THE ROAD TO WAR

Otago Daily Times, Issue 24723, 27 September 1941, Page 4

THE ROAD TO WAR

TWO STUDIES IN RETROSPECT Why England Slept. By John F. Kennedy (Hutchinson). 5s 6d. King’s Messenger: 1918 to 1940. By George P. Antrotaus (Jenkins). 12s 6d. The author of Why England Slept is the son of the former United States Ambassador to England, and so was in a position to meet and talk with leaders in international affairs during the past tragic years. He is u university graduate with special distinction in the history of international affairs. In his book he discusses what he saw and draws conclusions from the happenings of our time, giving his readers much to think about. The Englishman, he says, had to be taught the need of armaments. His natural instincts were quite opposed to,them, for on the one hand they meant increased taxation, and on the other, they menaced his idea of a peaceful world based on the League of Nations. This led to a disinclination to increase armaments and brought about, in a measure, the policy of disarmament from which we have reaped so many and serious results. Rather than run any risk of jeopardising some promising movement toward permanent peace by increasing expenditure on armaments, the adoption of measures that were required when considered from the point of view of national defence was postponed on several occasions. Not till 1935 did the Government take a serious view of the situation. Then it resolved to keep even with Germany. Even so, certain agreements—the AngloGerman Naval Agreement, for instance —brought about a feeling of confidence which in its turn begot a complacency which has caused fa: more suffering than enough. Rearmament was definitely contemplated in 1936, but one reason and another prevented the Government from really setting to work, and in 1937 there was no more than a half-hearted interest in the matter. Then came Munich. 1938, and no excuse remained for anyone to regard the situation with satisfaction. Still, along with a firm determination to build up Great Britain’s strength there existed the idea that Herr Hitler was really making his last territorial claim in Europe. That was the position between September, 1938, and September, 1939. Mr Kennedy has given, as far as a bird’s-eye view of things can provide it. a reasonably fair idea of the period from 1931 to 1939. His concluding chapter is a ringing call to America to get really busy for her own sake. Mr Kennedy’s book is disturbing, but it leaves the impression that he has spoken from the heart, and with a sincere desire to give the truth. Mr Antrobus, on the other hand, speaks with a certain complacency that leaves an irritating impression on the mind. One feels that im some way he has missed an opportunity. He would give something that amuses while instructing, but the instruction leaves a little to be desired, and the amusement brings about a sense of alarm that the people of whom he speaks are not fully aware of realities That may be due to the reading of these two books together, though this is by no ‘ means certain. His pictures of the different Foreign Secretaries under whom he served are disquieting. If England cannot be better served than he declares her to have been during the last twenty-two years, it augurs ill for the future. The spectator generally sees most of the game, but Mr Antrobus is very often swayed unduly by the passing moment, and one feels his judgments are not always just. Yet his implicit indictment cannot bp disregarded. Most assuredly England suffered much from complacency and a desire for peace, which was not far removed from an unreasoning pacifism. The rank and file of the nation must accept a considerable blame for its refusal to listen to Mr Winston Churchill. Mr Anthony Eden, and others, when they drew attention to unpalatable facts. ' = , : T A A"', G. h. J.