WAR—ITS LESSONS

Evening Post, Volume CVIII, Issue 127, 25 November 1929, Page 8

WAR—ITS LESSONS

(To the Editor.) Sir,—l would like to comment briefly on certain o£ the points raised in the various letters of criticism written in reply to mine of 20th instant. (1) All of us are agreed that the Avar was a tragedy, and none of us would deny its horrors. Surely my letter was very definite on this point. (2) All of us agree that there were weak, despicable and unlovable characters amongst us. (3) All of us are fully aware of self-in-lnflicted wounds, firing-squads at dawn disease, etc. (4) None of us want to go through it ? tgat£- flFw-° f Us wanted t0 8° thr°u SQ it the first tune. (5) None of us will deny or wish to deny that the officers endured hardships and played their parts equally as well as the rank and file. (6) We all agree war is not a noble tning. Dealing with each of the above sis points of agreement individually, let us now ccc why our opinions subsequently diner so radically. (1) My critics are willing to condone a repiesentation of the grotesque as the usual,, provided that the people are sui(> ably impressed with war's horrors. Mv own opinion is that a perfectly true representation of the actual life at the war would be equally effective and more lasting ihe death of Lieutenant Osborne would bnng home to people, more acutely and intimately, the tragedy of war resulting m the loss of a fine man to his day and generation and the bereavement of a wife and family, than would all the hysteria of the remaining characters. People will not always believe that the war was all shade and no light. Winnot ackuowledge the light? (2) The vast majority or the men wero decent, likeable human beings, and very far removed from the morbid, faint-heart-ed creatures some would like to represent as normal products of war. (3) Far from being the common order ol the day, self-inflicted wounds and firingsquads were an* infinitesimal decimal of 1 per cent, of the total men involved and disease was remarkable by its low percentage under conditions calculated to promote it. The vast majority were healthy in mind and body. £ 4LMos^ of us ent through the war, not through a liking for such pursuits, but because we deemed it necessary The critics of our actions and ideals infer that we should have refused to fight and that the enemy was imaginary. Personally, I think that such' teaching tends to undermine our character individually and collectively as a nation It tends to dull our perception and asks us to bow to the whip of the master-bully. (5) Officers were usually fine men, just thp fT+f ? + iers< but that does not alter the fact that the war was mainly outside the officers' mess. It would be a change V S£V'? meA ranila or read some book which did not have an officer as the hero ffl m4.I SS as ,the centre of its The a°e ffir Cce r;ith elme c. IVeS W°Uld be the ** to (6) Whilst we aU agree that war is not a noble thing we should not blind ourselves to the fact that it set the stage for and induced many acts of heroism and self-sacrifice which have left the world richer than m 1914. Many of us * r ™ to Iw if 0UI" w, ar cx Perience helped to strengthen our character, broaden our outlook, and develop, the latent strength have Z BmtJW n'iV S DOthinS else c°"ld neve done. We believe it has helped us in oureveryday life; that it will contiul to stand by us, and through us benefit humanity as a whole. uenent summarise the position, my critics believe that the war was all tragedy dark am\tc lth ' aUd de Srada«°° I do'nt-I "AXF."