NORTHERN ADVOCATE DAILY LESSONS OF WAR ANNIVERSARY

Northern Advocate, 7 August 1934, Page 4

NORTHERN ADVOCATE DAILY

LESSONS OF WAR ANNIVERSARY

Registered for transmission through the post as a Newspaper. TUESDAY, AUGUST 7, 1034.

The twentieth anniversary of the outbreak of the Great War has been made the occasion of stocktaking by the nations of the world. They have thought of the circumstances which led to the internecine struggle, the consequences that have followed in its train and the possibilities of a repetition of the tragedy. We have said on more than one occasion that do not think war on a large scale is an immediate contingency, but he who fails to sense the explosiveness of the atmosphere and the dangers attendant thereto, has forgotten August 4, 1914, and the days which preceded it. It is only natural that the twentieth anniversary of the day when the war dogs of Europe were unleashed should have been an occasion of deep and serious thought. Can a repetition of the tragedy be averted? It depends upon the sagacity of the leaders of the nations, and the extent to which the nations themselves evince determination that reason, rather than force, shall rule in the settlement of those differences which, for the most part, have been the cause of wars. There are disturbing features in the world situation today, but, ' at the same time, there are , indications that the nations have not forgotten the lessons of August 4, 1914. In Britain, which has led every movement to bring about international disarmament, there is to be seen'the development of a policy based on the- belief that preparation, for trouble is the best means- of avoiding, trouble. But, hand .in hand with the provision of armaments regarded as necessary for defensive purposes, Britain is making clear to every nation her readiness to join in any measure of disarmament which shall be general. Too long for her .own safety, she contends, has she weakened her powers of defence in order to set an example to the world in the matter of disarmament. There is much to be said for this contention. Nobody can legitimately argue , that Britain is .acting provocatively. ■ It is becoming increasingly evident that upon the security of the British Empire rests the security of the world. Hence the need for the strengthening of her hands. It is more than a coincidence that the desperate events that have disfigured Germany and Austria in recent months should have happened on approximately the twentieth anniversary of the outbreak of the Great War, for they surely show what would have happened if Germany had been the .victor instead of the vanquished. But for Britain’s intervention, Germany would have been victorious. Therefore, in the face of recent happenings, the value received for the price which Britain paid in blood and treasure in the Great War is seen in true perspective today. That the same payment may never be demanded again is devoutly to he prayed. It has been said by an, eminent British statesman that the conditions which gave birth to the Great War cannot be repeated, for the reason that Germany is without friends. That is as it may he. It would be interesting to know to what extent Herr Hitler voices the opinionof the German nation as a whole, for he has said very emphatically .that, friends or no friends, Germany desires peace above all things. Speaking to Mr G. Ward Price, a responsible British journalist who has been sent to Germ any iipon a special mission of investigation, Herrj Hitler said: “If it rests with Germany, war will not eome again. We will never fight again except in self-defence.” Has Germany learned the lesson, which has been impressed on aH nations, ■that peace is to be preferred to war? If she has, the statement made by her Chancellor so near •to August 4, 1984, will ho numbered among the memorable utterances in the world’s history.