THOUGHTS FOR THE DAY

Dominion, Volume 37, Issue 123, 19 February 1944, Page 6

THOUGHTS FOR THE DAY

Comments —Reflections

“It is not often that Ministers are modest.” —Mr. Herbert Morrison, M.P.

“If the mothers of Hitler and Mussolini had only spanked them when they deserved it, the world would be better today.”—The Bishop of Rochester. ”* * * “It is amazing to see the amount of money being spent in Germany and the light-heartedness with which it is used,” says “Il Corriere del Ticino,” of Lugano, Switzerland. “The chance of acquiring anything at all must be seized. People rarely ask about the price, and the quantities usually offered for sale are likely to astound anyone who, coming from Switzerland, has not yet lost all sense of the buying power of money. It should be noted, too, that the strong desire to acquire something at any cost is not restricted to the wealthier classes. ‘The price does not matter’ seems to be a catchword, whether it is a question of theatre tickets, cigarettes, liquor, clothes, carpets, jewellery, or furniture. Sometimes the impression is created that money has’lost all its value or in the view of the general public, there is no further point in saving.”

“Don’t you find it sometimes quite startling to discover ‘for how very short a period of their lives famous men and women have been actually in power? Perhaps the most drama tie example of a telescoped career was Lord Randolph Churchill, the father of our Prime Minister. In 1880 Lord Randolph was little more than an agreeable man of the world, pleasureloving and pleasure-seeking, who allowed bis Parliamentary duties as member for Woodstock to sit very lightly on him. In 1885 he could be considered as one of the four—one might say one of the three men—who really counted in British politics; in 1890 he was just a political’ ghost fitfully haunting the Chamber which by his forceful genius he had once dominated and inspired; in 1895 the fiery spirit was extinguished. It was as if a star had suddenly shot up to dazzle the whole social and political world, and then as suddenly plunged itself into utter and outer darkness. Lord Randolph’s life was a short one, as he always expected it to be, but all that he did and dared was accomplished in an eighth of it, in a little over six years.”—Sir George Arthur.

“As the figures show,” points out the “News Chronicle” of London, “12 per cent, of America’s total war expenditure goes in lend-lease, as against 10 per cent, of Britain’s total war expenditure. We owe it to ourselves to get these facts into perspective because, when the war is over, nothing could more readily poison the present atmosphere of goodwill than misunderstandings about the basis and structure of the Allied war effort. At the moment, it is easy enough to see how futile and irrelevant it is to try to assess the separate value of the various Allies’ contributions in terms of pounds and dollars. Collectively, thSy have made possible the redemption of the world from tyranny and fear. But who can find a cash equivalent for lives that have been sacrificed and. the hopes that have been blasted in the process? By inventing lend-lease the American nation has made an invaluable contribu-' tion to the technique of international co-operation. This conception must not be limited to a war expedient, but must become a permanent element in international relations.”

“In a forest cabin a few miles north of Oslo Elvind Berggrav is held as prisoner, with 12 soldiers keeping guard. All Norway knows that he is there—the chief Bishop of the Norwegian Church —and that, however straitened his bodily movements may be, nothing can chain his free spirit. He is not allowed to see even his wife or children. No one can approach him. No one can write to him about the affairs of Church or nation. Yet, in spite of such compulsory silence, his very captivity is eloquent. He is another symbol in the midst of darkness of the glory and the power of God, owing his imprisonment to his refusal to disobey’ the Eirst Commandment, ‘Thou shalt have none other gods before Me.’ Norwegians are a strong patriotic and determined people in whose soul religion strikes deep. Most of their life is a struggle with Nature —the farmers struggle with the soil, the rocks, and the woods; the fishermen battle .with the sea, sailing out in open boats in all kinds of weather, and never knowing who will return. Life is hard, death is not far away, courage and faith are unfailing.”—Dr. Bell, Bishop of Chichester.

“The logistic problems involved in a major push against Burma are tremendous. According to the best available information the Japanese forces in Burma nqmber around 150,000, of which only about 60,000 are believed to be first-line combat troops. Against this figure the Allies have an estimated 1,000,000 well-trained and well-equipped troops in India ready for action, and at least another 150.000 British and Americans who probably can be brought from the west. Yet coinpara-, tive figures tell only part of the story, for the logistic factors of distance, terrain, supply routes and communications reduce the number of combat troops at Lord Louis Mountbatten’s disposal to the number he can supply in Burma. Brigadier Wingate proved conclusively in north Burma that longdistance jungle penetrations could be made with purely air-borne supplies. The relative cost of sustaining by air large, long-distance penetration parties is not so great as might be supposed. One squadron of 20 transport planes can maintain one brigade in action and supply it with all the heavy equipment that can be used effectively in jungle operations.” —“Christian Science Monitor.”

To Mr. Churchill.

Soldier, Scribe, Statesman, Orator, Heaven-sent man of many parts, Star that shone in the darkest dark, Voice like a trump that quickened hearts To keep inviolate freedom’s spark. Churchill, go on-with giant might, And weave the new-world pattern right. —From “Windows and Whispers,” poems by the Rev. Carey Morton.