The Bay of Plenty Beacon Published Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. WEDNESDAY. JULY 22, 1942 WINSTON CHURCHILL

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 05, Issue 81, 22 July 1942, Page 4

The Bay of Plenty Beacon Published Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. WEDNESDAY. JULY 22, 1942 WINSTON CHURCHILL

THE extraordinary career of England's supreme war leader, Winston Churchill, has been full of curious contrast. Half American, he is the most English of Englishmen ; a scion of the Dukes of Marlborough, he is a great commoner ; on© of the last of the Victorians, he has often seemed ahead of his times. To-day, the great Englishman presents an enigma to millions of his countrymen who cannot understand the prolonged nature of the British conduct of the war. Now at a time when the presence of an English army on the continent would seem vital to the cause of our Allies, the man who planned the Dardenelles campaign in 1915 daredevil who first conceived the Zeebrugge raid has to all appearances been transformed into the overcareful controller of policy, hesitant to risk the powerful forces at his command and seemingly impotent towards a sorely-tried ally. The whole scene as presented by the progress of the war to-day is one of complete puzzlement to the average Britisher who has but his own deductions to fall back upon in order to try and arrive at a reasonable conclusion. Two possible explanations present themselves. The first, is that whether she would or would not, the precarious nature of Great Britain s shipping position makes all thought of a second front in Europe,, out of the ques w tion. Secret debates on the shipping question by the Commons, have not helped to preserve public confidence in our ability to safeguard the shipping lanes against the ravages of Hitler's underwater raiders. There is every reason to suppose that our sea,-transport has been vitally and widely interfered with." The second possible solution which occurs is the long view that the time is not yet considered opportune ; that the Nazi armies, with their Balkan and Italian Allies are still too close to the European mainland to allow for any large scale operations approaching an actual invasion. Is it that Churchill with his uncanny foresight has reached, an understanding with the silent Stalin, and that the Red army's movement to-day is purposely designed to draw—draw —draw the invaders deeper and deeper into the cavernous Soviet hinterland, where harassed by everincreasing guerilla bands, the difficulties of extended supply lines and prone to the demoralising attacks of Russia s as yet, untried, paratroops, the common enemy would be in no position to meet a, fresh and powerful foeman in the rear. These things occur to us as we weigh up the pros and cons and examine closely the guarded facts released from the censored communiques. The non-confidence motion in' the British by the critics of Churchill's policy,, and its spectacular defeat, has directed anew our hopes and our faith in this undoubtedly great man. His perception and judgment aire as clear to-day / and the great issues with nation is faeod. can be safely left in his hands even though the methods employed may not be entirely to our liking. A WORD FOR PLUNKET TO-DAY the annual meeting' of the Whakatane branch of the N.Z. Plunket Society takes place at 2.30 p.m. Once again in the midst of war we are: asked to be mindful of the health and the training of new generation. This is not a passing interest we owe to the men and women of the future, it is a positive duty which the newcomers can claim as an absolute right. And though it may be hard to reconcile the two diametrically opposed interests of the moment i.e. the cultivation of a national effort towards destruction and the fostering of the: code to preserve and encourage new life, yet we can feel that by virtue of the latter alone, we can rekindle our faith in the future and lay again the foundations for a happier more enlightened world. It is therefore encumbent upon every person who can reasonably make the time to show an interest in the movement which in spite of the greater aspects and calls of the present time, will go on quietly and efficiently doing a great and vital work and gaining permanent results in the shape of the young manhood and womanhood of to-morrow. AUTHENTIC To be vanquished and yet not surrender,, that is victory.—Joseph Pilsudski. RECENTLY' King Christian of Denmark noticed a, Nazi flag flying over an official building and remarked to a German officer that this was contrary to the treaty between - Denmark and Germany. The officer replied that the flag was flown according to instructions from Berlin. "The flag must be removed before 12 o'clock ; otherwise I will send a soldier to do it," the monarch declared. At five minutes to twelve the flag was still flying. The King announced he was sending a soldier to take it down. ''The. soldier will be shot," the Nazi officer warned him. "I am the soldier," the King replied calmly. The Nazi flag was lowered.