Can Woman Outlaw War?

Star (Christchurch), Issue 18544, 18 August 1928, Page 19 (Supplement)

Can Woman Outlaw War?

Field Marshal the Viscount Allenby, Liberator of the Holy Land, Declares That Woman, Although She May Despise War, Would Never Accept a Peace-at-Any-Price Policy, However Much Influence for Good Her Entry Into World Affairs May Have.

li women bring about] world peace ?” Field Marshal the Viscount Allenby, the great conqueror and liberator of the Holy Land in its last crusade, who it set down in the annals of history as one of the foremost military commanders Great Britain ever produced, slowly repeated the question after me and shook his head, writes an interviewer in the “ New York Herald-Tri-bune.'’ " No," he replied frankly. "Women's nature is like man s. Some have ambition and want to gratify it at all costs. In many instances women are more pertinacious and will take stronger measures than men. Great women warriors are not unknown in history. They are often more savage than we are.” "But. women don’t want wart” I ejaculated. "Dp you think men do?” asked Lord Allenby .in surprise. “We are not like your compatriots, the Indians, who want scalps on their belts; or. like South Sea Islanders, who must have a row of heads .before any one will take notice of them. “Women are no more peace loving than men. Women will never accept the policy of ‘peace at any price.' They will always cerebrate over national crises and do what seems best. Should the occasion arfee, they would send their men off ‘to fight again tomorrow. “But women will have great influence on the wars of the future,” the fam* us field-marshal hastened to add: “in

England even mor6 than in America, for here they outnumber the men by millions and have full rights. They will have good influence—if they use their power intelligently.” And because the world is throbbing to the overtones of peace parleys and efforts to outlaw war, the famous field-marshal, whose great campaigns in South Africa, France and PalestineSyria stand out as more than victories —as masterpieces of strategy based on forethought, calculation and effective organisation—discus.sed with me arms and the man and woman—.of the past and future. “World parleys and peace conferences can never end war,” he reflected. “The influence of recent conferences and others that may l>e held in the future will educate people not to fight about silly things. Certain important things one must fight about. But people can be wiser. Much can be done ,by mutual agreement among the nations. “Wars for gain and personal ambition are dying out. Not many kings are left and they have liberalised constitutions giving them less power than a president. It is not kings who fight —it is the will of a nation that makes a war. “Unnecessary fighting can be averted if the statesmen are strategists and the strategists statesmen. These two bodies must work together and keep in constant touch. For strategy is war policy, and policy is peace strategy,” he somewhat cryptically pointed out. “The next war?” Lord Allenbv shrugged his shoulders “No one knows. China? Japan? That's hard to tell, for the likeliest war never comes off. “But obviously future wars will be fought by aeroplanes, and certainly will begin in the air.

“That does not mean fleets ■will lose their importance," he hastened to add. “We need ships, aircraft, horses, foot, artillery, battleships and cruisers. We need every sort of arms in war. The best generals are those who combine their arms with the greatest effect. “Aviation has given war a third dimension. Hitherto we used to war flat, by land and sea. Wellington.” continued AUenbv reminiscently, “always wondered what was on the other side of the hill. He often waited weeks and months to find out. Now a ’plane flies over and within an hour you know exactly what is going on over there. “Aviation will become more and more important in military tactics. In one way it. is good—it speeds things up. so. But it makes war more deadly —the women and children will suffer more as towns are bombed and poison gas sent down the kitchen chimneys." “Do you see the era ahead when wars will be abolished?” came my query. Without a moment’s reflection Lord Allenby shook his head. “I don’t think that day will ever come. Everything in life is competition. Even games arc competitive. Without that element we slacken down. Tf an individual or a nation doesn’t progress it goes backward. And when you do progress you are bound to run into the way of the other fellow.” “What did we learn from the last great war?" I asked. “There was no outstanding error—but many small ones,” commenced the field-marshal. “I don’t know if the war ' could have gone on differently. EveryI thing began on a small scale—even the supply of ammunition. We developed and improved our means as we went ! along—but so did the enemy. Gradu-

ally, we used every possible means of getting supplies and ammunition. “The main thing we found we did wrong,” he pointed out, “was not having compulsory service sooner. In another big war, wc shall have learned to organise better. Many of our best brains' went out to the front and got killed. They could have contributed much more by .remaining behind. ‘‘Organise your resources instead of wasting them—not alone of money, but of brains and blood. That is the great lesson this war taught, us,” exclaimed Lord Allenby emphatically. "In a future war not only the men will be mobilised, but the wealth of the nation as well.”