The Bay of Plenty Beacon Published Monday, Wednesdays and Fridays. WEDNESDAY, MAY 3rd, 1939. HISTORY REPEATS ITSELF

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 1, Issue 6, 3 May 1939, Page 4

The Bay of Plenty Beacon Published Monday, Wednesdays and Fridays. WEDNESDAY, MAY 3rd, 1939. HISTORY REPEATS ITSELF

RECENT happenings in Europe prove that the world may be on the eve of a disaster o£ the first magnitude, and information which has come to hand sows clearly that the Dominion of New Zealand (as well as Australia) is now threatened, to an ex- | tent undreamed of but! a short time ago. The recent utterance by the Labour 'Prime Minister, the Hon M. J. Savage, in which he stated on Anzac Day at Auckland that, in his opinion 50,000 men might not be sufficient to defend New Zealand,, is one that must impress every section in the community, Mr Savage's words were: Frankly, I think that 50,QQ0 ten would not look at the job. These word's are as starkly naked in their truth and as devoid of hidden meaning as it is possible for wprds to be, so that there % no need to stress further the seriousness of the position as it affects this Dominion. With tihe object of awakening the great mass of the people to the necessity for preparation for any eventuality Sir Andrew Russell, Officer Commanding the New Zealand Division in France during the Great War, has emerged from semi-retirement and' undertaken a strenuous lecture tour, in the course of whicsh he will speak at Whakatane on Friday evening. Sir Andrew's effort is reminiscent of that made by the late Lord Roberts prior to the outbreak of the Great War, for in very many respects th» 'major circumstances are exactly the same now as they were early in 1914. It has been stated that had Lord Roberts' adv .e been taken at that time very many lives would have been caved, and possibly the Great War might have been averted. However, it is the present with which we must now deal, though, of course, lessons ca,n be learned from the past. General Russell must be recognised as a sincere Christian gentleman, who would be among the very last to foster anything in theshape of militarism. Thus, the fact that in te evening of his life he has undertaken the* no- light task of touring in the interests of the people, to warn them of the dangers which threaten, following as it does on the Prime Minister's statement, should be sufficient to rouse the most lethargic resident to his responsibilities in this matter.

Whakatane residents have earned a great reputation for the manner in which they have ri'gen to the occasion when the call has been made and we havenot the slightest doubt but that the Cpunty Chambers will be packed on Friday evening to hear what Sir Andrew Russell has to say.