PROBLEM OF PEACE

Evening Post, Volume CXXIII, Issue 1, 2 January 1937, Page 12

PROBLEM OF PEACE

ROTARY COULD HELP FRIENDLY DISCUSSIONS (From "The Post's" Representative.) LONDON, December 9. Sir Norman Angell was the chief speaker at the annual dinner of Colwyn Bay Rotary Club (North Wales). He remarked that Rotary could play a great part in the establishment of peace if it realised that what the world needed was understanding, particularly of the errors which led to war. It served no purpose at all to tell the world that peace was better than war, because the world knew that already. The problem of peace consisted in finding out why it was that the will to peace was frustrated. It was clear that the nations were more or less working on a line which was certain to lead to war, and what Rotary could do would be to insist that divergent views be discussed in an atmosphere of friendliness.

"I urge that we cannot exclude from Rotary," said Sir Norman, "questions of politics and religion, because all questions are questions of politics and religion. Rotary can establish a new standard of intellectual contact by insisting that people of contrary views shall discuss their differences like civilised men. The main object of Rotary is to secure discussion of differences not in an atmosphere of passion but in an atmosphere in which each is trying to understand the point of view of the other." He recommended the establishment of a fact-finding commission which would discover whether Germany was at a disadvantage in buying materials. If such was the case the commission should pledge itself ready to adjust the inequality. Germany should also be invited to accept the principle of arbitration and to undertake not to upset the status quo by war. Further, she should be asked to stand for the creation of organs of peaceful change, organised to deal with economic difficulties as they arose.

If Germany accepts those conditions, he went on, she has, in fact, accepted the League of Nations. Until she does so we should combine our power with those who do accept, such principles, and make clear that for the purposes of defence our power is pooled with theirs; that an attack on one is an attack on all. But make it clear also that such a policy does not involve the encirclement of Germany, that there is a standing invitation for her to come in, and that, such a combination claims for itself no principle of security it does not as willingly accord to others. Membership would defend Germany as much as any other nation belonging to the combination. That is not encirclement, and it would be the road to peace.