LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Dominion, Volume 8, Issue 2487, 14 June 1915, Page 7

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

» HOW LONG, OH LORD, HOW LONC? Sir, —Lord knows how lon<* ago souio funny old boxing blister laid down a sot of rules to govern boxing for sport. Unfortunately, the idea caught oil, and dashed if our war lighters didn't hegin to adopt the same rules for life-and-death struggles. The consequence is wo send our 'men into battle to struggle for their lives, handicapped with ideas that they imisn't poke a German with a bayonet below the belt, and so oil, becauso it isn't sport; and that they mustn't use gas or poison or any other effective means ol killing the enemy, but, must trust to his being gentlemanly enough to advance unprotected and to wait long enough for the British soldier to select his method of slaying "according to Cocker." No wonder the Germans laugh. Goodness, if we're going to kill Germans, why don't wo kill them in the most expeditious way wo can, instead of letting them do it to us, while we complain because they have realised that tho quickest way to end a fight is to kill, kill, kill, never mind the methods. Sport, bo blowedl Are we to waste lives and millions for an idea of sport when combating snakes? ' So with submarines and merchantmen. We've got an idea that if we send out a merchant vessel , with a gun aboard, tho submarines will sink her without warning. Good Lord, how many haven't they stink already without warning, including tho Lusitania? But we still keep it up, and will too till we've lost the best part of our merchant fleet —the same silly old British style. One thing is sure —if the authorities stuck a 3 Or 4in. gun aboard each merchant ship and cach trawler wo should lose less ships, hear less of submarines, provido sport for a lot of fine old salts whom wo now send out to certain death unprepared even to put up a fight, and we should have heroic deeds done wliich would ring round the world, and have a tremendous effect upon tho German war spirit. How long, Oh Lord, will the silly people running the war be ruled by tho Queensbury shibboleth and risk the Empire? Don't make any error, tho Germans aro not beaten yet—indeed, they only seem to be just warming up even now. And wo squeal because German sailors stand on the decks of their submarines and laugh forsooth when they've sunk another merchantman. Why shouldn't they laugh when tbey think they're fighting fools? It's the same old British way —stick to the old style and suffer and lose and pay, and learn through the hide when the knowledge is too late. But how long are we to suiter and pay for our hatred of change into raodernitv?—l am, etc., F. E. PETHERICK. Featherston Street, Wellington. [This letter has been abridged, but sufficient remains to indicato our correspondent's extreme views on the British method of conducting its share of the war. The British way may have 'its drawbacks, and there is 110 doubt an undercurrent of truth ill Mr. I'otherick's denunciation of the overdone "sporting'' spirit of the nation, but it is tho British way "to see the thing through." ' Our weakest spot is not our method of fighting, but the slowness of tho people to realise that their whole energies must be concentrated on this war —that in their daily lives everything they can do to strengthen our armies in tho field and our fleets on the seas must take precedence to all elso no matter what the cost may be."|