THE OTAGO DAILY TIMES Saturday, December 15, 1945. NATIONAL PREPAREDNESS

Otago Daily Times, Issue 26027, 15 December 1945, Page 6

THE OTAGO DAILY TIMES Saturday, December 15, 1945. NATIONAL PREPAREDNESS

Appreciation must be expressed of the trend of remarks which have been addressed by speakers at school breaking-up ceremonies in the last day or two. In Auckland, the Governor-General, Sir Cyril Newall, impressed his hearers with a sense of the gravity of the tasks before them as citizens and as members of the British Commonwealth of Nations, and, speaking in Dunedin, Air Commodore Bannerman gave even more pointed emphasis to the same argument by his remarks on the relation of military training and preparedness to the universal hope of peace. These are indeed most timely messages, and they were rightly addressed to those who will be most intimately affected—the youth of the Dominion. The Governor-General recalled the reaction that had followed the first World War, a tiredness of spirit that weakened the ties of Empire unity and manifested itself in ways which encouraged foreign nations to believe that the British Empire was degenerate and was falling apart. Those nations made an error which has cost them dearly, but it has also cost the Empire and the Allied Powers so grievously as to show that it would be folly to risk again the making of such an error as was then committed. Though the hope of the civilised world is for the establishment of a permanent peace, no man can say that the terrible test of war may not be imposed again in the future. The price of security is constant vigilance, but that vigilance can be effective, only when it goes hand in hand with preparedness, and preparedness means that there must be trained leaders and trained service personnel. “ I do not know what form of training the Government will offer you in the future,” said Air Commodore Bannerman, “ but I appeal to all of us to make the fullest possible use of it.” This is sound advice, but it provokes the inquiry, what does the Government intend to do? It is a question that has been repeatedly asked during the months since the war ended, but there has been no response. The spirit of willingness to co-operate has been given expression, but the country remains without a lead. The whole matter of defence planning involves sqme points that require almost immediate settlement, but there has not even been an announcement concerning the future of the occupation force for Japan. The responsibility of the Government in this matter is increasing daily. On broader lines, it may be assumed that the Government has now received at least an indication of the principles to be adopted in Imperial defence planning, and it should be possible to give a general statement of the Dominion’s needs. In a recent pronouncement General Eisenhower said: “I sincerely believe that the only practical way to assure national security is by peacetime military training and that must be universal. Therefore, I believe arguments as to incidental disadvantages or benefits to be foreign to the main issue.” This message-was addressed to the Military Affairs Committee of the United States House, but its application is fully appropriate to the local situation. The question of national preparedness must be discussed soon. It is a duty the Government owes to the men who fought in this war, and to the nation’s youth, on whom will devolve the responsibilities of the future.