FALL OF WARSAW.

Evening Star, Issue 23384, 29 September 1939, Page 6

FALL OF WARSAW.

Thb gallant inhabitants of Warsaw have been forced to surrender their city, and all Poland, except apparently Gdynia, is now in either German or Russian hands. That the heroic resistance of Poland to the German legions would be incapable of being long sustained must have been to most minds a foregone conclusion when it was explained at the outset that the Poles, from necessity, not from choice, were trusting to a war of movement and to cavalry to frustrate the mechanised equipment of the invaders. The shock came too early for the rains which might have made the greatest obstacles for the advancing juggernaut, and the addition of the Russians to their foes made the last "blow for the intrepid nation. The continued defence of Warsaw —and of Gdynia—in those circumstances makes an epic of endurance at which all the world has thrilled with mingled admiration and pity. For twenty-three days Warsaw withstood its ordeal. There have been many far longer sieges, but no city has ever endured, from the aircraft of its investors combined with their great guns, such a nerve-shattering and destructive horror of bombardment, maintained day after day. And, Warsaw, when the war broke out, was a city of over a million souls. On the 24th it was reported to be suffering a barrage of fire from one hundred guns. On the 26th it was stated that not a single building in the city was intact. Tho extinguishing of fires had long been a main occupation of its inhabitants. Bismarck boasted, when he was besieging the Parisians, that he would leave them only their eyes to weep with, and that has always been the motto of the Prussians in warfare. Was it worth while-to continue resistance so long, when tho rest of Poland had been temporarily subdued? The answer to that must be that a great moral demonstration has been given, to confirm the minds of the Allies till this war ends. Apart from other material results, tho Poles more than a week ago were estimated to have accounted for a thousand German airmen ; Warsaw’s toll of aircraft was 106 machines when it fell; and airmen are not trained in a day. The greatest source of grief to tho Allies must be that they could give no direct help to tho brave Poles. “My country,” said the veteran Paderewski, “ voluntarily sacrificed herself to fulfil a historic role as a rampart against barbarism marching to world conquest.” That role was performed before when John Sobieski, in the seventeenth century, defeated the Turks before the walls of Vienna, and again, nineteen years ago, when Pilsudski. helped by the French Marshal Weygand, flung back the Bolshevist army from Warsaw. To restore Poland to her farmer state, as formerly they restored Belgium -when it was overrun, becomes now a sacred charge for J'.he Allies,

DRINKING AT DANCES. Without the slightest consciousness of inconsistency, advocates of the wet canteen in military camps should be able to condemn the habit of drinking at dances. For drinking at dances cannot bo dissociated from the unbridled liberties with liquor taken by a section of New Zealand’s young people when they choose to have an “ evening out,” This kind of social evil has been rampant for at least a decade, and it is hardly surprising that the Minister of Justice (the Hon. H. G. R. Mason) should have decided on an attempt to institute legislation prohibiting drinking at public dances or in their neighbourhood. He himself states that the clause suggested for inclusion in the Statutes Amendment Bill arose from hundreds of representations from all parts of Now Zealand, ‘‘not merely from temperance institutions, church organisations, and the New Zealand Alliance, but also because of views expressed by coroners, grand! juries, local bodies, and the experience of the police force, the Justice Department, and the Transport Department.” It will be realised that this list comprises a powerful body of public opinion. The matter cannot ho treated lightly.

Admittedly, modern dancing, which is nothing if not monotonous antll boring, may nojb of itself imbue young folk with the “ joio de vivre ” which they have the right to experience when they seek entertainment, but the fact remains that current efforts to “ make the party go with a swing ” can bo highly objectionable to those other dancers who do manage to extract some fun from the standard rhythm. At the same time, they cause parents a good deal of apprehension over the habits being formed by their offspring. Speaking in the debate on the subject which took place in the House of Representatives yesterday, Mr J. A. Lee said: “It is not necessary because of a few incidents, which everyone regrets, to treat thousands of decent people as though they were criminals.” Unfortunately, all the evidence goes to prove that the trouble is not confined to “ a .few incidents.” Many dances in Dunedin, and no doubt elsewhere in the Dominion, are well organised and strictly controlled!; yet there is a sufficiency of dance entertainments at which the bounds of ordinary decency and self-control are exceeded to an extent that warrants some such legislation as has been discussed! in the House.v Before interference by the police—unquestionably a drastic measure —is condemned some thought should be given to the irresponsibility which appears to be making “ the big stick ” necessary. • How much better it would be to let the soldier have his wet canteen than to allow young “ stay-at-homes ” a too-abundant license in pursuit of their civilian pleasures.