THE WIDE WORLD

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume LX, Issue 17977, 3 January 1933, Page 10

THE WIDE WORLD

Points of View Soma Newspaper Opinion*

PADDLING THEIR OWN CANOE Manchester Guardian: The Free State must look after itself, and 'Mr. De Valera's economic policy—perhaps the most remarkable now being pur- ! sued in Europe—must have its fling. The fanners must accustom themselves ! to change their system of production and receive meagre subsidies (after | endless red-tape) which they must pay 1 out of their own pockets. A diminished standard of living must be adopted in the faith that if only the privations and self-denials go on long enough a new Utopia will arise. AlI though full disillusionment may not come at once, the Free State can safely be left 1o settle with Mr. J)c

Valera .without assistance from the British Parliament.

JAPAN AND CHINA Round Table, London: The Japanese 1 see China rapidly disintegrating beI fore their eyes, and they ask themselves whether their best course is not j to strive to save .something from the I ruins, and to mark out and secure at least one area which they can imj muuiso from the surrounding eonItagionf It is a desperate policy, but ! it is intelligible to anybody who will admit that Japan’s interests in China are more vital to her than the interests which the Shanghai defence force was established to protect so short a time ago were to England. It is a. dangerous policy Dangerous to Japan, because it tends to revive the prestige of the military caste, to strengthen the waning feudal ideology. ' Dangerous to civilisation, because it creates one more septic focus in a disordered world.

j TEETH FOR THE LEAGUE ! London Times: Some day perhaps the League of Nations may be strong enough in the confidence of the world i to be entrusted with the control of I whole sections of the armed forces of 1 the States which arc members of it, i but it is certainly not in that for- . tunate position to-day. The suggestion to place aeroplanes and tanks at I the disposition of the League will gen- | erallv be regarded as both premature

and impracticable. The hope of main* , tabling world peace still rests largely on the preservation by tlie league of a j widespread public confidence' and on ; its capacity to surmount the very j serious difficulties with which it is already confronted. It will not be helpI cd to grapple with these difficulties if ■ it is loaded with ambitious projects which are certain to arouse fresh antagonism and suspicion.

| NO TIME FOR BRAGGARTS J Baltimore Sun: The news that the ■ directors of the Bank of England have J decided to recommend Mr. Montagu 1 Norman for another term as its govor- • nor will probably surprise many Ainc- | ricans who read the dispatches on liis recent speech at the bankers’ dinner in London. However, the directors of the bank apparently take the view that strength may be added to leadership by a willingness to admit in public a lack of omniscience. They are not fatally shocked by Mr. Norman’s humble concession that there is much about world finance at present that lie does not understand. If .’•■air

attitude of humility on 'the part, of financial leaders could be generally validated, we should- probably "..get ahead faster toward relief, of our financial woes. Certainly, we could not do much worse than we have under leadership obedient to the convention that confessions of doubt and ignorance is confession of weakness.

JAPAN AND THE LEAGUE OF NATIONS London Morning Post: It would be foolish in the Western world to show hostility to the only Power capable of maintaining civilisation in the Far East. The claim of the Chinese Republic to govern outside the Great Wall might at least be deferred until order is firmly established inside, when that day comes, Japan would probably be willing to relinquish an ungrateful and arduous task. In the meantime, a reconciliation between that country and the League of Nations is greatly to be desired. May we venture to suggest that the League follow its own precedent and give Japan a mandate—say, for 25 years — to supervise the local administration of Munchukuo in the interest of peace? Honor would then be satisfied,.

JAPAN AND CHINA

{ Dr. E. J. Dillon in The Fortnightly Review (London): The Chinese nation is fast going to pieces. Manchuria is * already a separate State, Tibet has not 'only seceded, but has risen in arms against the elusive “Central Covernjmenf” without a formal declaration of war, according to the abridged rite of to-day. Tibetan troops have occupied Si Ivank and the contiguous regions. A Tibetan Empire is being formed under'the J.bilui Lama. The provinces of Takien and Kiangsi have embraced Communism and set up for themselves under a Soviet ist Government, - Yunnan is semi-independent. . The thriving Province of Szechuan is 1 misgoverned by a .junta of half a dozen rollicking generals, who recognise no authority but their own. In short, the unwieldy State which.occupies onefourth of Asia (10.7 million square kilometres) is going to pieces and the Lytton report counsels Japan to help to prop it. up.

CHOPPING AROUND

Wall Street Journal: New York City rental agents are telling this one: — | A New Yorker living in a £BO-u----niontli apartment discovered the de- • pression and went to his rental agent with a long face and a statement that he must move because lie could not afford to pay more than £OO a month. The rental agent sighed, but admitted that times were bad and the tenant had been good, and .invited him to stay where he was at £OO per month. I A month passed and tin; tenant, returned with tales of new lows in slocks ami salaries, and a statement that lie could afford nothing more expensive than a £-tO-a-month apartment. The rental agent looked at. his list of vacancies' and again reduced the rent accordingly. More hard times and another threat to move brought the rent down to £2O a month before long, but two months later the tenant reappeared with the 1 statement that things were so bad lie couldn’t afford to pay anything for an apartment;. ! “)Vell,” the rental agent, said, “you’ve been a good tenant; and will be again when times improve. Just stay on without any rent,”

Another moon waxed and waned, and the tenant was back again to announce that he was moving. “Why!” exclaimed the astonished agent. “You can’t get anything cheaper than nothing.” “No,” admitted the tenant, “but I’ve found a better apartment.”

ROBBING PETER TO PAY PAUL Regina Leader-Post: Any Government can have brains enough to use the people's money for relief purposes. It is not much of a job to take money from the people and then give it back to them by way of relief. ITALY’S DEBT TO MUSSOLINI London Observer: It is incredible that his country can ever relapse into the pit from which it was digged Id years ago. Faith has been proved by works, and the attachment of Italy to her new ideals will be enhanced by the knowledge that her example has impressed Die whole mind of civilisation. She has shattered the conception of a universal pattern for political existence. She has proved that the genius of nationality fulfils itself in many wavs, an’d has prompted a process of self-examination in other communities that had attired themselves too complacently in constitutional “readymades.” That every people must work out its own salvation after its own bent and without too much reverence for political abstractions is a lesson for which the universal mind stands in the Dace’s debt.

ST. LAWRENCE WATERWAY Vancouver Province: Important as the problem is, there is more than a possibility that it may not get a fair hearing. There are forces at Work muddying’ the ■waters insisting that it is local and provincial State interests that count, and that it is on the balance of these that the decision must be reached. Montreal is for Montreal against all-comers. Buffalo is 100 per cent, for Buffalo. New York is for Now York and a waterway down the Hudson. Chicago gazes longingly down the Mississippi Valley. The Ontario towns arc for Ontario and the Hydro. Quebec is opposed to public ownership. Only the States and provinces of' the Far East, the States of the lower Atlantic seaboard and the Maritime Provinces have no private fish to fry. Under the circumstances, how is a great issue to get the hearing a great issue deserves?