THOUGHTS FOR THE DAY

Dominion, Volume 37, Issue 9, 6 October 1943, Page 4

THOUGHTS FOR THE DAY

Comments —Reflections He that passes a winter’s Way escapes an enemy.—Proverb. -

“Even if .Japan is defeated and wholly excluded from her Asiatic, conquests, Ihe aspirations of Russia in the Far East: will be met with at. the post-war conferences, and they may be hostile to China’s recovery of her ancient empire. In fact, certain Americans, in close touch with Soviet Russia's policies, like Mr. Walter Duranty, says that Russia will not be satisfied except by being put in possession of Mongolia, Manchuria, and Korea, and that she may furthermore demand a position of special influence over fee five northern provinces of China, which include the Shantung Peninsula and the city of Pciping.”—Maj.-Gen. D. P. Barrows (former president of California University), in New York ‘‘.Tour-nal-Ameriean.”

The enemy has heard some unexpected voices sounding sour notes. In the midst of a Berlin brithday tribute to “our beloved Fuehrer” the radio sweetness was temporarily drowned out by the shouted words, “The entire German nation curses today the hour that man was born!” The source was not discovered. A cheery Japanese news report to the troops on Kiska Island ended with “The defeat of our naval forces at Coral Sea, Midway, the Solomons and now our twenty-two-ship convoy to New Guinea has saddened the imperial household.” The source of this counterfeit item was an American operator in Alaska who had practised for months imitating the Japanese touch. —New York “Herald-Tribune.”

Since the disasters of Stalingrad and Tunisia, and more especially since the recent devastating air raids on the Ruhr, there has been a gradual change in the temper of the people from confidence to doubt—and in many cases from doubt to fear,” says “The Times” of London. “The machinery for controlling public opinion can no longer maintain the pretence that war weariness, grumblings, and misgivings about the future do not exist. . All that can be done now is to censure these manifestations publicly as defeatism. For some time steps were taken to prevent the full extent of the damage done by the Allied bombing raids from being known in the rest of Germany. Soldiers on leave from the front were, not allowed to visit their homes if they lay in the bombed areas, and evacuation of tL • inhabitants of these areas was kept within strict limits. By degrees, however, tlie truth about the damage inflicted by Allied bombing on Germany’s principal war industries and the terrible disorganization of civilian life in the Rhineland and Iheßuhr has spread throughout the country.”

“The Japanese will not know till the war is over the enormity of their blunder in executing some of General Doolittle’s men. For now the American people will demand a war without quarter against the Japanese cities and towns and a burning of all the areas where military installations are to be found. Japan will find no sympathy in the United States when her bamboo villages start to burn.”—Washington syndicate writer, David Lawrence.

Other people make wars and the Swiss pick up the pieces. Of the 4,300,000 inhabitants of the beleaguered island that is Switzerland today at least one-third must be engaged, directly or indirectly, in good works for a broken and battered world. They have managed to bring French, Belgian and Dutch children into Switzerland for a three months’ rehabilitation period. Swiss nurses and doctors have gone into dangerously infected war zones to do what they could. Most important of all, Switzerland, through tlie International Red Cross Committee at Geneva, is a connecting link between war prisoners and home. In tlie Central Information Bureau, for Prisoners of War in Geneva more than 12,000,000 index cards are on tile. On an average day 60,000 letters come in to be sent. on.—From a “Saturday Evening Post” article by Marquis W. Childs. “The ultimate issue, the degree’ of American participation in the international future, will be decided by tlie extent to which the American people from now on become convinced that a system of collective security which will work is 'being devised. They would like to. take out insurance against war —who wouldn’t? They are disposed to go along witli the British, the Chinese and tlie Russians. It is the straightforward feeling that international insurance, like insurance for fire and theft, will require the payment of a premium, and, that before yon pay a premium you should take the. precaution of looking to see whether the conupaiiy issuing the policy is a sound one, and will both be ready and able to meet the possible claims upon it. It will not be possible to convince tlie American people, I think,, that any balance of power scheme is good enough by itself. It will be similarly useless to base any peace upon a plan in wince the Atlantic Charter Ims to be ratified as an act. of faith alone. But. if there can be accomplished a peace by which tlie nations’ trust, in God is seen to be supplemented by stocks of dry powder, tlie American iwople will lie ns grateful as anyone else for it and will put their heart into it.”—Mr. Robert Waitliinan, London "News Chronicle” correspondent in America.

There is a lot of rubbish being uttered about war breaking down the moral inhibitions of civilians, that theft, rape, murder, “mugging,” etc., are on tlie increase because war gives us the green light to become savages again. My opinion, based on observation, is that anyone who commits a crime today is a criminal under all circumstances. These born criminals are always looking for some excuse to “break loose.” t do not believe that those who have never desired to niiii'der, rape or steal will murder, rape or steal merely because there is a war going on. Character is inherent ami unalterable. Tlie increase of crime today is merely the bad gone rotten.—Benjamin De Casseres, New York “Journnl-American.”

The Nest. Swallow from across the sea, 5 Come to share a house with me, May tlie roof above ns hung I,ast till you have hatched your young. More, in (lays of such a war, We can scarce petition for. —LORD DUNSANY.