so much respite, but each should leave its mark in a further step toward the highest state of preparedness our resources will permit. We should never allow ourselves to be satisfied that everything possible is being done, or has been done, and we must realize, as some people seem unable to do, that party politics and other interests and activities which seemed to us important elements in the routine of our existence as a nation in peacetime are sheer futilities compared with the stern exigencies of the present emergency. These things matter nothing today. The only thing that matters—or should matter—is the safety of our country, of our homes, of our wives and families, and what further effort each of us can make to assist in what should be the common cause.