The Gisborne Herald. IN WHICH IS INCORPORATED "THE TIMES." GISBORNE, WEDNESDAY, MARCH 10, 1948. NOBODY WANTS ANOTHER WAR, BUT

Gisborne Herald, Volume LXXV, Issue 22582, 10 March 1948, Page 4

The Gisborne Herald. IN WHICH IS INCORPORATED "THE TIMES." GISBORNE, WEDNESDAY, MARCH 10, 1948. NOBODY WANTS ANOTHER WAR, BUT

JpROMINENT men are no longer making any secret of their belief that the danger of a third world war is very real. Last Saturday the British Prime Minister, Mr. Attlee, was reported as saying: “We are all earnestly working for peace and earnestly hoping there will not be another war, but we must be prepared. We don't know what the next war, if it ever comes, will be like, but if another war comes it will come swiftly. There will be no time for training the citizen soldier.” Yesterday a published interview quoted Air Chief Marshal Sir Keith Park as stating that, while he did not feel war was inevitable in the near future, it was absolutely inevitable at some time in the future. Unlike so many men who speak in generalities, Sir Keith gave sound and practical reasons for his opinions. ITc added: “When you get a tremendously big Power behind an iron curtain educating its people from the kindergarten up that we are bad, vicious and dishonest, and intending to deprive us of our way of living, sooner or later you must get an explosion.” Most of us will still hope that long before explosion point is reached the Big Powers representing different political ideologies will have realised at last the truth that, strictly speaking, no nation or alliance of nations wins a modern war and that another world conflagration fought with new and terrifying weapons would probably finish off the process of destroying civilisation. Surely they will learn in time to prevent a catastrophe that, however we may disagree politically, it is bettor by far to go on disagreeing and arguing until a formula for the principle of “live and let live” lias been found and peacefully established. Rise of Bolshevism

There is a minority in the western democratic countries who will continue to blame the capitalistic system for the world’s ills, but it should be remembered that with capitalism has grown that rich possession, personal liberty, and with it, also, the great good inherent, in the Parliamentary set-up as we know it. Because wo have been afflicted with two major wars within 30 years, the capitalistic system has not had a fair chance to develop. Financial and economic troubles and the problem of huge debts have been a cruel legacy of these conflicts. And the political doctrine of the Communists has thrived on the human suffering entailed.

The seeds of a third world war were actually sown in the course of the Bolshevik revolution a little over 30 years ago. That revolution has done more than overthrow a ramshackle tyranny. As the shock of its upheaval passed, fair-minded people everywhere were anxious to understand the new Russia. When Russia became their ally in 1941 the democracies hoped that earlier antagonisms were gone forever. But they have learned, since the war. that communism is implacable. Its followers believe 'that there is no room for any political doctrine hut their own. If it were a tolerant creed, the nations would not he dividing into two separate and suspicious camps as they arc today. They would be working together to feed a hungry world and put the machinery of peace to full use. Mere differences over forms of government would not keep them apart.

The disturbing truth about the Soviet revolution is that, after 30 years, its leaders are as hostile to the outside world as they were at the start. They are still trying to stabilise their system by denying freedom to others. Within range of their own armies and political police in Eastern Europe this has meant the faking of elections and the judicial liquidation of patriots who dared to speak the truth. Further afield it has meant that small groups of zealots have abused the privileges of democracy and tried to create chaos. From that point of view, the preliminaries of the third world war have already started, and it is not hard to fix the guilt. Demands of Future Defence

The question for the democracies to face now concerns defence of their freedom and what is left of world peace. Obviously it would be fatal to bow to the will of the remorseless Kremlin. The only possible course is one of strength, backed by a determination to prove to the leaders of Soviet Russia that persistence with their type of aggression must eventually result in armed conflict. Once again there must be some attempt made to impress upon them that the spirit of “live and let live” is essential to enduring peace. The United States, which emerged more successfully from the recent war than any other nalion, has considerable armed strength at the present time, but that is largely the outcome of the atomic discoveries. In America the need for the universal training of manpower is recognised by the Administration. There is little doubt, that, whatever eventuates from the conception of a Western Union in Europe, Britain and America will always have a firm understanding on the requirements of their mutual defence. And that will be the surest guarantee that totalitarian aggression will be resisted to the utmost. For purely economic reasons Britain has had to take second place to the United States in the output and maintenance of ships, aircraft and weapons of all kinds for defensive purposes. That state of affairs cannot last for ever. She may never want to catch up with her powerful ally and she should never need to. Yet it is realised that, in conjunction with the whole of her Empire, she must forge ahead as progressively as she can with defence planning. New Zealand’s Sir Keith Park has submitted a strong plea for priority for air development and has supported his views with attempts to peer into the future and visualise the new forms war could take. The paramount need is that this pattern of possible future hostilities should be foreseen now and that adequate preparation should be made not only by America and Britain but also by the British Dominions.