The Guardian And Evening Star, with which is incorporated the West Coast Times. SATURDAY, JUNE 6th, 1925. TWO UNUSUAL ASPECTS.

Hokitika Guardian, 6 June 1925, Page 2

The Guardian And Evening Star, with which is incorporated the West Coast Times. SATURDAY, JUNE 6th, 1925. TWO UNUSUAL ASPECTS.

l'r.w people who crit icise a big Navy Imm mu economic .stati<l|><iinL, nays a runtrilmtor 111 a Homo Navy journal, |>art icularly where tho working i ls»cs aiy concerned, realise what a splendid socialistic organisation is present! (I hv tho maintenance of a large licet wdii I is, from many points of view, of file utmost value in minimising unemployment. It is not “socialistic” in the politiial sense-politics are omitted from these remarks hut in the true meaning of the word. And how many of those people, who voiie their opinion that those with the largest incomes should he taxed the highest, (for the benefit of their poorer brethren), realise that the maintenance of a big Xavv actually has this elicit and that as a result many thousands of workers who would otherwise he unemployed are, with their families, maintained in eomfort during their working days and (according to their own quid ideations') receive pensions enabling them t > have an easier time in their a lvamed years? The discharges from some of our dockyards at the time of a reduction in the strength of the Navy should make this apparent to any who may lie sceptical. Take, for instame, the construction of a large battleship; the number of workers engaged in obtaining tbe iron ore fr■ in “mother earth,” then the smelting and production of steel followed up r>v the many hundreds of workers kept busy in putting the rough metals (for we must include brass. copper, aluminium. etc.) through various stages until we Have the finished ship with all her guns and file instruments. The number of trades and pro'esses involved can only ho thought out earefullv to realise what a vast number of people are kept employed. Tint this is not all. for we have the personnel for working the finished ship and her equipment, from the I youngest sailor up to the Commanding Officer-—in ore of our largest ships a

matter of well over a thousand officers and men. The other criticism often heard is that for a country to possess n big New is equivaent to throwing down a challenge to ”do battle." This is completely misleading so far as our own country is ociKorned. for with our world-wide Empire adequate protection of our sen trade routes is al>solutely essential to our existence. “To maintain a big Navy is to maintain pence.” and tbe correct parallel to an adequate Navy afloat is an efficient police force ashore. Who would think of suggesting that the maintenance of a big force was a challenge to committing crime?