The Daily News. MONDAY, MAY 24, 1920. THE TREND OF THE AGE.

Taranaki Daily News, 24 May 1920, Page 4

The Daily News. MONDAY, MAY 24, 1920. THE TREND OF THE AGE.

Those who would divide the inhabitants of the civilised world into two classes have been as numerous as the definitions evolved, the reason being that times change, morality differs, and the influence of practical Christianity fluctuates. Many men have claimed that their mission in life has been to leave ; the world better than they found it, and some—nil too few—have accomplished this end. If we take present day conditions and seek for a solution of the manner in which they have been evolved, it would probably be found there would be a preponderance of opinion that unrest is tho chief factor in this period of transition. The great military struggle has made its mark on national life, and labor has realised the power which the great development of industry ' has placed in its hands, while Bolshevism has thrust its anarchic and chaos-making tenets into the minds of ambitious and blatant demagogues. Looking through the past records of the nations it will be found that upheavals are common to all. The weak and effete have succumbed; the strong and virile have suffered relapses' but have emerged with wider conceptions of humanity, sometimes bearing fruit, though too often based on foundations too slender to stand the test of time. With nations, as with the human units, unless they are animated by high ideals in which the true principles of political economy are allowed Ml play, there is always a danger of primitive passions coming to the fore, and when that is the case, law, order, tolerance, and altruism are up against the waves of strife for mastery. The trend of the age appears to be more and more towards assertiveness. It was exemplified in its worst form by Germany in the late war; it is evidenced by Bolshevik action in Russia; it is rampant in Ireland; America is under its spell, and Labor throughout the world is utilising it to such an extent that there is no knowing to what extremes it. may lead. This assertiveness is the direct outcome of the desire for dominance evolved from the realisation of a growing sense of power—the power of force, not of intellect—a class war that may be more disastrous than a great military struggle. The w6rld cannot submit to assertivehess eliminating justice and fair dealing. Nations represent all classes, and the fundamental principle of democracy is justice to all and tyranny for none. It is worthy of note that, in connection with the recent strike in France, the Government has taken action to prevent the federation of unions infringing the domain of politics, while the people of Bordeaux have organised an anti-strike movement, the intention of which is to boycott all strikers by refusing them supplies. If this course were generally adopted, the result can be better imagined than described. It is unthinkable that the age of reason has passed and that force will have to be met by force. Human intelligence is not so bankrupt that it cannot discern the trend of the age is to slide down the steep incline that leads to chaos. If the workers combine for power, then the other sections of the community must coalesce for protection, but such methods are barbaric, not civilised. It is just as essential that the interests of all classes should be safeguarded as that each nation should be protected from enemy invasion. By the exercise of sound intellectual reasoning and a spirit of

fair ploy all labor troubles can be adjusted satisfactorily. Only i»y conciliatory means caii strife lie avoided, and the sooner this is realised and acted upon the better it will be for the future of humanity.