The Bay of Plenty Beacon Published Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. FRIDAY, APRIL 10, 1942. THIS FATEFUL SPRING

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 05, Issue 38, 10 April 1942, Page 4

The Bay of Plen ty Beacon Published Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. FRIDAY, APRIL 10, 1942. THIS FATEFUL SPRING

A GLANCE at the European theatre of tragedy, shows the stage well and truly set for the greatest trial of military might in the history of the world and the forthcoming European spring will possibly spell the destiny of mankind. Hitler's Germany has rallied all her vast strength to take the offensive in Russia where now her waste; lep;ions litter the ground with their dead, in the face of the restless Russian advance. The steel-fingered Nazi grip of eighteen neutrals tightens in an effort to squeeze from the tortured populations, more and still more, arms, ammunitions, foodstuffs to sustain the Moloch of destruction which it has created. This fateful spring! But the finger of time has written, new chapters in the pages of the swiftly succeeding days. Twenty-two short miles from enslaved France the armies of Britain have been straining at the leash ever since Dunkirk. Two million fighting men, toughened by eighteen months of intensive training—assisted by legions from Canada, Poland, Belgium, Holland., Czechoslavakia, Greece and Free France; Northern Ireland bristling with the American bayonets of freedom; these are the forces which will be unleashed upon the enemy's western flank at the psychological moment. A war on two fronts will be the lot of war-dogs of Central Europe and the freedom of two hundred millions now held in thrall will be the clarion call to fling in fresh armies of irregulars from the enslaved, For Britain the long; period of patient preparation is fast coming to an end. The sands are running out and the blood test is at hand. What role the forces of Japan will play in the great clash remains to be seen, but if she is true to her pledges (and that is by no means certain) she may be forced into a speedy war on Russia's far Eastern frontier to relieve the sorely pressed Axis forces in the West. The bird of time is flying. SNUB FOR STATE INDULGENCE THE example of two young Maoris who appeared before the local court last Wednesday charged with wilful damage to Government property serves to indicate the standard of mentality of certain types of Na,tive prisoners who are detained in the local gaol. The defacement and deliberate damage to one of the best appointed goals in the Dominion should, sheet it home to the authorities that the construction of detention institutions resembling first class hotels is so much wasted money and effort. It is an idealism for which few communities are yet ready. Far from being the homes of correction for which they are intended such pretentious structures are merely a mockery which the wayward and irresponsible elements, usually housed therein are first to recognise. While not for a moment condemning the enlightened, idea aiming at the construction of brighter, cleaner and healthier prisons, we heartily condemn the utter extremes to which the official mind seems to have run, and which are proving so hopelessly futile in the face of treatment meted out by ignorant and unscrupulous young louts who happen to be detained there. MONEY ,MONEY, MONEY!!! HAVE you ever paused to reflect upon the growing number of calls upon the public purse. Quite apart from increased taxation; quite apart from the rising cost of living; quite apart from the labour shortage, and a hundred and one other divertions which assist to filch away the: nimble the war time appeals are resounding to-day in a manner surpassing all previous records. "Buy Bomber Bonds," "Help the National Savings," "Subscribe to the Patriotic Fund," "Push forward the Awake New Zealand Campaign"—all these slogans are designed to. tempt the cash from the pockets of the public. The amazing part is that despite the: apparent success of all these campaigns, business remains generally prosperous; there is no actual cutting down of the living standards; and for that who can deny that money is not just as plentiful (except perhaps where a restricted population dictates the spending power) as ever. The secret lies in the fact that people to-day are not necessarily subscribing from their weekly earnings but rather from their bank accounts, where those nest-eggs of many years careful effort are now being- invested in National Bonds which are dedicated to the defence of the Dominion.