CURRENT TOPICS.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LVI, Issue 280, 29 April 1914, Page 4

CURRENT TOPICS.

THE MAYORALTY. There must, we feel sure, be general sympathy felt for Mr. J. E, Wuson, a candidate for the mayoralty election today, in tile serious illness that has overtaken him. A day or two ago it was Mv. Browne's turn to be laid up, and he is still, we are sorry to know, still far from well. Both are citizens the town cannot afford to have incapacitated, even for. a short time, as they take a substantial share of service and active interest in our municipal government. The sudden illness of Mr. Wilson robs the contest today of a yood deal of interest, and it is likely the committees of tile candidates will in tho circumstances refrain from "electioneering." At any rate, wo hope they will, leaving the choice entirely to the judgment of burgesses, all of whom will, we arc certain, sincerely .nope botli candidates will soon be restored to fun health. The fact of Mr. Wilson having fallen a victim to the epidemic prevailing in the St. Aubyn distrit, where he resides, but emphasises the need for taking the promptest measures to improve the. sanitation of the place. The Council has already commenced the work whici, when completed, should prevent outbreaks such as the present and render the district a much more desirable place U' which to live.

UNPROFITABLE WAR. Mr. Norman Angell's comment upon the Mexican trouble illustrates the weak point of the theory propounded in "The Great Illusion." Mr. Angell says, in effect, that the United States should not go to war with Mexico, since the campaign would be enormously costly and would have a serious detrimental influence on American' finance generally. He urges that the conquest of Mexica will be a bigger problem than the occupation of the South African republics by Britain proved to be. The United States is "likely to speml years" in conquering the neighbouring country, only to find that some other minor republic reouires punishment. Finally the Stars ' and Stripes will lie* carried "right down to the canal zone" and the American people will become saddled with a vast burden of empire. All these predictions may be perfectly sound. Mr. Angell is able to show that a Mexican war must be exceedingly costly and commercially unprofitable, that it will mean the sacrifice of many valuable lives and that its consequences will be felt for a century. But there his theory fails liiin. lie 'is "up against" the fact that the American Gpvernment, knowing war to be disastrous and unprofitable, is yet compelled to regard an appeal to arms as the only solution of intolerable difficulties. The theory laid down by Mr. Angell in "The Great Illusion" is tint a nation could gain no profit from a war, even if the fortune of battle gave it tile power to dictate terms to its' enemy. The visitor could not capture trade by force, build up industries by shedding 'blood or gain wealth by annexing provinces. Therefore, said Mr. Angell, war ought to cease and would cease if nations understood the conditions clearly. The flaw in the argument was the assumption that nations went to war in pursuit of com- | roercial profit and would remain at peace with one another if convinced that there was 110 money in fighting. Armies and peoples (comments the Lvttelton Times)

go into battle usually in a spirit of conscious self-sacrifice. They expect to suffer and lose money, and are prepared to face these evils in or<ler to uphold an ideal, resist an injustice or gratify a passion. Mr. Angell lias done noble service to the peace movement by directing attention to the debtor side of war's ledger, but the acceptance of all his contentions would not banish the conditions that sometimes make an appeal to arms inevitable. Dr. Woodrow Wilson, himself an apostle of peace, is just now having this fact forced upon him in a vcrv disagreeable fashion.