REPRISALS DEMAND

Opunake Times, 25 July 1941, Page 6

REPRISALS DEMAND

SWING- OF PUBLIC OPINION

FEELING IN BRITAIN

According to Gerald Barry, “scientific investigation shows that the demand ior reprisals is on the increase,” stajtes 'he 8.8. C. news service in the “Listener, r “i>ix months ago, in October, the Gallnp Poll asked the question: ' ‘ln view of the indiscriminate bombing of this country, would you approve or disapprove if the BiAl p. adopted a similar pojicy of bombing the civilian population ol Germany?’ The vote was exactly evenly distributed. Forty six per cent said they would approve of indiscriminate bimbing of Germany, 41 per cent they would not The other 8 per cent had no opinion, “The Gallup institute has just completed another poll on a question almost exactly the same as last October’s, and this time the answersshow the 53 per cent would approve the policy' of 'bombing civilian? in Germany, and 38 per cent would disapprove, an increase of 7 per cent in favour. Nine per cent had no opinion either way.

“An analysis of the voting reveals softie rather interesting things It reveals that people who have been blitized tend to be less anxious foi revenge than those who haven’t. Foi instance, in Inner .London there is a small majority against reprisals (17 per cent against, 45 per cent for), whereas in Cumberland, Westmoreland and North Yorkshire, go far a comparatively immune area in north-west England,” there is a thumping big majority for revemge (76 per cent for only 15 per cent against). “The figures equally show that in the villages of (South Wales, wmen haven’t been much bombed, there is a much stronger demand for reprisals than in the coastal towns of South Wales which have. This suggests that the natural anger and hatred felt by people when they hear or read of terrible bombings often die out ’of them when they actually see it or go through it themselves; a sense of its futility, and compassion for anyone who has to endure it, overcome the other emotion.”