Hokitika Guardian & Evening Star TUESDAY NOVEMBER 23, 1920. “THEY SHALL NOT PASS!”

Hokitika Guardian, 23 November 1920, Page 2

Hokitika Guardian & Evening Star TUESDAY NOVEMBER 23, 1920. “THEY SHALL NOT PASS!”

The cable news published yesterday referred to the war-torn condition of Verdun and its vicinity. Reading the gruesome details it is possible to understand the litteral loyalty of the Frenchmen to the declaration that at Verdun the enemy “shall not pass.” The French laid down their lives by the hundred thousand to keep back the enemy, and the sacrifice supreme as it was, was not in vain, for the enemy did not pass, and Paris was saved. We are told that about the twenty-two wrecked villages round about Verdun there are 800,000 dead—and half of these are French dead. In the two years since the Armistice, ninety thousand of the dead have been recovered, and thousands identified and reverently laid to rest again with a record of their burial. There are said to be a thousand dead to the mile—one body to less than every three quarters of a yard. How those guns of 1916 and 1917 must have accounted for their victims! Verdun for a time seemed to be the shuttlecock of the war. The enemy in their striving to break through to Paris sought to demolish the French lines bo firmly fixed about Verdun. The overwhelming strength of the German forces which were commanded by no less a personage than the Crown Prince, was at first successful, and the French despite a generous sacrifice were driven back on to the main redoubts. But in a great and sudden thrust in December, 1916, the French recovered a large area beyond 'Douamont, the struggle for which was epic in its greatness. 'l'he battle ebbed and flowed till victory crowned the day decisively for the French who captured 11,000 Germans and nearly 300 guns. In August and September 1917, there was again great fighting in the Verdun region including the notable struggle for Mort Homme crests and Hill 304 culminating in the French capture of Chaume Wood, after whijch the gallant French were not troubled greatly in the neighbourhood of Verdun where they were believed to hold an impregnable position. The French did at Verdun what the Australians accomplished at Amiens—prevented a break through of the enemy on the route to Paris. When Verdun first tamo into the danger zone it was the occasion for France's greatest rally. The significance of holding Verdun was palpable to the whole nation, and the fact that it was a danger point roused the nation to the highest pitch of determination. “They .shall not pass.” was the battle cry of the French and the slogan ran through the nation which gave of its very best to hold the’position. It was known at the time that the casualties were enormous, but the figures now revealed show how gueat the slaughter was. The Germans were bent on securing tlieir objective and enemy generalship used every military device to carry the day. It was about Verdun where the enemy first used tlieir troops in succeeding waves to force a position. These were tactics involving heavy loss where their opponents were behind heavy artillery. It is believable that the enemy must have lost heavily in their futile efforts—the most desperate of the whole war so far as a single objective was concerned. Verdun 1 ils the particular glory of the French arms and French leadership which proved supreme after the greatest tests. The sacrifice as now disclosed by the figures in the cable message shows too truly what determination there was behind the resolve that the enemy “shall not pass.”

Dealing with the financial positon and the general outlook for the Dominion the Mercantile Gazette in its weekly review says the tendency of trade is to slacken and the slackness is bound to increase because the incomes of the primary producers will be less. There is the slump in wool, in tallow, hides sheepski;ns, fipzen meat, etc., dairy produce being the only exception. The decline in wool and meat whatever it may be, will be serious because in the past nine months these two items represented £16,667,582 out of the total exports of £35,185,567. The wool prospects have been very closely canvassed and the most optimistic person, the T/rime Minister, gives expression to hopes merely. The statistical position of wool gives little encouragement to the belief that the market can recover speedily. There is an abundance of wool carried over from previous years, and it is safe to say that the wool in stores is far in excess of the world’s requirements in an average year assuming that Europe was tranquil and producing. The present po-

sition arises from a very heavy carry over of high priced wools, and the nation are unable to consume the wool at the high prices, so that while there are ample supplies, consumption is restricted owing to the impoverishment of the peoples. The general opinion appears to bo that wool growers should hold their wool and feed the market A# .required. To enable this to he done the Government is prepared to guarantee the advances that may be made by banks to producers. This holding of the wool seems like perpetujatiing the trouble. If this gasoil % clip is to be heid for twelve months or even nine months, how much bet ter off will the producers be? Will not tlie same adverse conditions be apparent at this time next year as is the case to-day? The object of holding on to the wool is to maintain the market value, and the operation will be found as effective as the efforts of King Canute lo retard the inflow of the tide. The swing of the pendulum cannot be changed, and just as it swung to 55 per cent beyond the 1914-15 season prices, so it must swing to some equivalent of that below the levej. When prices fall woollen goods will come within

the reach of many millions and the congested state of raw wool wil be speedily relieved, but trying to hold up the prices is merely to prolong the agony. If the wool is held up and the meat also, and advances to a moderate amount are made, the income of the producers must necessarily be smaller, and that is going to mean a shrinkage in retain trade, with possible unemployment, and perhaps a larger number of bankruptcies than we have been accustomed to for many years past. The time has arrived for everyone to be extra cautious and extra careful.