The Daily News. FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 22, 1918. THE UNITY OF CIVILISATION.

Taranaki Daily News, 22 November 1918, Page 4

The Daily News. FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 22, 1918. THE UNITY OF CIVILISATION.

I'lnthe : eurrent number of that-ex--review, The Round Table, "■is a very thoughtful article upon ' :the-need. for unity among the fr.eejpeoples of the world for the pur." pose, not only of winning the war ' —which, of course, has now been decisively accomplished—, but of peace and justice' I.Allies were, gradually compelled '' «l>y the stern lesson: of the war to create a-unified; system of co-oper- [ Ration, in the various fields of war': 'effort. Special attention is paid ito economic co-operation, the de-j iyelopment of which has so rapidly .'progressed since the entry of the |Uiiitedr.Statesiiato the war; andean iasccount is given of the inter.Allied bodies formed or now being iformed to deal jointly with the economic needs of the Alliance—"the Chartering and Wheat Executives, the Commission on Finance and Supply, the Maritime Transport Council, the Central Munitions Council, the Food ißoard, etc. Through these joint bodies, through other less formal methods of consultatiojn arising out of their deliberations, and the exercise of the sovereign power of each Ally, stimulated and harmonised by their recommendations, the Allies are controlling freight rates and the prices of all important commodi ties, are distributing between, themselves by agreement instead of by competition the limited output of the industries and the agricultural and miner;/! production of the world, are substituting Government control oi; certain great international businesses for the private power exercised over some of the chief necessaries of life and 'industry in time of peace and are providing machinery for the settlement round a table of problems which used to he dealt with ineffectively, and eren dangerously, by diplomatic trade bargains, threats of tariff wars, or the secret agreements of international syndicates. Thus, while Germany has been exploiting and enslaving her satellites and victims within the ring of her military power, the Allies have been engaged, uuder the spur of necessity, in building up a fabric of international econ omie organisation not for aggrandisement but for r.iutual aid, which will stand rea r ly as an i integral part of the new order to meet the needs of the free peoples at the moment of peace. The article deals lastly with political unity. The Allies are completely agreed, it points out, on the fundamental issue of the war—the overthrow of Prussianism; but there is need for more discussion and agreement as to the positive action required to fulfil this purpose and to build up the new Europe.

''As the war goes on, problems of reconstruction, as in Russia, become inextricably intertangled with questions of immediate military policy; and the .Allies are liable to fall, short of their and even to fail in the fullness of their ultimate achievement /unless they have thought out in comanon a measure of general agreement as to the new order they arc fighting to establish and unless they are in constant and intimate counsel together as to the best means by which this end can be attained. From this point of view the establishment of the Supreme War Council at Versailles and the arrangement of a monthly meeting between the Premiers of France, Italy, and Britain was an event of far-reaching importance. But much yet remains to be done before these occasional meetings can bear the fullest fruit. Means could be found, for instance, to mitigate the disadvantage arising from the physical and constitutional difficiilties which preclude the presence at Versailles of the Chief Executive of the United States; whilst, on the other hand, it should be possible, at this stage of the war, to set on foot some common organisation for the paoling or ideas and of information and for the continuous study and discussion of the problems and developments arising out of the international situation."

The article closes with a Brief discussion of the League of Nations. Is is argued, first, that the judicial and arbitral machinery of a league which has been so much discussed will achieve little unless* it is supported by '' organised opinion" and organised power, especially economic power; secondly, that it should aim rather at eliminating the causes of war than of preventing its outbreak, and must, therefore, develop a system of regular and continuous international consultation and co-oper-ation in matters of common concern; thirdly, that there can be no real league with an nnregenerate' Germany inside it, and no real unity of civilisation as long as Germany remains outside it, and that, therefore, the destruction of Prussianism is an essential preliminary to real progress. "Clearly, then, it is more important at this moment to concentrate our minds on the winning of the war than on devising the ultimate organisation of a new system thereafter. But this argument does not equally apply to the question of the existing machinery of inter-Allied co-operation with which this article has mainly dealt. For that system of joint administration is not only itself the provisional framework of a permanent structure of international fellowship; it will not only be required to meet the needs of civilisation iu the transitional period after the war; it is also the means by which alone, as experience has taught us, the war is to be' won. To recognise this fa,ct, to accept! wholehe*>*«llv the it" ictions on aa-1

fcional independence which the systems lentails, to assist its smooth working ?and especially to foster the spirit of mutual confidence without which it cannot work at aB, by banishing every thought •of selfish national interest in the military, economic or political field—that is the primaay duty of all the Allied peoples ami their statesmen. So will the alliance maintain tlie character and fulfil the function of a real league of nations, making the organised opinion of the world's free peoples prevail by means of their organised power."