ANZAC AND DEFENCE

Hawke's Bay Herald-Tribune, Issue 86, 28 April 1937, Page 7

ANZAC AND DEFENCE

PROSPECTIVE CANNON FODDEE.

(To the Editor.) Sir, — Many of your readers who afe of military age and who have sufficient mental balance to weigh carefully a etatement and diffuse from their minds empty pl&titudes, must have felt as I did, disgusted, at the speech made by Colonel Weston at the Anzae Day Memorial Service. I feel that a memorial service is hardly the place for any militarist to indulge in sabre rattling. His remafks that those meh who did not return would be puZzled at New Zealhnd's attitude to-day, is beside tbe point. The facts are that the youth of this country are just as eapable, just as brave as those gallant men who laid down their lives in the Great War, but unlike tbose men, througb tbe example of their sacrifice, have a clearer- knowledge of events and know that most wars are skilfully engineered dn the interests of armament dividends. WhCn New Zealand in some futufe oinergeney passes legisiatiOn conscriptaiig the youth of this jsountry to give Liieif lives dn its defence, theii on that uay legislation should be enacted conrfcnpting all wealtb. This is the only oarrier between peace and another senseless War. Uniess tbis is done 1 think ihe arm-chair philosopbers tydil win again and we will have another carnival of slaughter. What did tlie Great War\ accomplish, any way? What is the COuntry ttoitig to assist the returned men to-day— other than give them empty praise? If we beldeve these men did what these Anzac speakers said they did, then this country ought to be absolutely ashamed of the treatment meted out to them sinee 1918. What is the percentage of returned men on the uneinployed? I can only sum up my idea of the Anzac Day Service ny quoting the roilowing reply of George Bernard Shaw to ari invitation to an Armistiee Bay Serviice, which account appeared in the Alabama Baptist: — "If there is any lightning left in Heaven, Hpaven lielp you when you go to church to congratulate Him and one another for four years of mtfrder and devastation, I have never read anything more wickedly blasphetnous than the service you have sent me." He eaid that he found in the programme "not a word of penitanee and confession, of disillu siOri, of humility; not a suspicion that God is not a colonel in the British Arlny; nothing but the unashamed confession that we are entitled to God's congratulations on an event dn whdch He had the privilege of being entirely on the British side." — Yours, etc..

Hastings^ ixpril 2 T§