TOWARDS WAR

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume 77, Issue 209, 4 September 1934, Page 7

TOWARDS WAR

LABOUR'S NEW POLICY END OF GENERAL STRIKE RELIEF IN THE LEAGUE During the recent ceremonial meeting i Venice between Mussolini and Hitr a Frenchman who was present ynically remarked to a friend: “It is lagnificcnt, but it is not peace” (says London correspondent of the Melourne Age). There are a good many Lher countries in Europe in which toav one might search with negative rents for signs of enduring peace. In ermany Hitler’s revolver is still noking after the orgy of shootings lat will make June 30 a memorable ate in German history. There are no oubt plenty of Nazis who are prepared j claim that this was one of the viicjries of peace, but to those who look n from outside it was mainly a piece f bloodthirsty savagery which must levitably sooner or later call forth oine act of revenge. And, quite apart torn its gangsterism, the signs in rermany, superficially at all events, all oiut in the direction no-t of peace, but f war. Nor is the outlook greatly iffereut in Russia, Poland and in ’rance. Armed forces are growing very where. In England the sentiment 5 all against war. but so it is to a loss egree in many other countries which ,re at the same time beating their doughshares into swords and spears, ilven here that sentiment will not ap>arently be strong enough to check the novenient for doubling the strength of he Air Force, and building up the <avy to the treaty limits. On the conrary. the anti-war feeling of the coun- n ry is actually cited in support of in- j ( ircased armaments on the ground that g , hey supply the best guarantee of )eace. But it would be wrong to as- r ume that this argument carries much veight with the enlightened section of .he public, which knows what to expect arh.cn the ring is cleared and all the L preparations for a contest have been made. And yet, despite the vigorous warlike preparations and the breakdown of the Llencva negotiations, the possibility is 1 that no nation will risk participation 11 in a first-class war for many years to t come. Not that they fear the advei- s sary, real or potential, but rather lest v the home front itself would crack, t Germany, for example, can keep at bay some millions of the best elements of its people who at this moment are silenced by force; but if an outside diversion arose, passive, if not active, resistance would indubitably destroy 1 their ambitious enterprises. The Great War proved at least that it is whole j nations, and not merely armies and ' navies and air forces, that are engaged in modern warfare. And for this reason it is worth while examining such 1 evidence as exists of the attitude of the public in Britain towards war and t peace. ’ For Peace. s Jl, is beyond all doubt that the vast majority of the country wholeheartedly supports as a genera principle the f settling of international disputes through co-operation of the Powers rather than by the establishment of a . balance through treaties and alliances. In proclaiming that the League of Nations is the corner-stone of British policy, Foreign Secretary after Foreign Secretary has faithfully interpreted J public opinion. The temporary check 1 which the League has suffered does not ; dismay the British people, and does not i surprise its Ministers, who are convinced that the eclipse will puss. Nor 1 is this view confined to these shores. I Even in those countries that are showing greatest signs of belligerency there : is°an underlying desire to get back to the League method. Every right-minded person realises that, in the words of Dr. Murray Butler president of Columbia University, 1 New York, “international understanding, international co-operation, and international action are absolutely essential if the stupendous problems of today arc to be solved and civilisation brought back to the path which leads 1 to prosperity and permanent peace.” Opponents of this course in England : have met with little success in recent months Resistance to the policy of conciliation with India, for example, has discredited Mr. Winston Churchill, Lord Lloyd, and others. Sir Oswald Mosley’s B>ack Shirt movement, which stands for violence at home and abroad, has fallen into disrepute. Even those who press for increased armaments find it necessary to pay lip service to the peace sentiment, and base their arguments on the urgent need for preventing war. And on the other hand those who regretfully recognise that an immediate, comprehensive disarmament convention is no longer to be hoped for are still pressing for a limited air convention. Recently they sent an influentially signed memorial to the Government on these lines. Propaganda Value. They will probably fail in their efforts, but the propaganda value of such movements in stimulating the peace sentiment is not to be ignored, and, although sudden crisis would doubtless change their attitude at the call of patriotism, there can be no doubt that, whether it is to be regretted or applauded, pacifism is to-day a much more important factor than it was before the war. The Labour movement has hitherto associated itself very closely wi-th peace a any price; and,, indeed, the Labour Party Conference last October carried a resolution roundly condemning ail war without discrimination. and declaring resistance with the whole force of the Labour movement. The implication was that the trade unions would be made the instruments of this policy, and that the threat of war would be met by a general strike. This policy was in close accord with decisions of the International Federation of Trade Unions, to which the German unions were a party. But the check to internationalism that has since occurred has no-t been confined to I a single field. The disappearance of the Gorman trades unions under the gentle persuasion of the Nazi rulers changed the situation, and unions have since gone by the board in Austria, and count for nothing in Italy or Russia. The general council of the Trades special care. They must be common to i all denominations and the tunes must ■ be familiar to everyone. Roman Catholic choirs will probably join with the ■ choirs of other churches in the choral items. , The hymns selected arc “O God Our , Help in Ages Past,” and “Lead > Kindly Light,” “Abide with Me,” “Nearer, My God, to Thee,” and i “Rock of Ages.