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However, the steadfastness and certainty with which the Dominion is overcoming the stringencies of war and developing her productivity is a matter for the greatest gratification. The magnitude of that task of reorganization must not, however, be underestimated. Some of that reorganization has worked so smoothly that -appreciation of its success may not be fully valued. In our splendid contribution in man-power to the war about 170,000 men, half the men of military age, were at one stage withdrawn from industry. Nine thousand women also served directly in the Armed Services, whilst others worked on farms, in factories, and in our homes. The termination of the war with Japan accelerated the repatriation of our Armed Forces which was already under way from the European theatre. The demobilization of many thousands of men and women, and their absorption into peacetime activities under the Government's plan of rehabilitation, has moved swiftly and smoothly. Thus, with the return of man-power industry has been helped during the transition from war production to the provision of consumer .goods. ;Real war costs Much of the cost of the war is not measurable in terms of finance. Devastated territories, displaced populations, starvation, suffering, disease and death, stunted children, moral decadence, legacies of Mtter hatred —there are no quantitative or qualitative units capable of measuring these dreadful and inevitable consequences of war. Victors and vanquished alike have suffered in varying degrees. Assessment of the real costs of the war in relation to any one ■country or group of countries is subject to obvious limitations. There is, however, some value in comparing the measurable sacrifices of •different nations, invidious as such comparisons may appear, for it helps us to see more clearly the nature of international problems of reconstruction and the methods most likely to solve them. This is particularly so in the case of the countries of the English-speaking peoples—the United States of America and the British Commonwealth of Nations. For in a very real sense the peace and prosperity of the world and the future of civilization depend on the policies these great democracies adopt in relation to each other and the extent to which they are able to arrive at common understanding. Mutual aid and comradeship have brought victory in war —to win the peace they must continue undiminished. Each of the allies has, within the limits of its human and material resources, made its great contribution to the common war effort; but there are unavoidable inequalities in the losses that have been sustained and, consequently, in the efforts required to repair

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