"OMINOUS TIMES.”

Hawera Star, Volume XLVII, 15 May 1928, Page 10

"OMINOUS TIMES.”

IS THE WORLD ON THE VERGE OF AVAR? The need for a peace crusade to counteract the warlike spirit which prevailed amongst the nations of the' world was •stressed by iMr AA T . Thomas, president of the Secondary Schools’ Association of New Zealand, at the annual meeting of that body. He declared that the times were ominous. Europe was in debt to America, jand America: was feverishly equipping: , herself as a military and naval nation in-order that she might be able to enforce: payment of her debts. In Europe, France and Italy were showing a warlike attitude; other Europen nations were ,at each other’s throats, and Russia was endeavouring to foment worldwide revolution. The one gleam of sunshine was that the League of N ations was .still ..functioning. They will have to be patihnb with the. League. The task was? stupendous against peaee. There were exaggerated fear, jingoism, and prejudices to he broken down and removed. We talked gt:bl.V of outlawing war, but did we understand' what this meant ? America had never forgiven us for Lordi North and George the Third. Complete disarmament would not be enough ; there were many weapons which con Id be. used. If England were to lay down her arms tomorrow ,as iso me people wished her to do, it would he putting back the clock of civilisation a thousand years. There must be moral disarmament. Geneva might prove to be an apostolic eon tie for the establishment of peace. Before we could bring about peace, there must be a crusade for peace, and if this were undertaken.' what would be the position, of the schoolmaster? School teachers, should take up t>lie attitude that it was not theiir duty to influence the plastic mind of youth, hut to train him, so that he could think for himself. Another war would mean the end of civilisation, and nQ' longer could the solicolmnisiter stand idle. The; .school teacher must be the most potent factor in any crusade for peace. To his mind LJoy .should aim at living according to the cade of ethics they asked the League of Nations to Uve up 'to-. It. would be the duty of the .school teacher, if a. crusade for peace were .started, to teach the lioirors of war. When experts tokl us that the last war would be a picnic compared with the next war, it was. time to take .some acwon. It should be the duty oa tne school teacher to show the horrors of war and the glories) of peace. AVe wens loj’al to New Zealand and to the British Empire, but there was no rea-son why we should not he loyal to humanity at large. One great factor in a crusade for peace wow’d be association (throughout the world of school teachers-. .1 n one generation such an association could change the whole emotional outlook of the. world. Was he expecting too much of the teaching profession to ask that they should endeavour to induce the British and American people do inaugurate such an association of wr-hocl teachers? Mr F. Milner, in moving a. vote of tihauks to the president) tor His address, said' they had to realise that a man’s, advance in .science would mean that this next war would be fought in zones instead of fronts. Whole cities would be wipe clout- in a, night by poisonous gases. A world educational federation would be a .great factor for peace.