A CALL FOR PATIENCE

Dominion, Volume 12, Issue 152, 22 March 1919, Page 6

A CALL FOR PATIENCE

At no period since the critical days ; of August, 191-1, lias there been a greater call for patience on the part of the public than the present ' interregnum between the armisticc . and the signing of peace. In England just now the situation is one of extraordinary difficulty. The Government, fresh from the distractions of a general election conducted under new and trying conditions, .. called on to shoulder tho burdens i and responsibilities of pcace-nuik-i ing, demobilisation, and rcconstruc- : tion, facing a social and industrial crisis of extreme gravity. By all tho rules of the game it is as much entitled to the support and assistance of the Press and the publie now .as at any time during the way, but that measure .of support which it badly needs at present is strangely lacking. There are loud complaints of delay. in demobilisation, soldiers' riots, labour demands;, and so on. To such a point has the situation become strained that the Minister of '.Reconstruction, Snt Auckland Gkddes, recently felt it incumbent upon himself to address to the representatives of the British Press a special plea for patience, sympathetic understanding, and forbearance. _ Prefacing his plea with a high tribute to the conspicuous services rendered by the Press during the war, Sir Auckland Gf.ddes asked his hearers to remember that much'of what. the Army and the people had won by self-sacrifice raight_be thrown away if they were not willing to endure the strain of self-sacrifice for a few months longer. Since 1914, he weift on to say, there had been nothing move disquieting..than the attitude of the Press during the last few weeks. (This was in January.) It' had seemed to lose its' sense of proportion, and it seemed unable to fullv realise _thc : difficulties with . which the. nation was now confronted. The fighting was over and there was an armisticc, but peace was not yet won, nor would it be won till the treaty was signed, sealed, and delivered,.and the terms .carried out. "Tho recent symptoms of discontent and the disbelief in -the efficiency nml (ho good faith of onr Government,'" Sir Auckland Geddes continued, "have their roots undoubtedly in the carelessly-thought-out' articles which have appeared in ninny newspapers. T ask- you. if I may, to weigh carefully the opinions which are expressed. It is so easy to talk about 'dilly dally.' It is so easy to say there is delay in the work nf demobilisation, lint this is not fair to men who have to deal with (lie problem. Much of the criticism passed recently upon demobilisation has been written by men who do not understand the problems they-are discussing. If they had understood those problems tliey would not have written as they have done. We are trying; the greatest experiment that was ever attempted in demobilisation of a -Treat army.. We aro trying to plan the demobilisation nlonif lines which have been most carefully thought out, and which are being designed to best serve the interests of the country. .It would have been easy to bring back unit after unit with drains beating and bugles Marine, but we miflit have laid Iho foundations of an appalling social crisis. Somewhere in the neighbourhood of- 3G0,f100 men have been already returned to civil life, and T ask you to give to the work of demobilisation the same kind of consideration that you have extended to iue and to those who were associated with me duriupr (he months and tho years that we were responsible for reeruitiiig. Ton wero extraordinarily good thon, and you ; wero extraordinarily- helpful. I ask for (he same assistance in connection with the work of demobilisation."

Tliero is a hint in this which may 'not be'wasted on impatient spirits iii Now Zealand. If the.work of repatriation is to be .earned out with the success which all 'must hope for it must be .approached on systematic, lines, and.must be.thoroughly well done, and thoroughness in such a large and difficult . uiKlcrtakin.tr means earc and organisation and time.. Also, this work to lis completely successful will need all the sympathy and assistance-which the public generally'can spare for it.