THE WAY TO FREEDOM FROM WANT

Evening Post, Volume CXXXVIII, Issue 152, 26 December 1944, Page 4

THE WAY TO FREEDOM FROM WANT

In an address on the eve of Christmas, the leader of the delegation of British .farmers, Mr. James' Turner, gave expression to ...sentiments which will meet *Mffi:rthe*~c6mmendation and support of all people of good will. In stressing/th'e'need for a closer understanding between the primary producers of the Empire, Mr. Turner looked bsyond the material reward that such an understanding would bring to those who were a party to it. He saw in the needs of the peoples of the war-ravaged countries of the ■world an.-opportunity for those who earn their •• livelihood • from the land

to make a. real and lasting contribution to the cau'se-of international amity and peace. A closer understanding between the farmers of the Empire, he said, would help to achieve freedom from the hunger that would-follow in the wake of war, and would then play its part in achieving freedom from want. "We believe," he said, "that a distribution of the world's food resources to the maximum good of mankind will do much to remove the causes of unrest —a well-fed nation, like a well-fed man, is less warlike than one that is hungry." ; .

One of the greatest tragedies of war is the-; suffering _ that is imposed on the innocent. Today there are millions of men, women, and children who

for. years have not known what it is to be sufficiently fed and clothed. As the day of liberation draws near, plans are being made by UNRRA to bring relief as soon as the oppressed lands of Europe and the Pacific are freed. But UNRRA's- task is. an immediate one, and wany years will elapse before those countries which for so long have been in the front line of battle will be able to hope for complete recovery. The task which confronts those favoured nations of the world which have escaped the real tragedy of war is to assist them to recovery to the limit of their ability.-" This will call for long-range planning. What countries are in a better position to .initiate this v/ork than the countries; of the British Empire, and what section is better qualified to give a lead than the men who produce the goods—food and clothing—which the peoples of the oppressed nations will so greatly need? Unless there is human happiness the world over there can be no lasting peace, and. an essential element in achieving this is an assurance that all will be sufficiently fed and clothed. If, by the co-operation which Mr. Turner envisages, it is possible to bring Jhis about, the hopes of a warweary world will come closer to realisation.