FUTILITY OF WAR.

Hokitika Guardian, 13 January 1928, Page 1

FUTILITY OF WAR.

LONDON, Nov. 21. Field-Marshal Sir AVilliam Robertson, who served in the ranks ol the British Army from the age of 17 until lie was 28, and who was Chief of the Imperial General Stall" from 1915 to 1918, delivered a striking address last night on the futility of war. He appealed to every man and woman energetically to support all efforts for devising more sensible way of composing international differences. Sir William, who is a Lincolnshire man, spoke at the annual banquet of the Lincoln Chamber of Commerce. He said:

“Conditions within the Empire are such as to make Imperial defence a very expensive business for this country, and we are now spending on the lighting Services and upon other public Services more than the country can afford to pay.” NEW FACTORS. The annual amount is some £UG.(K>O.OOO, or about forty millions more than before the war. That hardly seems right, seeing that Germany ha's now practically no fleet and that her army is restricted by treaty to 100,000 men, and that there are several other new factors in Hie general situation which, if matters are rightly handled bv our statesmen, ought to yvermit of our defence arrangements being constructed on a more modest scale than they are now.

For instance, wars have often owed their origin to despotic monarchical government and the maintenance of a great national army. Such combinations are now rare, fhe last war having terminated the careers of fhroe Emperors who were mainly responsible for starting it. and other monarch* have fortunately disappeared with them.

No longer can nations lie ordered into war. perhaps for dynastic or personal reasons, by swollen-headed monarchs claiming to he almost the equal of the Almighty. It is in most cases the nations themselves who now decide whether fence shall or shall not ho broken. That is a great change tor the better.

MONEY ELOAYN AAYAY. Again, we no longer agree without qualifications that the best way of preventing war is to prepare for it. Instead of preventing war we know that preparations are apt to precipitate it. Never in history wore preparations so complete or so widespread as during the 50 or 00 years previous to 1911, and yet never were ware so frequent as in that period. France fought in Italy; Germany fought in turn Denmark, Austria, and France. There were the Russo-Turkish and Russo-Japanese wars and many wars in the Balkans; the SpanishAmerionn war, wars in China, and our own wars in Afghanistan, Abyssinia, Egypt, ami South Africa. Finally, the colossal cost of modern war. in lives and wealth, must, one would think, also act as a deterrent. The killed and maimed in the last war were counted by millions, and the amount of wealth destroyed was no less staggering. For instance, the cost of our artillery lwinbardnient previous to tile launching of the infantry attack amounted in the case of the battle of Arras to £13,000.000 of Mossines to £17.500,00, and of the third battle of A'pres to £22.000.000. or a total of over £52.000,000 for these three operations alone. The weight, of gun ammunition fired at Afessincs amounted to 85,000 toils and in the first nine weeks of the battle of A'pres to 480,000 tons. A DETESTABLE THING. AA'ar has heroine, ill short, a wholly detestable thing, and it is almost, if not quite, as disastrous to victors ns to vanquished. Consequently many people condemn it as a failure, hate life very word “war,” and demand all-round measures of disarmament. Other people declare, however, that human nature, being what it is, war will always be with us, aiid for it we must always be prepared Upon which view arc we to act.

My own opinion is that questions regarding the reduction of armaments require in our own ease to be treated with the utmost caution. At the same time, and let human nature lie as wicked, ambitious, and unstable as it may lie—T suggest that every man and woman should energetically support all efforts made for devising some more sensible and human ways of composing international differences than the destruction and futile methds upon which reliance has hitherto been unsuccessfully placed. AYORN-OUT PLATITUDES. That is the only conclusion I can reach after a military career covering on Sunday next a period of exactly 50 years—a period during which I was for some 20 years closely connected with the highest councils of State in which in some form or other international questions of armaments and war were daily under consideration. I therefore give the result of my experiences for what it may he north. It is at any rate more in accordance with prevailing sentiment and *>nnneinl conditions than, out-of-date platitudes urging the necessity for mainthing strong fighting forces. Mav we not also say that if the futility of war were more insistently emphasised by political leaders am! the desire for peace within reasonable limits wore more carefully nourished the defence of the Empire would soon become a far easier and cheaper task than it now. is, and, whnt is often more important, the great undertakings with fVhich this anil other cham-

hers of commerce are associated would have the opportunity not only to recover >from existing depression but also to open up new and profitable spheres of activity?