The Daily News. THURSDAY, AUGUST 2, 1917. A COMMON FAULT.

Taranaki Daily News, 2 August 1917, Page 4

The Daily News. THURSDAY, AUGUST 2, 1917. A COMMON FAULT.

During the period of tho war there have been many new experiences, and generally have undergone a variety of phases in thought and action that have produced remarkable iresults. One of the most striking of all the war influences lm9 shown itself in the closer drawing together of the people under a spirit of a common aim and the need for ttnited and individual sacrifices, ft has been said that never again will (he British r.ieo the world over revert to the pre-war insular self-centredness which has been its bane for many generations. There has been a widening of perspective, a stealthy growth of sympathy, a truer conception of brotherhood, and tho realisation that the units have joinid hands for the purpose of acquiring strength to carry out a common effort. Tho thousands of graves on loroign soil have promoted a wondrous depth of close relationship amongst those who have been left to continue the struggle, while the men and women of the empire *s well as the younger people have borne their burdens the more courageously by reason of the welding power of suffering »nd the righteousness of the cause. We should, therefore, naturally expect to' find our fellow men and women had taken on a larger conception of charity and goodwill one towards another. In great measure it can thankfully be said 1 that the ennobling and chastening results are in evidence, but to expect that all base and uncharitable thoughts and actions have succumbed to the trials and experiences of this terrible Armageddon would be akin to claiming that we were living in Paradise. Jealousy and uncharitableness will never be eliminated from humanity, and though the tendency to slander our neighbors may be considerably curbed there is still a disposition extant to judge other people's ac- I tions without being in a proper position to to do. It is so easy to find fault, so natural to apply the brand of evil, and, to some, so congenial to mako wild and Unfounded allegations against other people that the process has become a i common fault, it being quite the exception to foregather with one 'who neither speaks uncharitably nor will listen to ill of others. Yet there is scarcely a day passes in which efforts are made to deprive someone or other of tJieir good i:ame. A rumor is started and grows as only such ill weeds do, with the result that the object is condemned unheard und on worthless grounds. White feathers have been shamelessly handed to many heroes with as littlo compunction and as little reason as ovists for slandering men, (specially officers, who ill their efforts to do their duty to the best [>f their ability, lmve happened to fall under a ban that was cruel and unjust. There are instances, all too numerous, nf this common fault and failing, and no iloubt our readers will call one or mors to mind. To quote these eases would only play into the hands nf those who have been busy stirring up mud and would add to the bitterness of the accused. A prisoner at the bar of justice is considered to be innocent until he is found guilty after all the available evidence on both sides has been given and tested. How much the more, then, it is incumbent on every member of the rommunity to refrain from convicting his fellow man without any evidence at ail and merely on gossip that is too frequently barbed .with malice, envy or : uachftritableneaa. la this time pi in-.

tense stress the ethies of British justice and freedom should, above all others, be our guiding star, and .we cannot too strongly urge that a determined stand should be taken against lending anv countenance to trumped up charges or harmful reflections on our fellow men, especially in connection with our soldiers (officers included) or failure to be found amongst those in the army. We rightly devote strong criticism on the authorities "who make such a. heinous blunder as to"place'on the black list the names 'of men whp are serving or have made the supreme secrilice, and yet there arc those who either thoughtlessly or Wilfully (and possibly maliciously) impute utterly wrong motives to upright men. Tho matter is one that can only be dealt with by the people, and for the honor of the country, its bravo men and noblo women, as well as in the name of that brotherhood which has been evolved from our sacrifices, we would appeal for the more general exercise of charity and forbearance. There is already overmuch pain and bitterness that are inevitable to tho carrying on of the war. Surely, therefore, there is every reason why the troubles we cannot avoid should not be increased by those which are avoidable and reprehensible.