RAMSAY MACDONALD STATESMAN.

Timaru Herald, Volume XCVIII, Issue 18084, 11 April 1925, Page 12

RAMSAY MACDONALD STATESMAN.

To the Editor of the ‘‘Timaru Herald.” Sir, —ft is safe to say that of all the great and prominent men in the British Empire, Ramsay MacDonald is tho most widely and persistently slandered. The cause of this slander lies away back in 1914, when the great World War began to loom threateningly on the horizon of international politics. MacDonald had heard that a European war was being engineered by others besides Germans, find, in the hope of advertising the coming catastrophe, he warned the nations of their danger, and pleaded with them not to allow themselves to be driven into the war trap- that had been set for them, but to rather lay the trappers by the heels, and so prevent a crimo not only likely to stagger humanity, but to destroy civilisation. The war plotters wero annoyed at the exposing statements of-this disturbing agent, and to render him powerless they began their slander and calumny, which has gone on ever since. Nevertheless, MacDonald continued his opposition to the war plotters, and till tho ‘‘eleventh hour” laboured to avert tho great cataclysm which was destined to destroy millions of human lives; but he laboured in vain. All the statesmen of the old school, with a few. exceptions, succumbed to the war fever, and fell easy victims of /tho war promoters. MacDonald was now left alone, a still, small voice crying for peace in a wilderness of frenzied patriotism, which set

the nations ,at one another. And thus tho war which he had*striven to prevent began. To popularise the war, the statesmen of the old school, proudly and confidently declared that tho w,ar had been, undertaken expressly to end all war for the future, and that it would incidentally npike the world safe for democracy, and a better place to live in; while it would insure to. Labour a fairer share of tho fruits of its toil than it End ever received in the past. Ramsay MacDonald, on the other hand, contended that the w,ar would ' bring none of the 'glorious, blessings enumerated by. his political opponents; but that, on the contrary, it Avould destroy the lives of millions of tho world’s fittest men, and dissipate futilcly the accumulated wealth of centuries; that it would plunge the nations of Europe into chaos, indebtedness and ruin; and turn the clock of civilisation back a hundred years. _ There was a statement of. two diametrically opposite opinions —one made by representative statesmen of the old school, ,and the other made by the leader of the new school of political thought. Reflective men and women wero at a loss to know which to accept, so they decided to keep a watch on events to see which proved to be right. When, ,nt last, the Avar — AA'ith all its bungles, disasters, extortion and treachery—came to an end, it Avas disclosed that, not only had the old school failed to bring a single one of the good things they; had predicted to pass, but that they. had, instead, produced ,all the evil Avhicli Ramsay MacDonald had foretold. So, the reflective and enlightened men and Avomen avlio had been closely and patiently ivatching events, game forward and declared that Ramsay MacDonald had proved himself the truest prophet, the Avisest statesman, and the greatest patriot of the pre r Avar period; “for,” they said.

“had the nations heeded his ivarnings, had they rejected the empty promises of time serving politicians and money- ! made statesmen, had they accepted . Ramsay MacDonald’s wise leadership, the Avorld Avould not iioav be mourning 1 the loss of millions of its best lives, and it would have escaped the ruin and [the ch,aos, the indebtedness and. misery. • which MacDonald’s ' opponents had led it to, instead of the glories they had promised in their foolish speeches.” These enlightened ones iioav forsook their old political parties,..and flocked to the support of MacDonald, whom , they very soon made Prime Minister of England, in which capacity lie distingu'shed himself as the greatest peace Premier the Empire has yet produced. So, not onlv did the statesmen of the old school fail to .fulfill their Avar promises, and not only had they failed to see that evil, instead of good. Avas to result from the w,nr. they also failed to anticipate the great reA-ulsion of political thought which Avas to follow their Avar failure, and thus proved themselves Lacking in every essential quality of real statesmen. Events proved them to be mere blind leaders of blind men aud women. avlio have been led to ruin. It may be AA-ondered Avliy MacDonald, with bis splendid record, should be abandoned iioav that tlie Avar is-'a thing of the past. Tho explanation is simple. Jack Shepherd, the London jail-breaker, proved it the easiest thing in the Avorkl to put the police off his track, In- setting the sheepish mob chasing after some innocent person. So the war criminals and their satellites liaA r e merely done the same thing. Thev have set the unthinking on a “wild goose chase” after Ramsay MacDonald, while they themselves escape from the consequences of their crimes. But Jack Shepherd was finally hanged: and so his modern imitators may sooner or later also be brought to book, Arhen Ramsay MacDonald will come into his own, and be acclaimed by the better minds of the Empire, a great patriot and one of the Avisest statesmen of the day.—l am, etc., ONLOOKER.