The Otago Witness. (WEDNESDAY. APRIL 30, 1919.) THE WEEK.

Otago Witness, Issue 3398, 30 April 1919, Page 35

The Otago Witness.

(WEDNESDAY. APRIL 30, 1919.) THE WEEK.

WITH WHICH IS INCORPORATED THE SOUTHERN MERCURY'.

"Nunqnam allud natura, "allud sapiontia dixit. —Juvbxal. “Good nature and good sense must ever join.”— Pope. There has been a good deal of speculation;: as to the reason, why such an extraordinary amount of deference has been paid to President Wilson and 'hia utterances. One correspondent (probably , a newspaper flaneur) said in a cable message a few days ago that President Wilson would decide the fate of the ex-Kaiser—not as to his life, but . the manner and place of his internment. America was stung into participation, in the war by the outrage in sinking the Ljusitania. Then ensued the. throwing overboard of the Monroe doctrine, and the promulgation of the famous 14 points. The assistance given by America was, very valuable, and came at a critical time. Hence it was natural that President' Wilson should be accorded a prominent place in the Peace Conference. Everyone knows that America is now holding . the place in the financial world formerly held _by Britain. The centre of financial gravity has shifted from London to New , York. And the real wealth of a nation consists of. its undeveloped, though perhaps accessible, resources. In such potential wealth America probably leads the world. In addition, President Wilson ; represents a hundred millions of Englishspeaking people. His 14 points were captivating to the ear, but they failed to find complete acceptance from nations whose interests would suffer. Japan wants recognition of racial equality. Italy ■ wants complete command of the Adriatic. France wants undivided control and possession of Alsace-Lorraine. At first President Wilson loomed largely in French eyes. His proposals were luminous in, their'' benignity. It is so very easy academically to deal with property winch is not one s own. It is one thing, to ■ dispose of the future of, say, a sfoall • Balkan Country, and another to reconcile - the people to the arrangement. Presi- . dent Vv ilson omitted to take into con- ; sideration tho fact that the wounds inflicted in the war were still bleeding. - The state of nervous irritation had not subsided, and the Conference was not in . the humour to settle down to a calm survey of the future. What was wanted ■ was a tentative peace arrangement, and ; the adjustment of boundaries, inter- - relation of countries affected, and so on postponed till calmness was restored. Tho President came breathing fire and. slaughter against Germany. The Ij'rench saw in him their champion against their hereditary enemy, Germany. Hence, probably the fervour of the reception. His appearance -was greeted with, characteristic rapture. The- Temps admired his tact. The Figaro said ha had avoided any false steps. The Gauloia was delighted with his remarks about , being converted to the French theory of a proper and just, peace. And the great writer, M. Henri Lavendan, in LTllustra-: tion, easily the finest illustrated paper on the Continent, burst out as follows: “With what will, with what sureness of manoeuvre, of thought, of means, of pen and word, what dignity, what purity of conscience, wKat largeness, and what vigilance of mind, what clarity of heart, what generosity of soul, he has fulfilled the mission of which he felt-no fear,;in the face of all the most closely-linked of the past and the present, of assuming the responsibility! We have seen him! We have admired him! Our descendants will be dazzled in their turn, and that willremain as one of the magnificences of history. President Wilson will appear, later in the poetry of future ages like a Dante, of whom he has the legendary profile, guiding with precaution in tho • infernal circles, the length of which she risked descending, that Beatrice in %. white robe that is called Peace.”: Paris followed with intense interest the inter- • views of Mr Wilson with Yenizelos, Chinda, Sonnino, Orlando, Benedict XV., : Clemenceau, and Lloyd George. After this fanfaronade it is somewhat sad to fear that President Wilson will look ridiculous. Italy seems on the point of revolt. Japan is hanging on to Shantung and Kaio Chau, the Balkan trouble is far from settled by the doctrine of selfdetermination. It is very evident that President Wilson’s debut in diplomatic circles has not behind it the unanimity of In’s country that alone could confer weight, and if he should go home in a huff it will be as a baffled theorist who started out as an idealist, and was finally . described by Signor Orlando as an ideologist, which is something very different, ■ an ideologist being one who indulges in ideas or theories, one who fabricates idealschemes.

President Wilson's Mana. •

Quite a number of reasons have been advanced to account for the preponderance of the votes of the soldiers against prohibition. It was hoped that the votes of those who had returned would have shown a majority in favour of prohibition, but it has been proved that, though a greater proportion voted in favour of the restrictive measure, their vote Avas practically solid for continuance. One of the reasons put forward for the vote is that the soldiers resented . the taking of the vote in their absence, and. above all, on the enactment of permanent 6 , o’clock closing. Even an. elementary acquaintance with the psychology of the soldier might have suggested a sufficient reason. In 1863, there occurred the'revolt of the Confederate States of the American Union. The Northern States entered on

The Soldiers’ Vole.

the suppression of the rebellion, inscribing on their banner the abolition of negro slavery. With a cause so holy there ought to have been no lack of enthusiasm. Thousands of volunteers flocked to the army. But the enemy proved stubborn, and fresh supplies of men were called for. The supply of volunteers fell short, and President Lincoln was compelled to fall back on conscription. This has since led to an analysis of the motives which cause men voluntarily to offer their services in their country s battles. At the beginning the adventurous youn" men, free from domestic ties, and not wedded to steady employment, voluntarily enlisted. With them came those who were fired- purely with ■ patriotism. The prolongation of the war drained this source . dry. Then through the successive stages of persuasion and entreaty recourse was* taken to conscrip- ' tion. The experience of New Zealand shows exactly the same features. The Boer War found its supply of heroes, though they did not know, or care, what the war was about. It was simply enough to realise that the lion was in danger, and is was the duty of the cubs to go to his assistance. It is men of this kind who resent restrictions on their personal liberty. They now claim that having risked their all in the defence of the Empire, it is the sheerest ingratitude to repay them with a restriction which they would not have sanctioned or even endured before there was any war at all. The majority now expected in favour of continuance is just about the same in previous polls, and the Prohibition party cannot be absolved of the suspicion that an attempt was made to obtain the referendum vote in the absence of the men. Another ingredient in the refusal of the soldiers to be prohibited is put forward by Dr H. Emerson Fosdick, of Union Theological Seminary, who shows the grounds of the soldiers'' repugnance not to Christianity .but to Churchianity. The soldiers believe Miat the evangelical churches, which now seek to assimilate the Presbyterian Church, were' at the bottom of the agitation, though it is not suggested that they supplied the sinews ■ of war for what "must have been a costly campaign. Dr Fosdick says: Another thing in the churches that repels the soldiers is their 'negativism.' * By this Dr Fosdick means the tendency to lay down laws of conduct in terms of "Thou shalt not" rather than in terms of "Thou shalt." And again: "The righteousness of the saints in the general estimate of the .army is little more than anti —anti-dance, theatre, cards, drink, smoking, profanity, and all fun on Sunday." "These men are learning everything that fellowship in devotion, sacrifice, suffering, and death can teach. At their best they are very gallant gentlemen. At times a minister who lives with them turns

bitterly upon; himself: O sleek and satinvoiced dominie; what can you tell these men about life's realities? And when these men smite the churches with their criticism, they strike us where we live." With sentiments like these it is too much to expect soldiers to vote for prohibition when the cause is espoused by the churches. The two great churches, the Roman Catholic- and the Anglican, kept out of the fray; the others rushed in "bald-headed." The former organisations, not less solicitous for the sobriety of the people, conserved their dignity; the others cast dignity to the winds.

In his Life of Frederick the Great, Carlyle said : —“For I have remarked that of- all things a nation needs first to be drilled; and no nation that has not first been governed by socalled ‘tyrants/ and held tight to the curb till it became perfect in its paces and thoroughly amenable to rule and law, and heartily respectful of the same, and totally abhorrent of the want of the same, ever came to much in this world.” Carlyle said this when admiring the result of the drilling which Frederick the Great administered to Prussia, and had, even at the time when the above was written (1864), brought the nation into prominent rank in Europe. ' When after Germany was unified this treatment was employed for the whole nation. From the cradle to the grave the German was subject to merciless supervision. The object was to make him efficient. He was taught to believe that the force that was begotten of efficiency was the supreme law. Treitchske and Nietzche taught the same lesson. In New Zealand there has been an experience of the same system though in a modified degree, without the same fell purpose. The people submitted with greater or less cheerfulness to military rule. They acquiesced in the censorship, the high cost of living was endured though it was claimed that this was inevitable, and while the price of bread and of butter was artificially kept down, that of clothing and boots was permitted to soar, though it could have been checked in the same way. Above all, compulsory military service was assented to, though conscription was always hateful in British ears. All this Avas borne out of patriotic motives. The necessity for such stringency Avas conceded, but not universally admitted. There was groAving discontent Avith the cost of living, for thevA «•-»- - ’ non that.

Government by Force.

u, oureWCt SUSpK some persons were making fortunes out of it. For example, -when a pair of boots for a schoolboy of eight vears costs 15s. and when after a week's wear they are in need of repair, the suspicion becomes a certainty that something is wrong. It is the governed who are subject to this, and it is the governing class who profit by to. Therefore sullen discontent is explained, and Bolshevism finds many admirers, though British communities are pot likely to imitate the atrocities in Russia or the hydra-Jieaded rebellions in Germany. It amounts to this: the line Of demarcation between the governing and she governed must become less marked. Yhose who have imagined that government to be effectual must be exercised by force have overlooked the introduction of 'Jhe printing press. The pressure on the

classes below inevitably generates heat, which bursts out in Russia in explosions that are intended to destroy every one who has anything. It is anarchy naked and unashamed. "liberty, fraternity, and equality" purged France of government by the aristocracy. Bolshevism will probably destroy the leisured class in Russia. The Soviets will probably destroy military dominance in Germany. And these things are the sure consequence of the mode of governance so much lauded by Carlyle in the passage quoted above.