WAR TO END WAR

Grey River Argus, 20 March 1940, Page 8

WAR TO END WAR

Lord Cecil [British Official Wireless.] (Received March 19, 5.5 p.m.) RUGBY, March 18. Broadcasting on Monday, Lord Cecil said that for the last twentyfive years his sole interest in public affairs had been to work for peace, /liter reviewing Nazi aggression in Europe which had brought about the present conflict, Lord Cecil said that, for many years past, the Prussian rulers had been guided by the doctrine that whatever Germany did was right, and they maintained that obedience to the German State took the place of all morality. “In the end,” he continued, “the worship of the State means the worship of a force. The question thus raised is vital for the future of us all. Is force, and nothing else, to govern the relations between States ? If it is so, that means complete international anarchy. Surely we must carry on and complete the attempt begun at the end of the last war to create a more reasonable system of international life. There is no overwhelming difficulty in providing machinery which will secure the supremacy of law among nations, as among men, if we really mean to do it. It is not a simple matter, but certainly, with faith and singleminded effort, it can be done. Indeed, it has already been done in several parts of the world.” He’instanced how a few centuries ago, Britain, France, Germany, Italy and Spain were split up into a number of warring States, but now, he said, they were united into larger unities. Step by step they must do the same for Europe. The League of Nations was a first attempt, and it very nearly succeeded. The causes for its nonsuccess must be sought out, and remedied, and a start should be made to build again A European united states. That was our goal, which we could reach if we were really in earnest. For peace the first step was to slop aggressive war. That was why t'.ie nation a nobler cause for which we were now at war, and never had to fight. “When it is over,” he added, “we must reconstruct interna--1 final organisation for peace on a basis of the principle that aggressive «'ar is an international crime, which it is alike the interest and duty of decent nations to extirpate with all their strength.”