UNITED IN FREEDOM'S CAUSE

Evening Post, Volume CXXXIII, Issue 133, 8 June 1942, Page 4

UNITED IN FREEDOM'S CAUSE

IJpited Nations Da^, to be observed throughout New Zealand on Saturday next, will serve two main purposes, It will give the people of the Dominion a unique opportunity to honour not only their own flag, but the flags of all nations ranged together in the fight against aggression, and it will provide evidence, by way of comprehensive military parades, of the state of preparedness that has been reached in this country. Although for reasons of security it has been necessary to withhold much information regarding New Zealand's defensive and offensive operations, the public will have judged that very considerable progress has been made in placing New Zealand on an efficient war footing, and they will welcome, the visual evidence, even if necessarily limited, of that progress, Particular interest will centre on the latest types of machines and weapons, recently brought to the Dominion, which Mr, Fraser says will have an important place in the military dissliP* MlfiMllgi Pj§& suck a vital

role in modern warfare ' that the presence in New Zealand of the latest types cannot fail to give rise to a feeling of confidence, as well as a feeling of gratitude to those who have supplied them.

New Zealand is one of a combination of twenty-seven nations which have pledged themselves to continue the present struggle until the removal from the earth of the menace of totalitarianism and all that it stands for. By reason of its geographical position and the Government's dcci' sion to observe United Nations Day on Saturday—a day earlier than the date set aside by President RooseveltT^-it will be the first of those nations to take part in the great demonstration of solidarity and mutual respect. The plans made by the Government, in co-operation with local bodies, are of a fittingly comprehensive nature, and if there is equal enthusiasm on the part of the public—and that should be assured—the occasion should be a notable one in New Zealand's history. In one respect the day is peculiar to the United States of America, for it is on June 14 each year that the peoples of the great Republic salute their flag, described by Mr. Roosevelt as "the emblem of our freedom, our strength, and of our independent nation under God," but with that width of vision which marks the true statesman Mr. Roose- j velt has given the day a new significance. While 130,000,000 free citizens of the United States honour the Stars and Stripes, they will honour, also the flags of those nations which stand proudly at their side in the greatest of all causes. It is in that spirit of real comradeship that the free peoples of the world, more determined than ever to retain their *own freedom and to bring the blessings of'freedom to all men, will next weekend dedicate themselves anew to the grim tasks that lie ahead.