THOUGHTS FOR THE DAY

Dominion, Volume 37, Issue 13, 11 October 1943, Page 4

THOUGHTS FOR THE DAY

Comments—Reflections One eye-witness is better than ten hearsays.—Proverb.

“ ‘Social consciousness’ is tuxedo English for ‘socialistic consciousness,’ which, in turn, is pussyfoot English for Communism. Its opposite is individual consciousness, which means that the individual —you and me, not an abstract mass—is of primary value. Individual consciousness, individual rights, not social rights, which may mean anything or nothing, but which, generally, mean State tyranny of some kind.”—Benjamin DeCasseres, New York "Journal-American.”

“In North Africa, the French Army already has reached 300,000 men and still is growing. Seven divisions of 105,000 men are fully equipped with new weapons. The others rapidly are being equipped and trained in the use of the latest arms from the United States and Britain. The French have a navy of 200,000 tons of useful warships. They have a nucleus of 2500 pilots for an air force. In. provinces and territories outside of North Africa they have at least 90,000 additional troops. As to fighting qualities, there is a great change from the misled and dispirited force that three years ago laid down its arms to Hitler. In Tunisia, all French forces, including the native Moroccan, Goums, fought well.”—“United States News.”

“There are those who say that the United Nations are held together in an alliance that is only temporary and fortuitous, that when the war is won the alliance will fall apart, and that each nation will have to look only to itself for security. They declare that ‘either we will be dominant in the air—or we will be dominated in the post-war world.’ They urge that we seize and hold every island in the Pacific, no matter what friendly Power owns it now. They even propose that, in return for lend-lease aid, the United States demand the right to" be the only nation in the world permitted to manufacture civil and military aircraft’ and to control all the big petroleum fields of the world. Incredible as these proposals may seem, they actually have been made within the last few months by our new American imperialists.”—VicePresident of the United States, Mr. Henry A. Wallace.

“In one field German efficiency stands unsurpassed in this and any previous age. That is the field of loot and plunder. According to the Board, of Economic Warfare, the Germans, up to the end of 1941, looted Europe of no less than 36,000,000,000 dollars, and. are now looting at the rate of tens of billions of dollars a year. They have stolen and shipped to Germany industrial machinery, raw materials, scientific equipment, horses, cattle, sheep and pigs; they have stripped public and private art collections of their treasures to adorn their palaces; they have filched office furniture, park benches and garden tools, food, soap, clothing and shoes; they have even pilfered the hinges from doors and windows. For magnitude and ruthlessness the German looting of occupied Europe surpasses all previous conquests in history. Attila was a piker by comparison. For the Germans have not only seized everything they could move; they have likewise seized everything they could not move by simply taking over title to the property. Through outright confiscation and intricate financial jugglery, the German Government or German banks, cartels and holding companies under its control today own almost everything worth owning in the line of industrial and financial enterprise in conquered Europe.”-'-“New York Times.”

It is our solemn duty to be able to say to every fighting man ou the day of his discharge: here is your chance to have a part in the greatest epoch of building which man has ever known. In our sentimental way we call our fighting men “the boys” and we look forward with longing to their homtcoming. But they are not boys; and if they were they will have grown to the full stature of manhood. They have rights for -the future which are as fundamental as any of those which are our national heritage. And coming “home” means more than an emotional march through flags and cheers. If management has the vision, the courage and the daring which are its basic functions, it will rise to the challenge of the soldier who said: “I hope that you are one of those who’ll see to it that none of us will be selling apples on the street when this war is won.” Henry J. Kaiser, the well-known American shipbuilder.

“What are the chances, if any, of Japan’s cracking up? It was possibly the most painful moment of the Emperor’s life when he signed the declaration of war with Great Britain. His brothers, Chichibu and Mikasa, each of whom I taught for more than three years, are very democratically inclined, gi’eat admirers of Western free institutions and particularly of the British Royal house. Successes in the Pacific at the outset filled the nation with pride, and the daring adventure was popular for a time; but gradually this died down when the months brought no more tangible gains. The long, fruitless campaigns in China have made the people very sceptical" of advertised victories. Doolittle’s raid on Tokio was. morally, a shattering blow. Moreover, few people are so sensitive as the Japanese .to world opinion, and the knowledge that they are detested everywhere except (possibly) by their allies, themselves now fighting with their backs to the wall, must have a deadening effect on the nation’s morale. In Japan the pendulum swings swift and far. If a few sharp, sudden, heavy blows are delivered on their homeland, with planes dropping showers of incen diaries and “block-busters,” the poopie’s confidence in their “invincible” army and navy, their trust in the leaders who brought them to this, may melt away. Political leaders, snubbed so long by militarists, will gather courage and ask questions.”—Omori Harris, in “Harper’s Magazine,” U.S.A.

The Japanese. How courteous is the Japanese; He always says, “Excuse it, please.” He climbs into ills neighbour’s garden, And smiles, and says, “I beg your pardon.” He bows and grins a friendly grin, And calls his hungry family in; lie grins, and bows a friendly bow; “So sorry, this my garden now.” —From “The Face is Familiar,” by Ogden Nash.