The Guardian (And Evening Star, with which is incorporated the West Coast Times.) THURSDAY, MAY 22nd, 1924.

Hokitika Guardian, 22 May 1924, Page 2

The Guardian (And Evening Star, with which is incorporated the West Coast Times.) THURSDAY, MAY 22nd, 1924.

PREVENTION OF WAR. Thk Great War taught the world a lesson which this generation is not likely to forget. The incalculable misery and suffering, the bloodshed, tlio destruction of those dark years engendered a passionate desire for peace. There must be no more wars, we said, or civilisation will perish. Good resolutions are apt- to V broken when the first impulse has .waned and the passage of the years has brought a certain measure of disillusionment. Tho spirit of aggression and imperialism has not be exorcised; peace haa not brought concord. NeY<Ttl l f'l<’'* s . (4 the

time the craving for peace was universal and genuine; it found expression in the establishment of the league of Nations. But- the League is admittedly an imperfect instrument. It has never pretended that it can abolish war; its aim is merely to endeavour to act as a solvent in international relationships, to remove, as far as possible, the causes of war. Its autho.s have always recognised that arbitration agreements, international Courts of Justice, schemes for disarmament. can in themselves achieve nothing. Tney can only be elfevtivo if the nations have the will In make them so. They will !;<• useless unless there is developed throughout the world a sentiment against war. a conviction that at ail costs the rule of law must supersede the rule of force Whether that will ever happen none can tell. It may be that, the ape and tiger will gradually die out. o| us, and that some day the era, of reason mill dawn. It may lie that man is by nature a eom-b'l-tive animal, that- just, as crimes of violence persist despite the inhibitions of the law. so war is iu> radieable. that if the prize or tin- provni at mu be great enough nations will always fight. Still, even though in the last resort our hopes that it is possible to elir.ii mite war. may prove futile, v.v owe it to posterity to do all that in ns lies towards their fulfilment. We all hate war. Wo all pray that, it may never come to Us. We should therelore do anything and everything in our power to further the cause of i once. Pub'ie opinion can In* organised in a n inai liable fashion both to Ijcnelieient an'! malevolent ends. In Germany .systematic propaganda, changed the simple, kindly people of Goethe’s day into the apostles of ruthlossness. The process can surely be reverted. I’orhapr. in tlio fullness of time, national ambition, greed, and suspicion, } mlilic sources of war, will be banished, aitd principles of reason and jnsti e will prevail. But meanwhile there is one truth of which We must, never lose sight. Pious expirations are all very well, hut we live in a world of harsh realities. We can. not abolish war by the.simple expedient of paying that it should not exist. Lovers of peace are none the less sincere if they recognise that war is still a possibility that has to he faced. A nation may he compelled to light in self-protection or in defence of a principle. No otto ever hated war more than Abraham Lincoln, yet his sense of right forced him to commit America to that cruellest form of war—civil war. Pacifists, or many of them, contend that in mi circumstances whatever is it justifiable to fight, even when one’s country is the victim ol nil unprovoked attack. They take quite literally the sat.iridal lines of the French poet; ‘'litis little animal is very wicked. When ho is attacked lit' defends himself fiercely.” Me should not iefc our desire for peace carry us to these extremes. Disarmament is a splendid ideal: hut the day has not yet arrived when the world is prepared to Vat its swords into ploughshares. Those who asset t that the surest way to attain peace is to abandon all defensive measures, strip ourselves naked, and trust in the goodwill of other nations delude themselves. Unarmed right cannot withstand armed might, and we must not allow our desire for peace to blind us to actualities. The cultivation of a peace atmosphere. the inculcation of peace .sentiments in schools, are excellent things. But the atmosphere and the sentiments should not he such as to make us unwilling to take tip arms for otir country should the need ever arise.