RACING AND THE WAR

Otago Witness, Issue 3313, 12 September 1917, Page 43

RACING AND THE WAR

GENERAL RUSSELL'S OBSERVATIONS. WELLINGTON", September 10. The following is an extract from a letter recently received by Mr Percival Witherby, of Napier, from General Russell on the subject of racing. It will be seen that ih.a general's views, based on the necessity of maintaining the development and efficiency of the State in war time, and expressed in a broad-minded spirit, which should do much to clarify the controversy as to whether racing should continue now, or cease, the matter being one of public interest. Mr sought, and has obtained, the general's consent to the publication of an extract in full. June 10, 1917. You ask my views on racing. Personally, I can see no objection to racing or ia people enjoying- themselves, because we are fighting here. Let us rather go about life in a cheerful spirit and not with gloomy faces. I am afraid though, there will be too many who through personal grief will not want to join in much festivities, bufi have you the men and time for racing? I can hardly believe it. Here, one see* and because it is on a restricted area and very thorough the destruction war makca in a country. The true area affected by actual destruction- as the result of sheilfire and trench digging is, after all very small, a mere nothing, a thin pencil lina drawn on the map, with here and there a town, but what I think is not realised ia the steady oncroachment of Nature in a thousand ways. All over Europe weeds aro growing and increasing everywhere. I speak of what I have seen. The roads aro deteriorating, except, perhaps, in the war zone, drains are getting choked and the land impoverished for want of manure and efficient tillage. Even the sea, as I have noticed in seaside places has been encroaching on the fronts. Of a truth Europo is eating her capital. Maintenance goes largely by the board for want of labour, and is not it the same, though perhaps in a lesser degree, in New Zealand? For instance, ere your roads, etc., etc., being maintained, let alone extended and improved? If not there can be no time for all that racing entails. Every single man. should be doing his utmost for the comjmon. good, and if there is essential work to be done, every stable boy who is employed afc racing is in the wrong place. This war is not going to last for ever, and we are going to race 1 again for sure. All work and no play is a poor life, but just at present we have got to work. Yours sincerely, A. H. Russell.