H.G. WELLS ON THE PEACE OF THE WORLD

Maoriland Worker, Volume 13, Issue 30, 25 July 1923, Page 9

H.G. WELLS ON THE PEACE OF THE WORLD

The article from which these ©attracts are taken was written early in 1915—-and 1915 to-day seems as far away, as though it were 1815. And much, nearly all, jt>h|%t was tdther written, spoken, or thought, about the Great War at thai time, has no value at all in 1923. In all the -countries concerned so many pigeon-holes have bean rifled, so many "secret documents" have com e to light, that the viewpoint" has been couadotely altered. But, Wells, even in those early days, was looking to "The End"--* envisaging some way, machiaery for keeping a Permanent Peace. He saw some "League," or "Council," of Nations or Peoples, having the power to enforce Peace, land make War a crime. It was just a dim, blurred, misty picture—but ha-saw. it; and he called it for the sake of giving it form, "A AVorld Council."

Speaking of Peace, he says: "There must not be cmly a desire tor Peace, but a will for Peace, if Peace is to be established forever. Peace must be organised and main" tamed. And it has to be remembered that the forces that ara f( >r a thing are almosifc always more unified, more concentrated, than the forces that are against it. . . .AYe who are 1 against War and want to stop it. are against it for a great multitude of reasons . . . there sare things in life that we. prefer, and war stops these things . . . some of us want to pursue scientific developments . . . some would liv e lives of religion and kindliness, or religion and austerity. But we all. agree in fixing our minds upon something else than War. . . and war becomes possible and probable, through our gt-neral inattention. We do not observe it • . . meanwhile the people who really care for war and soldiering fix their m'nds upon it . . . tb.ey scheme how it shall be done, how to bring it ahout . . . then we discover suddenly that EVERYTHING MUST BE. PUSHED ASIDE WHEN. THE WAR-THINKERS HAVE: DECIDED UPON THEIR GAME. j

» * » a W.e are all probably, as a species, a little too prone to Intolerance, and if we do in all sincerity mean to end War in the world, v/e must prepare ourselves for considerable exercises iv restraint, when strange people look, behave and live, in a mannor different from our -own.

i Tb ß First Lin e of Attack against War. must be AN ATTACK UPON SELF-RIGHTEOUSNESS AND INTOLERANCE. These things are the Gyrm of uncompromising and incurable "militarism everywhere. Now tho attack upon self-right-i eousness and intolerance, and the stern self-satisfied militarism that arises actually out °? these th-ngs, is to be made in a number of ways. The first is a sedulous propaganda of the truth about AVar, a steadfast resolye to keep the. pain of warfare | alive in the nerves of the careless j —1 0 keep the stench of war under the elsg indifferent nose. It is only in the. study of the gloomily megalo" maniac historian that aggressive war becomes a large and glorious thing. j" In reality IT IS A FILTHY OUTRAGE UPON LIFE, an idiot's, smashing of ihe furniture of hemes, a mangling, a malignant mischief, a scalding of stokers, a d ! semboweling of gunners, a raping of caught women by drunken soldiers. BY BOOK AND PAMPHLET- -BY PICTURE AND CINEMATOGRAPH FILM THE' PACIFIST MUST ORGANISE AVISDOM IN THESE MATTERS. *** * - Tho greater obstacle to the pacification of the world is not the Warseeker, but the vast masses of people, who for the most various motives SUPPORT AND MAINTAIN ALL KINDS OP INSTITUTIONS AND SEPARATIONS THAT MAKE FOR AVAR. They do not want war,, they do not like war, but they will not make sacrifices, they will not exert themselves in. any way, to make War difficult or impossible; It is they who give the War Maniacs his opportunity. They will not lock the gun away from him —> they will not put a reasonable limit to r the disputes into which he can ''ul'tfouatalsr. f.hruat hia. violent sub-<--<uta„ .far, a solution, t. * *. Xi i& aeeea-

sary if W a re to have an intelligently directled amti-war campaign, that w» should' maks* a clear classification of these lialf-htearted people ... who DO NOT WANT WAR—BUT WHO PERMIT IT. Their indecisions, their vagueness, are the really effectirtf , barkers, to our <fee>ire to end wafc, ■CocaY-a*^'