WORLD PEACE

Te Awamutu Courier, Volume 53, Issue 3800, 26 August 1936, Page 8

WORLD PEACE

AND THE MENACE OF WAR. (Contributed.) A meeting of the World Peace Propaganda League was held in Auckland recently, when Mr Bayertz presided over an attendance of about fifteen persons, including a number of ladies. Individual representatives of the Congregational Church and other religious bodies and the Returned Soldiers’ Association were present. Mr Bayertz said that the immediate objective was the building up of a Dominion-wide membership, which would be numerically and co-opera-tively strong enough to influence Government legislation for the introduction of peace education in all schools in New Zealand, primary and secondary, and also compulsory facilities for peace literature to the extent of one full page in every newspaper or periodical published in New Zealand. The chairman then called for a free discussion and suggestions from each individual present on ways and means to further the progress of the movement. A minister of the Congregational Church said that he fully realised the imminent menace of another world war. He said the church must now take a definite stand in the interest of humanity against war. As an individual opposed to war he was prepared to exert his influence as far as possible through the Congregational Church to spread the propaganda of the World Peace Movement. Another speaker contended that the material needs of the masses must be satisfied before the spiritual; that adequate food, clothing, and shelter would provide the basis for a higher cultural level amongst the people of all nations, and so eliminate the main causes of war. He added that the present economic and social system, would have to be replaced by a higher order before humanity could be made immune from the devastating scourge of war. Each person present participated in the discussion, and various and divergent views were expressed regarding the means whereby war could be prevented. It was decided to issue a circular letter to all organisations, religious and secular, appealing for co-opera-tion in the World Peace Movement. Members of the committee were appointed to approach officials of the local broadcasting stations, IYA, IZB (Friendly Road), and Manurewa, to arrange for a broadcast of the aims I and objectives of the Peace Movement. Copies of the Peace Movement manifesto (a tentative draft) were supplied to each person present, and all were asked to read it carefully and submit suggestions for improvement; also to submit contributions for the draft circular to all organisations.