POST-WAR NEEDS

New Zealand Herald, Volume 78, Issue 24106, 27 October 1941, Page 8

POST-WAR NEEDS

PLANNING FOR FUTURE WORLD RECONSTRUCTION FREEDOM FOR MANKIND LONDON, Oct. 24 "Reconstruction is definitely on the map," said the member of the British War Cabinet charged with post-war planning, Mr. Arthur (>l'eoiiwood, in a speech at Oxford. "The subject has passed out of the realm of pious hope into the sphere of practical planning. B.v Ihcir famous Atlantic Charter, President Roosevelt and Mr. Churchill have provided an eight-point compass guide to our constructive ideas. "It is true that the principles of the declaration have still to he interpreted. amplified mid applied, ' Mr. Greenwood continued. "It is true that they are, at this stage, no more than the necessary framework which has yet to he filled in. It is true also that until victory is won, our aims cannot be realised. But those principles do, at least, give us a broad outline of the sort of free new world that can be ours when Hitlerism is destroyed. "The Atlantic Charter does not stand by itself. Other important and complementary declarations should be kept clearly in mind. Mr Roosevelt has proclaimed four great fundamental freedoms for mankind. The I'nreign Secretary, Mr Anthony Kden. in a speech three months ago, made it clear that social security would be the first object of British policy, both at home and abroad. Reality in Victory "Declarations such as these are more than words. They are acts ot leadership. They recognise the most vital rights of peoples. Our supreme duty in victory is to give them reality. We must be as energetic, resolute and united in our efforts to reconstruct as we are in our efforts to wm the war. "Every human and material resource at the nation's command is being strained to the utmost to ward ofi the greatest of human catastrophes—the destruction ot freedom. Nothing less than a similarly generous outpouring of effort and co-operative service will suffice after the war to make our freedom a reality on which greater freedoms can be built. "We must face the task with a far greater boldness and realism than we faced the menace of Hitlerism before the war. No one can yet appreciate fully with any degree of accuracy the full measure of the evil consequences, either international or national, oi the greatest of all wars. There is nothing in historv to compare with the stupendous battles raging on the eastern front, either for the number of'men engaged, the weight of metal and material employed, the casualties inflicted. or the economic damage being done. Plight of Europe "Then, again, we have only a faint idea of the destructive effects on the conquered territories of Nazi occupation. Although we have some knowledge of the plundering of supplies, the seizure of industrial equipment, the compulsory migration of populations and the enslavement of peoples, we cannot foretell the full degradation or the condition of Europe by the time the war ends. "What we can say without hesitation is that Europe will be an impoverished, pillaged, disorganised and faminestricken area, and if the Continent is not to he submerged in complete disorder and anarchy, organised assistance on a great scale must be available at once. "There is another aspect of the widespread economic dislocation caused by war which calls for practical measures," Mr. Greenwood added. "War conditions in three continents, the enforcement of the blockade against both enemy and enemy-occupied countries, and the almost insatiable demands of war needs upon shipping have seriously curtailed the export trade of primaryproducing countries. This enforced closing of normal markets has resulted in large and growing surpluses being left 011 their hands. "Unless steps are taken to assist these countries, the consequences to their economic life will be serious, if not disastrous. Our present problem is to relate these growing export surpluses to the urgent post-war needs of an impoverished and distressed Europe." INDUSTRIAL EFFORT FINANCIAL OUTLOOK DRASTIC OVERHAUL NEEDED LONDON, Oct. 21 A quick succession of events, notably Viscount Gort's despatches. Mr. Ernest Bevin's call for a real increase in factory output and Lord Beaver brook's speech regarding aid to Russia, have held the City's attention, and, some claim, have justified past warnings that the volume of war materials is far short of the potential output. The City's interest in the latest revelations was heightened because they have given additional weight to the arguments of those who have been insisting that the excessive burden of taxation is a most serious drag on the nation's productive effort. Additional incentives for both capital and labour are claimed to be essential, whatever the cost. The financial press is divided on the last-named question, but all agree that decentralisation, more efficient coordination between the supply departments and the expulsion of incompetents are all long overdue. MR. DUFF COOPER PENDING DOMINION VISIT PROPAGANDA IN JAPAN SYDNEY, Oct. 25 The Minister of External Affairs, Dr. Evatt, announced that the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster. Mr. Duff Cooper, who is on a mission to the FarNJiast, will arrive in Australia on November 5. Mr. Duff Cooper, who is accompanied by his wife, Lady Diana Duff Cooper, and a staff of two, will stay in Australia for a fortnight. He will visit Sydney, Melbourne and Canberra, and then go to New Zealand. He will hold important defence talks with the Australian Govern ment. A message from London says that, according to the Daily Sketch, Mr. Duff Cooper is organising a scheme for a big British propaganda drive in Japan. The drive, it is stated, will be carried out mainly from the Far East, and radio will play a big part. The Japanese public will be given the British viewpoint on the European and Far Eastern situation, and a great deal more news about British and United States armament.