NO MORE POLICE?

Evening Post, Volume CVIII, Issue 76, 26 September 1924, Page 6

NO MORE POLICE?

I "Numerous cNo more war' demonstrations are being held i throughout the United Kingdom," said a message dispatched from j London on Monday, and doubtless many other demonstrations of the [ same kind took place at the same tirue or during the week-end in | other parts of the world which were I not considered worthy even of an equally bald announcement. From Geneva alone has come a report with some detail and life in it. As the eyes of the world are on Geneva just now, and the eyes of Australia may be supposed to be on Mr. Charlton, her delegate to the League of Nations, the AustralianNew Zealand Cable Association did well to make an exception in favour of a meeting'addressed by Mr. Charlton and other delegates. Mr. Charlton's performance was indeed of a kind well deserving special treatment. Addressing a polyglot crowd, he spoke for ten minutes " at the rate of at least 220 I words a minute," after which it is not surprising to learn that he had little voice left. But the wonder is increased by the fact that he was speaking in French. "Apparently," says our .report, with a dry humour which is as welcome as it is rare in a cablegram, " some understood, though Mr. Charlton was speaking in. French, for he was loudly cheered." It is to be feared that the inference is not justified? Any Frenchman who addressed an English-speaking crowd in English at the rate of 220 words a minute would be sure of a rousing reception, and the chances are that the loss intelligible his speech the louder would be the applause. Mr. Charlton may have benefited in the same way. But whether anybody understood him or not—the reporter may, of course, have been favoured with a translation afterwards—Mr.. Charlton's was a noteworthy linguistic performance in more senses than one, and Australia's sporting interest in records should ensure the prophet the honour to which it entities him in his own country. He has, however, prejudiced his chances by forgetting the obligations of the trust committed to him as Australia's official representative and making a party, speech winch attacked the policy of the Government to whom he owes his appointment. "If Labour were returned ab the elections," said Mr. Charlton, " as he believed was certain, its first step would be to wipe out compulsory training." Labour s ideals of peace could have been quite effectively advocated without airing Australia's party quarrels before a foreign crowd and it was indecent to air them Irom a platform to which he only gained admission as the official representative of the whole nation, buch a performance may well cause Mr. J. H. Thomas .to doubt whether his !dea of having Oppositions represented as well as Governments at the Imperial Conference will really make for harmony and efficiency. v £ he res°lutions passed at the Ao more war" meetings in this country have, so far as we have observed, followed much the same .general lines and those of a comprehensive and innocuous character. They express " abhorrence of war and militarism "; they declare it to be " the duty of all peoples and Governments to strive for universal disarmament " • they favour "the peaceful settlement oi disputes and the promotion of international co-operation," and a strengthened and enlarged League of Nations. There is nothing iv all these generalities which any decent citizen can refuse to support, but his support would be more hearty if the promoters of the movement were more candid and specific in the exposition of their methods and could satisfy him that they have not at the back of their minds some practical remedy absolutely certain to aggravate the disease. "No More War" is an admirable aspiration, but so is "No More Burglary." The abhorrence of war and militarism" is not a more laudable sentiment than the abhorrence of robbery and arson. The only arguable question on any of these cases is a matter of ways and means. ■■ Abstract denunciation of things that everybody abominates is useless. The real point is, What are we going to do about them? It would surely be time to part company with the promoter of abhorrence of burglary and arson if we found that what he was really after was the abolition of the policeman. More eloquent and more hopeful than all the oratory of the "No More War" propaganda is the touching recognition by the great Peace Parliament at Geneva that it is not to the righteouiiAesa! of its cause aoi; 4« .tlie

excellence of its machinery that the peoples must look for protection against " war and militarism" but to the British Navy.