The Waikato Times With which is incorporated The Waikato Argus. THURSDAY, JANUARY 8, 1920. CHRISTMAS GIFTS

Waikato Times, Volume 92, Issue 14258, 8 January 1920, Page 4

The Waikato Times With which is incorporated The Waikato Argus. THURSDAY, JANUARY 8, 1920. CHRISTMAS GIFTS

- ♦ Tho cables which have recently arrived depicting the condition of affairs in Gontral Europe make a sad commentary on the spirit of Christmas good cheer. This is tho first Christmas-tide since war that people have felt inclined •to ©at, drink and be merry, and travellers tell us of cold, hunger and disease, of financial ruin for those who were prosperous, and of beggary for those who were workers. Disaster has befallen victor and vanquished alike, and Austria and Serbia are involved in one tale of ruin, while Roumania in the midst of its starvation and impoverishment finds troops to raid and rob Hungary, which is one degree worse, and spirit to flout and defy tho Supremo Council wjiioh has ordered them to withdraw and to refrain from robbery. The crimes committed by Germans and Austrians in war time are repeated by their victims in peace time, and tho restoration of. law is indefinitely postr poned. In the districts of, Germany which are oocupled by the British, conditions are hetter, for the army keeps order, and in addition the left bank of the Rhine was a favoured district in the matter of food throughout the war. The Army chiefs exercise control through German police, and work in amity.with German officials, and the populace, high and, low, will regret their withdrawal. What will follow no one can tell, but everyone fears that it will be anarchy. The anticipations of monarchical restoration are apparently unfounded, for aristocrats are thoroughly discredited. All the symptoms which cause anxiety in Britain are found in an exaggerated condition in Germany. The profiteer exists, and his sudden rise to riches in his country's misery makes him an object of loathing. The town accuses the country of starving it. Workmen are always demanding higher wages, and always finding that more money does not mean more comfort. Domestic servants are well nigh unprocurable, for girls who hava earned big wages in munition factories are not inclined to return to The g'fijat upheaval has disorganised the world, and America, which has reaped an incredible harvest of money from the world's distress, finds herself involved in the same troubles as other people, while Japan demands universal suffrage, and has a party which resists anti-Russian adventures in Asia on exactly the same lines as those taken by Labour and Liberals in England. By a curious paradox it would almost seem \ likely that the war, which was itself a manifestation of racial hatreds, and lias been concluded on the lines of racial independence, whatever the consequences may be, will demonstrate to the world that we are none of us independent of each other, and that good fortune or had must equally be shared by our fellows. The slow thinkers who are still demanding Hie segregation of different races within different areas will probably continue to do so' while they live, but their want' of touch with life will become increasingly manifest. We had a painful example'of the solidarity of mankind in the epidemic which ravaged the world in 1918. It is certain that if conditions such as those depicted in Central Europe continue epidemics of oven more serious nature will arise, and in the debilitated state of immense numbers of people such epidemics' will •

acquire an hitherto unknown virulence. Passports and customs barriers will be

found useless to exclude such attack, and sufferings will be general. In the sheltered and privileged position which we occupy there is a duty thrown upon us to show some appreciation of our blessings, and this should take a more definite form than that of mere verbal thank offerings. A gift on some substantial scale to friend and foe alike would help to re-establish the basic truth that man is Ins brother's keeper. W« would appeal to the Government as the one agency that could satisfactorily carry out the matter, to forward a shipment of frozen meat to be divided equally between Austrians and Serbians, while the cost thereof should be defrayed by collections made throughout the country. There will be some whom war has enriched who will gladly seize the opportunity to contribute largely. There will bo many whose power to give is less, but whom sympathy with distress in its most cruel forms will move to give according to their means. Those whose position makes them realise that poverty and distress are amongst the possibilities of life are commonly the most generous of givers, and Labour would respond do an entreaty for such a cause. The Press should be appealed to on behalf of the movement, and a concerted effort would result in a success which would provide a cargo of frozen meat for the use of those who are suffering the pangs of hunger, and would show at the same time that kindliness and enthusiasm can be generated In times of peace as well as in those of war. The countries which are producers of primary necessities have profited by war, and it will be to their credit to recognise their responsibility to those whose circumstances are so hard. We should like to see the churches of all denominations’ interest themselves in the movement, in which they could sink their differences and unite in a work of common Christianity, for such action would tend to re-ostablish their influence and authority which is sadly lowered by the sectarian bitterness which lias lately been manifested. As a last dramatic touch we should like to see the shipments landed at Fiume, which has of late threatened to be the cause of renewed hostilities between Italians and Serbs. The crying need of the world to-day is that attention should be turned to reconstruction, and the first step towards this is to turn men’s minds away from conflicts and hatred to sympathy and charity. Such a movement would be eminently in keeping with the Christmas season, and would be a proof that declarations of peace on earth and good will to men were something more than mere verbal wishes. As the first step required Is that of organisation, we hope the Government will take the matter in hand, and they might then call on voluntary effort to raise the necessary funds, while care should be taken to cast the net sufficiently wide and to interest all classes in the cause. Such a movement if brought to a satisfactory conclusion would reflect credit on the community, would do something at least to relieve distress, and would exhibit an effort to ignore recent enmities in view of the needs of a common humanity.