DRIFTING

Taranaki Daily News, 22 August 1931, Page 3 (Supplement)

DRIFTING

(To the Editor.)

Sir,—The world is spending about two millions a day on armaments and, peace conferences ■to the contrary, is (driftin'* into another war. It may not 'be for some years yet, but anyone who istudies history and the present state tof human conditions, taken with tne (huge outlay on destructive instruments, must see it coining. One thing is fairly certain) the Britisher s outlook will iin- all probability be vastly different after the next world war than it is ito-day. As far as New Zealand is concerned, if it « to survive as a nation it will have to do it more or less oil its iown bat. Now, although the great (Kitchener proved a failure as a Coin-imander-in-Chief in the last war, he (proved what a great far-seeing organiser he was by the way he placed the (training camps around England. What we badly want in New Zealand to-day iis an organiser who will prepare us inexpensively to withstand some future (attempted invasion. On our ability o .withstand such an attempt during a (future world war will depend our nadional existence. . , . Anyone who was at the last war iknow’s what havoc our own guns did to (our own men through firing short owdn" to sinking in the mud.. As far as iNew Zealand is concerned in a future Invasion they simply could not afford to lose a single man from such a cause. (Nor need they. Even to-day, and more iso as the years go by, New Zealand is (densely dotted with concrete yards and isheds, which are at present used for (milking bows in or for sheep yards, tlf the Government could see past the (present elump they would go quietly, to iwork and lay down a standard for the (building of these concrete yards; a (standard, in fact, which would, make ithem into concrete gun positions at isome future date. - They would even igo further than, set a standard: They would by subsidy encourage farmers to (build them. With a machine gun or ia heavy gun on every piece of concrete (right round New Zealand and a plentiful supply of food from the interior iwe could with confidence face any future war. The set of- circumstances (which gave us the British and Japanese (Navies to protect us during the last twar will in all probability, .be completely altered in the future. Providence iwill hardly be so good to us twice, and (another war will certainly mean the (survival of the fittest. I am, etc., W.C.H.