NEW ZEALAND AND WAR.

Greymouth Evening Star, 23 August 1939, Page 3

NEW ZEALAND AND WAR.

1 r — , I [to the eoitok.J ; Sir,--With Western civilisation a. j house divided against itself, and war { lilcely to commence at almost any j hour, one wonders whether the efforts lof the people of this Dominion for a ' higher standard of life and greater I social .justice are not. likely to he in vain. Surely to-day there is a. crying | need for leadership of men in this jcountry with the strength and the will I io keep our people out of the throatenIcd European conflict. Or is owe again the nation's manhood to bo sacrificed by reason of the greed, fc ir. envy, hide, lust and. the debased instincts of certain nations? Violent'" and seli-centred and unprincipled emotions stall;, unashamed the lengli: t.ir! breadth of the civilised world. The notions. through their destructive ini-, pulses, threaten to perish at the bands; oi their own folly. Our supreme and only hope is that the world may find, tenders who will endeavour to remedy! the causes of these fears am! debased ( emotions. If this is not done the: hopes for the continued existence of, our civilisation appears to be a nega-j live possibility. Now, are the people of New Zealand with social services .••nd a standard of life that has. and is ( giving, a. lead to the world, going to remain. quiescent and see this country, embroiled in the threatened struggle,! a. struggle that, must inevitably wiww all civilisation and envelop ns all m a gloom as dark ns that ol the Dark Ages? Probably the Government, of tins countrv ten have little effect on, t.lm European situation, but. it can at • bnist demdo whether it. need sacrifice' its manhood on the altar of power.l politics and high finance in a. war wag-; < -d in :• foreign country. The complete j I’niility of past wars must, surely be l ;,i iwiil.. Now. human egoism may;

-■.a. o wwia ovei'-reach itself, deterioroting into violence, dominafion. brut wblH-s:;. u n I.u'iß Ic'l ac(|uisi I ivciiL-ss ■")■! bringing in its wake indisci'imin Me barbarism, cruelly, the massacre of mdlions. the destruction of the drainage of great cites, epidemics of conlegions diseases, the pollution of water supplies, the annihilation of children and women, and the destruction of civilisation. If Europe wars, must New Zonland join the degradation, at (<-;;;?(, (Ml required to do so in defence

of cur own shores? To-day there is an urgent need for an organisation

(>rt;in', fiir peace and representing (In; iiiMn body of opinion of the people of l'ii - eoHiii'." on this vital question. — You••••••. cl-'.. LIBERTY.