The New Zealand Times. TUESDAY, MAY 20, 1919. SOLDIER PSYCHOLOGY

New Zealand Times, Volume XLIV, Issue 10284, 20 May 1919, Page 4

The New Zealand Times. TUESDAY, MAY 20, 1919. SOLDIER PSYCHOLOGY

Very great interest necessarily attaches to the problem of soldier psychology, discussed by Sir James Allen, Sir Jarries Carroll, Major-General. Sir Andrew Russell, and other speakers at the luncheon given to our returned General at Parliament House on Saturday. Undoubtedly, as Sir James Allen pointed out, tho mobilisation ot oar men. their drafting into camp, their training in camp, their leaving Now Zealand for the front, above and beyond all the great fight they fought for right 'and freedom, and finally their return to tho Dominion, must all have had a great, a noteworthy effect upon the psychology of New soldiers, both Maori ana Pakeha. The experiences they have undergone, the sufferings and privations they have endured, tho great labours they have wrought, the appalling clangers they, have so bravely faced, and the supremo sacrifice made by so many of their beloved comrades, have all been mighty influences mou ding them for good or for ill; moulding them in the main, let us hope, for the highest good, both for themselves and for their country. Time, as Sir James Allen stated, had already disclosed what these, influences nave meant and what they have led to for some of the men; but not for all. All, however, have learnt lessons which must influence them all the rest of their lives. Where these influences have been for evil, that evil must, as far as is humanly possible, be counter-balanc-ed by good influences brought to bear upon them now that they_ have returned to their own land. VVherthose influences have been for good, that good must be developed and strengthened as much as possible, and, without doubt, guided by sound judgment and right reason, and properly organised, our returned soldiers represent an uplifting force and a disciplined staying-power that should go tar to nss'ire, beyond our brightest dreams, the future prosperity and happiness ot this country. Assuredly, we do want for the next few years something that will wold us together; and discipline—not any harsh discipline, but discipline of sense and of reason—is one thing needful, H wo aro to stand together, shoulder to shoulder, through whatover difficulties and dangers tho future may have '« store. But discipline is not the only way in which we can stand together. Discipline is not the one thing needful. Discipline is not the only thing to which all the sacrifices of our bravo soldiers should prompt us. What else is needed was clearlv indicated by bir James Carroll and by General Russell. It is the spirit of love, of fellowship, of camaraderie, tho spirit that comprehends tho hiehcr issues of lite, that prompts to self-sacrifice, to mutual, help, to a common effort, to a long pull, a strong pull, and a pull nil together in the common interests for the greatest good of each and all., *>rr James Carroll very rightly commended the loyalty of tho native race to the Treaty of 'Waitangi, the Maori Magna Ichsrta, and showed how, as the result of his servico to King and country, there had grown up in the . Maori soldier a. psychology which had lifted ud his range of perception and enabled him to comprehend the true causes, the great issues of the worldwar" With him, we hope and trust that the difficulties and misunderstandings which have at times separated Maori and Pakeha are now things ot the cast We hope and believe that the splendid stand of the Maori race, shoulder to shoulder with their liuronean brethren, for our Christian civilisation, and for the honour and the existence of the British Empire, has

so welded the two races together that henceforth they will -stand as one, four square to all the winds that blow, to the perils that may assail our country. As the aftermath of the worldwar, we shall of necessity find ourselves in choppy seas, face to face with graveand difficult problems. But, if we are bold and courageous in peace as in war, if we listen to the calls of humanity, if we not only hear them but feel them, and strive unitedly and earnestly to grapple with the problems that conn-out us, there can be no doubt (but that we shall wm through. What Sir Andrew Russell had to say with regard to tho problem of soldier psychology is of special interest, and carries very great weight—tho great weight due to his long and invimatoe association with our soldiers throughout the war, and to that deep personal sympathy with, and regard lor, thein which have endeared him to all his men. He can speak with no little authority as to the effect of the war upon tue men .who have gone through it; and what ho has to say about their war experiences having given our boys a much more direct and simple way of looking at things, a greater power of seeing through ''camouflage," and tho faculty ot piercing beyond mere words to tho hard facts and the deeds that really matter, accords with our own experience of the returned soldiers. Great hope lies in the fact that tho strenuous struggle they have been through has given them a better understanding of tho meaning of mutual sympathy and personal touch with their fellows, and has taught them to reject mere charity with scorn and to value I personal sympathy and human kind'uess more highly than the power and the will to write big cheques and give help in the cold,'impersonal, charityorganisation style. Not charity, but love «nd justice—there must, as the basis, he justice where love is—aro what our soldiers want: and they have a right to demand them at our hands. - Having fought for our Christian civilisation, they have won the right to demand that our civilisation, in its basic principles, shall bo truly Christian. Having fought for right, freedom, and Democracy, they have won the right to demand that ours shall be •in actual fact a true, a free Democracy. Having fought for their country,' thev have, assuredly, won the right to "their full, fair share in the country they have fought for; ana having the power to see through mere political camouflage, and Ministerial ! word-spinning, they are hardly likely to bo persuaded that to relegate them to the backblocks, or put them ort with land bought at such prices as will mortgage to the hilt their future and the future of their wives and children, is to give them then- fair Bhaic in their country. Our politicians, therefore, if they would not run tho ship of State on tho rocks, must see to it that, by means of proportional representation, our representative institutions aro made truly representative. They must see to it that, no matter at what sacrifice to the profitmongers; profiteering shall be sternlv suppressed; and that, however great* the sacrifice entailed on the land aggregators and the big landmonopolists, all the better and more accessible lands shall first be" fully used, before anr soldier-settler is banished to the back of beyond to waste his labour and break his heart in the wildecness. Unless justice bo done in these, directions, we may well have reasons to fear the psychology of the returned soldier, who'has become accustomed to direct and forceful methods, and has been taught tp recognise that right and freedom and his conntrv —this piece of God's'earth — are well worth fighting for.