The Bay of Plenty Beacon Published Tuesdays and Fridays. FRIDAY, OCTOBER 22, 1943 BLOOD, SWEAT AND TEARS

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 7, Issue 17, 22 October 1943, Page 4

The Bay of Plenty Beacon Published Tuesdays and Fridays. FRIDAY, OCTOBER 22, 1943 BLOOD, SWEAT AND TEARS

LET us face the facts squarely. The British Broadcasting Corporation seems throughout this war to have suffered from a chronic attack of over careful attention to just what should constitute the correct wording of its bulletins. Day after day for years now every piece of bad news has been sugar-coated until it assumes the appearance of a strategic o-ain to the Allies irrespective of whether our armies are advancing or retreating. Now that it is generally recognised that the tide has turned the fashion is becoming even more pronounced and to hint at any reverse is simply not done. The only refreshing antidote to the whole fabric of the national propaganda machine is the open heart-to-heartedness of the British Prime Minister, Mr Winston Churchill whose grim prophetic words 'blood, sweat and tears' have yet to be fulfilled to a large extent. Here is realism, and study of the war position to-day bears out the grim promise to the full. How often have we been informed of the 'crippling' or 'staggering' blows dealt the German war centres by our aircraft. By their number the Third Reich should be prostrate to-day under the ghastly ram. But what do we find. Nazi Germany is still formidable. Unaided now she occupies almost the whole of the European mainland, a vast slice of Russia, and in spite of these tremendous responsibilities she is powerful enough to slow up to almost oozing pace the advance of the Anglo-Ameri-can forces in co-belligerent Italy. The day of the famous Churchillian prophecy must surely dawn before the Nazi monster is finally crushed, and though the hour or reckoning is surely approaching the manhood of the great British Empire and her Allies must drink of the cup of bitterness to the full before the forces of oppression and modern slavery are eliminated. On the other side of the world the picture is almost as drastic. It is certainly no time to cheer merely because we have halted the invading Japanese armies. Nipponese tentacles still hold firmly almost the: entire extent of their conquests of two years ago. The wealth of the Orient is hers to-day with the Malay States, the Phillipines, the Indies, Burma, Indo-China, Thailand and a o-reaj: slice of China. Were our armies in such a position we would deem the war practically over and victory more or less in sight. Have we therefore any reason to doubt that this is not the attitude of the average Japanese citizen. None whatsoever! Therefore let us face up to the situation as common sense decrees we must. We are a long way from victory yet and the path towards its achievement is undoubtedly the long suffering one of which our great leader spoke.