NOTES AND COMMENTS

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXVII, Issue 23617, 29 March 1940, Page 6

NOTES AND COMMENTS

DEFEATING PROPAGANDA "Many people are asking what ought to bo done about enemy propaganda," said Mr. W. A. Sinclair in a recent broadcast talk. "The British Government could, of course, descend to the Nazi level, and deal with the matter by always saying the opposite of what the enemy says, and saying it all day long and very much louder; or even by prohibiting listening to foreign broadcasts altogether. That is what is done in Germany; but in our country —char-acteristically—-the responsibility for dealing with the matter is left to us. This means that some things are required from each one of us. The first of these is comnionsense. As to that, every man must provide his own. Neither the Government nor anybody else can provide him with that." NAZI BROADCAST CUNNING "When we look at the Nazi propaganda system as a whole, one thing stands out very clearly," Mr. Sinclair continued. "Nazi propaganda is not a statement of 'the case for Germany' on the issues of the present war. It is not an account of the war situation as seen through German eyes. It is dressed up to look like that, but really it is nothing but an attempt to conquer people by misleading them. In fact, it is just the same sort of thing as a Nazi promise. Nazi propaganda in Fnglish is simply and solely an attempt to bring us nearer to defeat and destruction, which Goebbels spoke of as being the war aim of (iennany. So. in their broadcasts, the Nazis are simply trying to weaken and discourage us by saying anything at all that they can think of to arouse dissensions among us. to make lis mistrust our leaders and lose confidence in ourselves. Those broadcasts are very carefully planned for that purpose.. In each of them, mingled with all the barefaced lies, there is usually some item that is more or less true, and occasionally some quite sound criticism. These are inserted xo lead us on."

STARS IN THE BLACK-OUT T walked hack from church one night with a man of forty whom 1 have known since he was a keen little scout of eleven, writes Canon I'eter Green in his hook "The Path of Life." He said to me as he and f looked up at the bright stars: "One thing this black-out business lias done—it has given us back the stars. 1 used to be very keen on studying the stars when I was a boy, but since 1 went to work my holidays have always been in the .summer, when nights are too light for the stars to show well. And here in Salford 1 don't think I've seen the stars for five-and-twenty years. I suppose the glare of the city lights prevents our seeing them." Are not his words a parable which describes many men? asks Canon I'eter Green. The lights of Vanity Fair prevent them from seeing the stars till maybe, if they spoke the truth, they would have to say: "I have had no thought, no vision of God's heaven for j years." If the blackness that the war : is going to bring into many hearts and homes "gives us back the stars." gives us hack the thought of and the desire for God, even the war may be worth while. HAUNTING QUESTIONS It is not sufficient to say that our aim is to destroy Hitlerism. 'lhat is the first object, and until that is done nothing else matters very much. But the question will recur, Is there to be no end to this desolating sequence of wars? writes Dr. Robert Corkey, M.P., iu his hook "War, Pacifism and Peace." Is the flower of the youth of every generation to he swept away? Is there no possibility of building a secure peace? The failure of the means taken iu 1!)10 to establish peace does not justify us in tearing up all our ideals for the future. The crux of the problem of peace is the problem of justice, Mr. Corkey goes on to say. Men, even when they have no avowed religion, fool in their bones that what is right for them, the imperious call of God. When the issues at stake arc great, and there is no other means of redress, they will light rather than see wrong triumphant over them. At the moment the great mass of British people ice! that they can do nought else. The tragedy of the situation, however, is that men differ in their conceptions of "right." They have established courts for the determination ol justice, when there is a quarrel about it, ami they have put the whole icdcrated iorcc ol the coniniunitv behind the court to maintain it in existence and vindicate its verdicts. The task of the peace-makers is the discovers- of similar judicial machinery that will work in the international world. now SAVING CAN HELP

"In the first days of the war much advice was sought and given on tho vexed question of spending and saving," said Mr. Edwin Fisher, chairman of Barclay's Bank, in addressing shareholders at the annual meeting. "Tho advice given was often conflicting and tin 1 individual was left somewhat in doubt as to which course to pursue. As our war ell'ort grows, as more and more of our labour force is absorbed in tho fighting services, and as more and more of our industrial organisation i, diverted to the production of munitions, the call to spend gives way to the call to save. By limiting our own consumption we shall not only reduce unnecessary imports, but shall also sot free .supplies that can lie exported. We all know that increasing war requirements will leave loss of current production available for the needs of the civil population. If. however, the eontraction in the supply of goods is not accompanied hv a reduction in the demand of individuals, wo are bound to suffer tho evils of rising costs and prices. Rationing alone would not provide the solution, for. although valuable as a moans of securing equitable distribi tion of limited supplies, it would tend to divert demand to unrationod articles. To some extent the adjustment will be accomplished by the higher taxation which Britain is now hearing, and which will result in the transfer to tho Stato of an increased share of the purchasing power of tho individual citizen, but taxation, even at its existing high level, will not furnish a complete solution. The individual is therefore being urged to save, and to the extent that he saves Government expenditure will be facilitated and the competitive bidding up ol prices will ho avoided. In return for his effort and tho sacrifice which he is called upon to make the individual is entitled to expect that the Government is getting good value for money wisely spent."