WAR, SPIRIT OF THE PEOPLE

Dominion, Volume 12, Issue 67, 13 December 1918, Page 6

WAR, SPIRIT OF THE PEOPLE

| OF THREE GREAT ALLIED NATIONS

THE WILL TO WIN

(Impressions of the New Zealand Press j Delegates during their tour of the j war zone.) / |' Just as' man cannot live 'by bread alone, neither can a nation survive the test of war merely through the number ,und strength of its guns. There must be behind the material forces a vital 'spiritual ■ factor —faith in tho cause, and itue. will to suffer and endure to the finish.-' We had Opportunities of loarmng 'something of the spirit peryadmg the 'people of the three greatest members of ithe,, League :of . Civilisation—Britain, iFrance.' and the United States of America. ..' Before we were two weeks out jfrbin New Zealand last J line we found .ourselves on American soil, at Honolulu.' Hero the war spirit of the great democratic republic was manifested in a variety of ways. At an important 'commercial club, where we were courteously invited to lunch by some leading residents, there were spread upon mc table leaflets urging one to "eat well, but iwiseiy"; that is, to waste nothing. White bread was unknown, and we learned that ,the saving of wheat by the compulsory aise of other cereals in the staff of liie ivas very considerable. We saw military camps'at Honolulu where several thousands of United States troops were being trained for France. In conversation ,wifi citizens we found the war spirit dominant., 1 Not a jingoistic but. a very serious tone there was about it all. There seemed to exist a realisation that upon the issue of the war depended the future of the civilised world, and that jAmerica had not an hour too soon begun her part in.the struggle. We learned, too, at Honolulu, that tho coming of America into the war had had a wonderful effect in harmonising the British and American sections of the Hawaiian community, and that some long-standing I differences had been completely obliterated. '

jvln the course of a few days spent in New York, and more so during a voyage across the Atlantic in a great ship tilled with United States- soldiers,- we gained if-further intimacy with the American spirit. Quite noteworthy was the entire lack of boastfulness, of any notion that the United States was coming in where, and because, the other Allied nations had failed. -In conversation with officers and men,' with Y.M.C.A. officials, somo of .whose names are known all over the Jvorld, and with representative civilians, we discovered a profoundly serious mental .(attitude regarding tho war. It was pleasing to find a true and 'grateful' appreciation of all that had been done by the Allies before the advent of America into the ■ arena. Gfonnbined with that feeling there were, of course, the natural hope and determination of a highly sucr. cessful, efficient nation to tako a big patt in securing an early victory over ffii'Central Powers. .. ' r^lft'France the spirit of the people was f?v'e'aM in ,more tragic form—rn the absence of able-bodied men from practically all kinds of civilian activity, in aUfa'st number of new-made cemeteries, atftgia the mourning worn by -tho majffrfifrfyf tho women. Yes, poor France Jias Tj bled and suffered—but she had enter™. through f our j €ttrs an d nlore 0 f ila.ughte'r and destruction with a courage not shaken'; her spirit has prevetPStiperior 'to the material strength pMhSigfeatest military machine in history; her courage and determination enormous odds. S;'Mii'ch-lof this, of. course, 'is known to evewMdy; but wo New Zealand visitors bnnu&tionably got a sharper, clearer gtip'didf-) the facts as wo travelled for ieveral'WJUays through -French towns and over a substantial part of wmtonyrjjvhieh « sanctified by the heroic sacrinceiS"of France. The people must war weary—intensely war weafyi-bu't after all the years of tragedy the unbroken spirit of the nation was breatlied.-.;by M. Clemenceau, just prior to f o_ur oi visit. in his prompt rejection of [he enemy.';! "peace" overtures. .That is the igpjri't, of brave France as revealed Zealand Press Delegation. Mother Country? Britain's SMe and heart was never more gea.yhj-;;;.jthe people were never more ttctive;!,in prosecuting the war, never more .united in the determination to win. Nofj#at> all was perfect. Far from it. a. Ji ftidtty Irish problem remained unsolved,.. Strikes of workmen were not unconitoon. Living was dear, profiteering no doubt existed, politicians fre-quentlyn-quarrelled, and other troubles plOjiided.ithe domestic horizon. But depend beyond' these things tho visig>jgwould be blind who did not see in Bjjifa.vj],' not indications but proofs of a litght.y/ resolute spirit of strength and Sacrifice and endurance. Pacifists there w ß ej|..but they were just numerous and noisy enough-to form the exceptions that proved the rule—just sufficiently prominent to make a striking contrast against the, mental and moral fibre of the people rs. a-whole. Britain's part in tho war is described, in other .articles dealing wijA. the.Navy; the women, the munition workers, and so, forth, and' it scarcely needs more here than to say that such mighty efforts (and adequate results) Should have been impossible in the absence of that, spirit which is the very ;bul of patriotism and the surest guarantee of victory. ' : Among thp statesmen and . military leaders whom it was the fortune of the delegates to meet we found, without exception, a-calm confidence that the issue pf the war was then, beyond the region of doubt, and some •high opinions that yere -at that tirao given in favour not mly of a complete but an early victory, i One sentiment we were proud to find general throughout our journeyings was a feeling of great admiration for the oversea dominions and their soldiers. A.fld nono received higher praise than the New Zealanders, alike for their conduct on and off tho field. Probably it ivas largely due to the efforts .of the oversea parts of the Empire that there existed in Britain such a line confidence in the strength of the .whole British:-, nation-to do its full part with the other .great Allies in setting the world free :from the perils of Prussian militarism.. Whatever the contributing factors, and however their respective values may )>& apportioned, there was among the peoples of the three • powerful countries in which our observations were made a spirit of faith and determination which, soon or late, the enemy was certain to find irresistible. For it was the spirit of Victory.