The Hawera Star. WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 17, 1924. THE DESIRE FOR PEACE.

Hawera Star, Volume XLVIII, 17 September 1924, Page 4

The Hawera Star.

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 17, 1924. THE DESIRE FOR PEACE.

"'“l)v*red e-eri evpning Dy S o’clock Id Hawern Vlaimia. N-rmanby Okaiawa, Eltham, Paleb, Waverley, Mokoia, Whakamara, 'Oiiicgi... Mero’-uero. Fr&eei Road, and MuDUtahi, Alton. Horleyville, Mangatoki. Kaponga. Awatuna, Opunake,

When the war ended there were millions of people who had a keen desire for peace and in their enthusiasm they thought that because the horrors of war were so fresh in mind almost automatically peace would follow the cessation of hostilities. But the question of whether the nations were in a fit state for peace was hardly given a thought. The war was'over, and in the excitement of waging ,it people had thought that it was the war to end war. Then came the very difficult task of framing the peace treaties and giving effect to the conception of the League of Nations, work which occupied many months and which still left many great problems to be tackled. People thought that the League would act as some magical power, and that it would make war impossible, but as time passed it was found that some of the members of the League were reluctant to leave to it the settlement of. dis putes in which they were interested parties. Nevertheless the League worked steadily and unostentatiously, and it has to its credit some important achievements—the settlement of the Aaland Islands dispute, the loan to Austria to restore her to economic health, and the campaign against typhus in Central Europe. The early enthusiasm and hope in the League gave place to doubt, but recent months have found that a wider and deeper interest is being taken in it, and in various countries a strong desire for peace and disarmament is being expressed. Unfortunately the desire for peace cannot alone prove effective for to cure the disease of war the world must eradicate the cause. We suppose that it will be generally agreed that the cause of war is the unrestrained ambition of one Power to take from another something which the former does not possess. Germany’s ambition, based upon the Bismarck-Nietzsche doctrines of supermen, led to'her challenging the world; the German people had been educated to believe that they should fight to gain something whieh they did not possess and which they could secure by military operation. Similar ambi tions on a smaller scale iead to sectional and individual disputes which arise from time to time; indeed, it is only a question of degree. There appear to be two methods of securing permanent peace—take away the desire to fight or keep a great force in readiness to overpower any nation which sets out to make war. The former method at best must be slow and tedious, for it means that human nature must be changed, and we doubt very much if that is possible. The latter method raises difficulties, as shown by a statement in a cable message published on Saturday. But difficult as the problem of laying down imperishable foundations for the permanent peace of the world is proving to be, the fact that such a strong desire is being manifested must be regarded as very important, for consistent efforts to inculcate the spirit of peace may be expected to lead to greater attempts being made to find a solution of the problem. Various suggestions are being put forward, among the most interesting being that of Sir lan Hamilton, who thinks that an international federation of ex-fighters would be effective. Possibly it would have an important influence during the lifetime of this generation, but gradually the federation would grow weaker in numbers as the ex-fighters died. Great wars seem to occur at fairly long intervals, and though after a conflict the desire for peace is general the succeeding generation seems to forget the horrors of war and to permit selfish ambition and the spirit of aggression to become dominant. As Schiller wrote: “War is unending between cunning and mistrust; only between faith and trust is there peace. ’’ The history of events during the last five and a half years shows how very difficult it is to secure that faith and trust, but even move difficult is it to find a wav by which faith and trust once established can be passed on from generation to generation. To say that war is an evil and to express the opinion that it ought to be banished from, the earth is to state what every reasonable sane person thinks, but unfortunately war cannot be abolished bv fine words and sentiments. Its abolition calls for very hard and difficult work, and we fear ! that many people who talk peace between nations fail to realise that peace between themselves and their neighbours is an essential to international peace. If those who talk so freely of international peace and brotherhood are sincere they can surely have no place for such follies as the development of class consciousness and doctrines which by their very nature must lead to bitterness and strife. We fear that it is regrettably true that the world has far to go before it reaches the state in whieh it can be said that peace has been permanently secured, but it can also be said that progress has been made, and it is to be hoped that that progress will continue until man has found what for generations has-been the great ambition of his better nature.

TIIE OPERATIC SOCIETY,

After many weeks of preparation the Hawera Operatic Society’s members will appear this evening JpefOre the public, and it is confidently expected that the season will be a very successful one. In preparing a musical comedy there are a great number of factors calling for attention, and upon the power of the producer and musical director to bring these factors together depends the success of the performance. Reports of recent rehearsals are that the efforts in this direction have been very successful, and there is a keenness among those taking part to present their best when they appear before the footlights. The popularity of the society is well known, and the expressions of appreciation when the “Country Girl’’ and the “Geisha’’ were produced will certainly be repeated during the season of “Our Miss Gibbs,’’ a popular musical comedy of some thirteen or fourteen years ago. The Operatic Society has an important place in the social and musical life of the community, and its many well-wishers hope that this, its third season, will prove most successful and enjoyable to both performers and audiences.