NOTES AND COMMENTS

Dominion, Volume 37, Issue 230, 27 June 1944, Page 4

NOTES AND COMMENTS

Many citizens are likely to share the view, expressed by the chairman of the Wellington Fire Board (Mr. S. S. Dean) that the Government has acted unwisely in disbanding the Emergency Fire Service, except in Auckland. The fact that the E.F.S. is being retained in Auckland, “on account of the Government’s many interests there and its close proximity to the war zone,” suggests that the Government’s advisers are of opinion that vigilance should not be wholly relaxed. There is another aspect of the matter which should not be overlooked. The war has receded from this Dominion, but war conditions remain. Tn and about, the city of Wellington exist certain fire risks created by the abnormal activities of the community, both military and civil. Moreover, the manpower shortage, though it may not have affected the strength of the fire brigades directly, has had a general bearing upon the capacity of the community to cope with a major fire emergency—and its aftermath. For example, the destruction by fire of any building requiring immediate replacement presents a much more serious problem in wartime than in normal times when men and materials are readily available. The work of the E.F.S. in preventing the further spread of the costly Lyttelton fire earlier in the war, and the excellent service given by pump crews on the occasion of the Wellington wharf fire of comparatively recent date, demonstrated! the value of an auxiliary service in abnormal times.

There has been no clearer evidence of desperation on the part of the German authorities than that provided by their efforts to rally public morale with exaggerated accounts of the flying-bomb offensive. British accounts of the damage wrought by the new enemy weapon show that its nuisance value is considerable, but it is also very plain Unit the weapon can have little or no effect upon the war situation in Europe-let alone become; by any stretch of imagination, a war-winning device. No one can lx? more clearly aware of the limitations of the flying-bomb “offensive” than those who are conducting it; yet the German leaders are permitting their public to be hoodwinked into the belief that Britain is cracking up under a random hail of missiles. The ultimate reaction of the German public, when time reveals this deception, is bound to take the form of a serious recession of morale—a fact which the astute Goebbels cannot be failing to realize. Thus the only explanation for the extravagance of his propaganda concerning the flying bomb seems to be that he and his colleagues are playing for time at any cost. In other words, they are attempting to bolster the fighting spirit of the German people for the remainder of the present crucial summer, in which the military fate of the nation may be determined. In their propaganda at least, the Nazis appear to have abandoned long-term planning, and instead are living for tbc day and hoping the morrow will take care of itself. That is a sign of deterioration in leadership which mag fee <‘f great signiflcanca,