WHEN THE WAR IS OVER

Dominion, Volume 9, Issue 2762, 4 May 1916, Page 7

WHEN THE WAR IS OVER

WILL THE WORLD BE THE SAME?

THE MARK OF TRENCH LIFE

(By Frcdk. Palmor in "Collier's Weekly.") The orgy cannot go ou forever. When it ceases, what 'then? . When all. the consorship^restrictions aro ended; when men in tiie great civilised and progressive nations of Europe may onco mora - talk and write freely; when soldier who ground their arms become free agents of opinion onco more what kind of a world shall wo he living in? Nowhere will it be .quit? the' same world. When peafco comes if'wili coine suddenly, out of the blue, I think, lis war came, This X iind 'is tho common opinion in Europe among those.'whose opinions are worth-s-bile. Onco these powerful nations find that the decision is reached; once it is realised on all hands- that the liour to cease , struggling has arrived, everyone will have an interest in stopping the drain in life and in money immediately. I don't imagine any neutral Power playing a part! in long negotiations before the .public'bye. Notes will be exchanged between tho belligerents by 6ome intermediary, and one morning we shall, Lear of au armistice. But not this; month, nor , tlio "next - month—not until next, summer, unless tho German navy comes I cut and destroys the BritisL Navy and puts a blockade aroiind England'. Anyone wlio thinks that possible is welcome to' his optimism. But he had better not place any-bets or. it. And' a .big factor is that German uavy in any peaco arrangements. If it comes out, and is destroyed, Germany has lost one of her most valuable coun-' ters in making a bargain. Tho only chanco it had of beating the British wan during the first two or three weeks of war, when it might) .by skilful manoeuvring or' the laying of mines' across tha path 'of, the British Fleet, have, succeeded in bringing all its gun' power to bear against only .one portion of the British fleet at one time.'' Th'l3 chanc» has passed.' If the German fleet conies out now it must face odds of five to three. While, it ioniums at Kiel it is "still a "fleet in being"—that is, a fast) if inferior, fieet that- must bo reckohed with. Before they have peace the British public want that navy destroyed. Its existence seems to them to.mako anything like a " permanent peace impossible, and will require this continuance of the competition,ir. iiaval armaments between the two Governments. The'rat in tho bole must still be watched by the cat, but a dead rat outside its hole leaves tho cat to basis iii the sun. '■. .. .

■ ' An Unchanging Law. War cannot change the law of supply and..demand. Europe will 'inevitably go out into the markets of the world to meet the demand with cheaper - goods because she must sell goods in order to restoro the trade balances. The men who survive in Europe will still have their brains, their skilled hands, their power of industry and organisation.' These are the things that must, (succeed in,the .world. We must expect a hungry and eager Europe, in the reaction of peace,, turning every penny she can to account. She will be building new passenger steamers to carry the shoals of tourists to seo tho trenches. She will flood the world's markets. Instead of the United States being able to'sit back and enjoy the great start she has mado owing to her security and peace iii this war, she will' hiv© to. face th.e .sharpest competition 'she 'Has;iever ; kiiowh7' For the .man who is brokes will work harder.' for a dollar than, tho man who has ten dollars in the savings bank.

Destructive, wicked, and murderous as this war is, it has been also educa« tional. It has burned lessons into tho brain which were - unassimilated in peace. It ,lias already resulted in reforms. which tens of thousands of writers and .settlement workers could riover have accomplished. Millions of Europeans have learned at how much less expense one can live if one vhooses, The money cost of the' struggle, .then, is not entirely waste, because it does represent a considerable percentage of economy on the part of- everybody, Europe will be poor. Slio will liava enormous debts to pay. Taxation will fall. heaviest on those who have unearned . incomes, everybody agrees. They will havef to increase their in. comes by .labour. The trade unions'pf England, .which kre "'tho closest cor-

pbrations of workers in the world, mi>y find that they will have to go back tu ten hours a day. Europe will bo glad to make luxuries for export to tlio United States and foreign . countries, and consume fewer luxuries herself. Slio will be in the position of a man who lias been on a grand spree of extravag'anco and suddenly wakes lip to tlio necessity of making up for it by application and cconomy.

Soldiers and Policies. The men in the trdnches are going to have something to say about policies. There are from twclvo to fifteen millions of thein who have seen their comrades ' killed, and who have endured drudgery and risks without parallel. They have time for thinking in tho trenchcß, and, make no mistake, tlicy use it. For not only have the armies been tho largest ever engaged, but the average soldier has been of far higher intelligence than in any other war. Practically every able-bodied man in an era' of popular' education has been fighting. Ho knows that his duty is to go on with the sacrifice till lie is killed, his country wins, or the war ceases, on the word of his ruler or for other reasons.

' On tlio day that peace is signed, and. the censorship ends, his thoughts may take form in action. And what is to be the effect of all. this trench life? What influence will it have in peace? It has resulted in. a singular fellowship. Every class of man lias been submitted to the same kind of ordeal. Greed, selfishness, and ambition are submerged in a common causc. Nothing counts but courage and service against the enemy. The bullet and the shfell which knew no favourites and the omnipresence of Death have lifted men out of the, rut of individualism, and set-them above the petty individual annoyances and jealousies whicli influence action when work of-community interest is attempted in civil life. They .have learned discipline, definiteness, and the, value of holding together.