The Daily News. SATURDAY, DECEMBER 21, 1918. THE NEEDS OF PEACE.

Taranaki Daily News, 21 December 1918, Page 4

The Daily News. SATURDAY, DECEMBER 21, 1918. THE NEEDS OF PEACE.

In a recent address given by the Chief Justice, Sir Robert Stout, there is much food for reflection. It strikes at the root of our domestic, social,- industrial and intellectual life as individuals and as a community. While there is a close relationship between' the I various human activities, which I are held together, either firmly or loosely, according to the manner in which the ethical principles governing the complex organisation of a nation or country are understood and carried out, there are certain essentials which must form part of national existence if peace, happiness and prosperity are to be obtained. Probably the two great factors in promoting tlie welfare of humanity are efficiency and fellow sympathy, and the lengthy war operations have demonstrated how great a part these twain have played. Efficiency covers a vast field and is needed in every t department of life. It embraces all activities from the tending of infants in the cradle till the passing of the soul from the body. Sir Robert Stout rightly emphasised that the foundation of efficiency was health, for a sick person cannot be an efficient worker. It is, therefore, an imperative duty of the State not only to see that the laws of health are understood by the people, but to ensure by legislation and inspection that those laws are even more strictly observed than the laws protecting society. Public health is of paramount importance, and should be our highest concern. In speaking of the things requisite to obtain and maintain public health, the Chief Justice said: "We need clean cities anil clean dwellings, sunlight, and pure air. These cannot be obtained if we have narrow streets and no open spaces and 110 gardens, and if we tolerate slums and tenements, '.Vide streets are needed so as to secure fresh air and sunlight. The height of buildings should be limited. Our cities and dwellings, too, must be kept cleaner, and we must insist tlmt our narrow streets must be widened and insanitary dwellings demolished. Ko one class or party can bo blamed for our present conditions. Tlio blame rests on the community as a whole."

In asserting that the blame rests on tlie community, Sir Robert Stout probably meant the remark to be taken theoretically, inasmuch as the people elect representatives to Parliament to make laws and to govern the country, and if the wrong class of men are •chosen thsn it is the fault of the electors. In reality, however, 'tlie Government is to blame. The people do not as a rule trouble about the laws of hygiene, but .jl

course which lias recently proved very disastrous. Among the lessons of the war, that of physical defects in our young men has been brought into almost startling prominence, and the recent epidemic has also strongly emphasised the need for infusing a real and permanent vitality into the supervision of sanitation and the remedying of the present glaring evils. Environment plays a large part in the formation of physical fitness as well as of morality. At the nest general election of members of Parliament] the people should see to it that their votes are only cast for those who are determined to promote: the best interests of the country by securing the efficiency—mental, moral and physical—of the rising generation. Sir Robert Stout spoke strongly in favor of an open air life for our youths, the provision of numerous open spaces for games, and claimed that there should be public gardens, reading rooms, art galleries, bathing places and everything that will tend to the up-bringing of healthy people, and the giving to our young people sensible and reasonable amusement in the open air. The first essential, however, is home life under health-giving conditions/then comes school life in the same category, care being taken that the children shall be .taught the principles which ensure a sound mind in a healthy body, so that the schools them selves should not only be places of training, but object lessons in all that pertains to healthy conditions "and surroundings. • The work of bodily and intellectual development should proceed on parallel lines. "What most of our young people need is a process for brpadening their minds, for the leading nations and peoples are those who have excelled in mental and industrial training, One accomplishment of the war has been the breaking down of class barriers and the creation of a broad humanising sympathy. This should he followed by a higher social and ethical life, tending to a great human effort for life and happiness. Much depends on the future line of action taken by the workers. Strikes and lockouts ought to be unknown; the men should rise superior to the use of these arbitrary measures. If we are to settle all international disputes by arbitration—as it is hoped will be the ease—then surely industrial disputes should be so terminated. the growth of physical and intellectual efficiency there should also be a spirit of unity and harmony cultivated which will no longer tolerate crime, harshness, cruelty or domination. The Chief Justice has done good service in bringing these needs before the public, and for the sake of humanity and peace the good seed he -has sown should take root and be productive of results that will raise the community to a higher and better plane.