WAR SPIRIT OF THE PEOPLE.

Taranaki Daily News, 11 December 1918, Page 7

WAR SPIRIT OF THE PEOPLE.

OP THREE GREAT ALLIED , NATIONS T vi J3 WILL TO WIN (Impressions of the Now Zealand Press Delegates during their, tour of the war zone.) alonf 'V ! na " eannot . ,ive b y bread fcpQt Af Cai ! a nation survive the ud »L Wal H merC ' y the ""Diber be beh n 01 3 gUns - Therc must be behind the material forces a vital rx f : ct r f^ in t,,e 9k W I f''' a,ld GndUre t0 «"• sometWn.- n? opportunities of Wrning omethin,. of the splnt per vading the people of the three greatest members of the Leaiooje 0 f Civilisation-Britain S nce B!? 0 1. the United States of Ame '- ' ® efo1 ® Y e wcre two weeks out from New Zealand last .Tuna we found hi"™ °ti Americaa soil - at Honolulu. H«e the war spirit of the great tlemoerat.c republic was manifested in a variety ot ways. At an important commercial club, where we were courlunch * so ™ 'eadthe tabl'l en i P »fl f Were Spread U P°" tlie table leaflets urging one to "eat thL mil ' ? at is ' t0 Waßte "0rag. White bread was unknown, aid ve learned that the saving of wheat by he HBe of other « he staff of life was very considerable. wh™ , U Z Caraps at Honolulu where several thousands of United States troops were being trained for ? conversation with citizens we found the war sp lr it dominant. Not a Jingoistic but a very serious tone there was about it all. There seemed to exist a realisation that upon the ssuo ot the war depended the future of the civilised world, and that America had not an hour too soon begun licr part m the struggle. We learned, too, ca he COm ' ng of AmerieffJ? f V War . had hRd a wonderful effect of harmonising the British and American sections of the Hawaiian community, and that some loag-starid-ilteratfd renCeS be " com P letel y ob "

vtr"' 9 / 0f a few da y s spent in New York, and more so during a voyage rr TI th ! in a srent ship filled with United States soldiers, we gained nV w aCy Witb American «°. W ° rtlly was "I® entire Irr U ne38 ' of a "- v notion that , the United "States was coming in where, h^^ ,Se 'r the othar allied nations natf failed. In conversation with officers and men, with Y.M.C.A. officials some of whose names aw known all over the world, and with representative civilians, we discovered a profoundly serious mental attitude regarding the war It was pleasing to find a true and pateful appreciation 0 f all that had been done by the Allies before the tutvent of America into the arena. Combined with that feeling there were of course the natural hope and determination of a highly successful, efficient nation to take a big part in securing Powers ° ry ° Ver the Antral

th ® Bpirit of the I* 0 ? 16 waa revealed m more tragic form.—in the absence of able-bodied men from practically all kinds of civilian activity, ni « "" iabei> nf new-made cemeteries, and in the (mourning worn bv the mal or l L°! women ' Yes - P°°r France fluid ti an i au . ffcreil ~ !)ut shc ha d endured through .four years and more of slaughter and destruction with a courage that was not shaken, hey spirit has proved superior to the material strength of the greatest military machine in history;.'her courage and determination Tiare conquered enormous odd?.

Much of this, of course, is kn„wn to everybody, but we New Zealand visitors unquestionably got a sharper, clearer grip of the facts as we travelled for several days through French towns and over a substantial part of territory which is santified by the heroic sacrifices in France. The people must have been war weary—intensely war weary—tint after all the years of tragedy the unbroken spirit of the nation was breathed by M. Clemenceau, just prior to our visit V, hip prompt rejecmi® enen, y' a "peace" overtures, fbat is the spirit of brave France as revealed to the New Zealand Press Delegation.

And the Mother Country? Britain's state of mind and heart was never more healthy; the people were never more active in prosecuting the war, never more united in the determination to win. Aot that all was perfect. Far from it. A knotty Irish problem remained unsolved. Strikes of workmen wer<j not uncommon. Living was dear, profiteering no doubt exited, politicians frequently quarrelled, and other troubles clouded the domestic horizon. But despite and beyond these things the visitor would be blind who did not see in Britain, not indications but proofs of a mighty, resolute spirit of strength and sacrifice and endurance. Pacifists there were, but they were just numerous and noisy enough to form % exceptions that proved the rule—just sufficiently strong enough to make a striking contrast against the mental and moral fibre of the peoplo as a whole. Britain's P i r ,V n th ® war is described in • other articles deaJing with .the Navy, the women, the munition workers, and so forth, and it scarcely needs more here than to say that such mighty efforts (and adequate results) would have been impossible in the absence of thtj.t spirit which is the very soul of patriotism and the surest guarantee of victory. Among the statesmen and military leaders whom it waa the fortune of the delegates to meet we found, without exception, a calm confidence that the issue of the war was then beyond the region of doubt, and some high opinions that were at that time given in favor, not only of a complete but an early victory. One sentiment we were proud to find generally throughout our journeying* was a feeling of great admiration for the oversea dominions and their soldiers. And none received higher praise than the New Zealanders, alike for their conduct on and off the field. Probablv it was largely due to the efforts of the oversea parts of the Empire that there existed in Britain such a fine confidence in the strength of the whole British nation to do its full part with the other groat Allies in setting the world free from the perils of Prussian militarism. Whatever the contributing factors, and however their respective values may be apportioned, there was anions; the peoples of the three powerful countries in which our observations were made, a spirit of faith and determination which, soon or late, the enemy was certain to find irresistible. For it W»s the spirit of Victory,