POST-WAR FALLACIES

Waihi Daily Telegraph, Volume XXXVIII, Issue 9362, 17 April 1939, Page 3

POST-WAR FALLACIES

WHAT DEFEAT WOULD MEAN WAR TO END WAR SENDING THE OLD MEN (By New Zealand Defence League) In these critical days, when ihe British Empire is faced with the gravest peril in its history, and when clear thinking has become so essenlial, it is necessary that some of the post-war fallacies should he removed. The greatest of these fallacies, so often heard during recent years, is that Die allied victory meant nothing, and it was therefore nol worth while winning the war. This is answered very simply by pointing out that, while the victors continued to enjoy all their rights' and privileges, Germany was disarmed and dismembered, lost all her overseas possessions and had to pay enormous sums in reparations, and that the Powers associated with her had to sacrifice large portions of tHeir territories. If Great Britain and her Allies had lost the war they would have suffered much greater penalties and to-day much of their territories, including many of their overseas possessions, would have been under the rule of Prussian militarism. What that means is being emphatically brought home to us by current events in Europe. Under the Berlin-Rome-Tokio axis it is the peril

that faces us to-day. “ONLY STARTED IN 1917” The next fallacy is that the Great War was a “war to end war” and that because wars have been in progress almost continuously somewhere ever since, tlie nations have been deliberately deceived. The actual truth is that tlie “war to end war” did not start until 1917, which was when America came into the war. Actually the war then had been in progress for close on three years, and its aims and objects, so far as the British Empire was concerned, were the restoration of Belgium and the crushing of Prussian militarism.

THE ROLE OF AMERICA The phrase “the war to end war” was the slogan with which America entered ihe war. Everyone naturally hoped that such a desirable aim would be achieved. A sincere attempt was made by President Wilson to accomplish this by the Covenant attached to the Versailles Treaty and the establishment of the League of Nations at Geneva, but—it failed. The disarmament conference failed; Japan defied the League in Manchukuo and China; Germany rearmed; Italy defied the' League over Abyssinia, and when sanctions were applied by Hie League against her they failed. So twenty years after the signing of the Treaty of Versailles wc have arrived at the position we are in to-day. The truth is that Ilia League of Nations never had a real chance of becoming effective. Another fallacy is to suppose that anyone can bind posterity. Traditions can lie handed on to posterity, but posterity must take care of itself. MILITARY FIT MEN

Still another post-war fallacy is that if the old men were sent to the war there would be no wars. The answer is that even if that could be arranged the nation which sent the fittest men would win and no one would abide by the result. So it would come immediately to a decision between the lit men of military age of each nation. An equal misconception is that by being very vigorous in condemning war we shall do away with war. The trouble is -that war may he thrust upon us whether we like it or not. And—we shall not even lie consulted. It will come without notice, like a bolt from the blue. I( has also been represented that Lhe Great War was waged in order to “make the world safe for Democracy” and that this was fraudulent because democracy has vanished in so many countries since. The undisputablc fact is that when the Allies won the Great War the world was made safe for democracy, but democracy has been bent so much on having a good time that in many countries it has “sold the pass” to dictatorship. In the re-

maining democracies the danger now is that, unless they take adequate precautions forthwith, they, too, may find that they have lost their rights and privileges. NO ONE DESIRES WAR No one in tlie British Empire desires war, because they have no cause to do so. We have every possible reason for desiring peace, not only for ourselves, but for others. Wu want to develop the highest possible standard of living for everyone with the highest type of citizenship. We wish to continue all our rights and privileges, all the good things that have been handed down to us. We wish to hand these over to posterity, not only untarnished, hut improved. But there are tilings for which Hie British Empire will light. It will light for the retention of British liberty and all its rights and privileges, and it will light for a better ordered world in which lhe weak wilt have equal rights and privileges w.th the strong.