IS WAR INEVITABLE?

Timaru Herald, Volume CXXXIX, Issue 20096, 1 May 1935, Page 11

IS WAR INEVITABLE?

To the Editor of " The Timaru Herald " Sir, —In to-day’s issue of your paper there appeared an account of the opening ceremony of the Milford Memorial Gates. Mr Burnett, in addressing the gathering, said: “The progress of man was marked by periodic scourges, and they had to be. One partly realised that the Power Infinite ordered those things for the betterment of mankind.” Such remarks should not be allowed to remain unchallenged, so long as our country still retains its small measure of speech freedom. Mr Burnett is one of that vast majority that unfortunately believes in the inevitability of war. The greater number of this class are conventionally-minded or indifferent to both. To many New Zealanders, the most vital problem of Peace and War is not one whit more significant than choosing.a winner for the next race. Indeed, one feels hopeful that if the same amount of thoughtful attention was given to this major problem as is given to the racing sport, the prospects of peace would be considerably brighter than what they are to-day. Surely mental courage and energy are more praiseworthy than mere physical courage during a period of warfare. Mr Burnett makes It plain that while honouring the dead of 1914-18 by memorial gates, it will not be very many years before “our progress is marked” by another catastrophe of unrivalled destruction, after which some of us may be fortunate enough to sit back and discuss the advisability of erecting more gates. Surely Mr Burnett must realise that such statements are extremely dangerous, especially when he recalls the psychological commonplace that “Thought tends to work itself out in action.” Again, every right-thinking person must be aware of the following, shall I call them platitudes? (1) : The race for armaments is on. No such race has ever resulted in peace. (2) : According to some of the most reliable authorities, another war would definitely mean the end of our present civilisation. Continuing, Mr Burnett said that he partly realised that the Power Infinite ordered these things (scourges of war) for the betterment of mankind. That war serves for the betterment of mankind seems rather difficult to understand, unless we are living in a modern Italy, where the people meekly submit to the doctrine that “War places the stamp of nobility upon a nation.” Let Mr Burnett recall the simple facts of the Great War, let him rob them of all unnecessary emotional appeal. Now let Mr Burnett try to think of another future war, by magnifying these facts beyond the powers of any ordinary imagination, and he will then be in a competent position to point out more clearly and definitely the supposed close relationship of progress and war. Mr Burnett speaks of the Power Infinite, but if he means that Infinite Power that is manifested in the Old and New Testaments, he does not appreciate the fact that in modern warfare nine of the ten Commandments are broken, and that the central theme of the New Testament becomes a mere farce. Consider the commonplace utterance: “Certainly I am against war.” This is no platitude, but on the contrary, it is a dangerous falsity. It would be safe to say that there is a very small minority of New Zealanders who are actually against war, that is those who struggle against this bogey of the twentieth century. Everybody hopes for peace, but it should be more clearly realised that without a struggle, peace is impossible. We must view the problem from an entirely new angle. Conventions and ignorant prejudices must be overthrown. We must realise that unless our conceptions are radically changed within the next few years, another war (as Mr Burnett has pointed out) must be inevitable. Disarmament has proved a failure, the numerous Pacts between the Powers, as they increase year by year, tend to lose their importance; but these facts should not discourage us, but should rather imbue us with fresh courage and a determination to relegate the idea of war to where it rightly belongs—the Middle Ages. To-day, conventions of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, slavery, torture and duelling, are regarded as barbaric. Let us hope that by 1950 this convention of war will have been similarly discarded.—l am, etc., NOT INEVITABLE. Timaru, April 30.