The Daily News. WEDNESDAY, MARCH 16, 1922. TURBULENCE AND CRIME.

Taranaki Daily News, 15 March 1922, Page 4

The Daily News. WEDNESDAY, MARCH 16, 1922. TURBULENCE AND CRIME.

it would almost seem as if the earth we inhabit is undergoing a somewhat similar experience to that which the spots on the sun indicate is transpiring in the central orb of the solar system. Just as there are reasons for the disturbances in the sun, so there are causes for the upheavals, turbulence and crime which are in evidence on this globe of ours. In both cases the elements of trouble appear, run their course, and subside, the disturbances varying in character and intensity, as well as in locality. Scientists may be able to explain some of the mysteries connected with sun spots, but when it comes to assigning reasons for terrestrial spots the problem is one that is shrouded in a veil of contentious speculation. We see the effect, and to some extent can trace, by scientific inference, the origin of those waves of trouble which every now and again sweep over the world. No doubt the recent war was a contributing cause to the present turbulence and crime that are making a mockery of civilisation, undermining industry and shocking humanity, but the evil influences that are at work are the outcome of many circumstances, some of which defy definition. To Bolshevism is due much of the discontent that feeds and nourishes defiance of constituted authority. It takes on various phases in different countries, and its poisonous growth is a blight of far-reaching dimensions, yet there are other equally noxious and pestilential sores in the body politic that are charged with virulent germs, possessing desolating activity. Of antidotes so far there is a deplorable dearth, nor does it seem possible to evolve them by research or any other means. Even repressive force is impotent to provide a remedy. It may stamp out crime and turbulence in one direction, but only to divert the upheaval elsewhere. The result has been fully exemplified in the ease of Russia. Not long since a wave of crime swept over America, France has not escaped the epidemic, and now Britain appears to be in its grip. China and Japan both have their troubles, as also Turkey, Greece and the nations of Central Europe. Throughout the British Empire there has never been at one time such upheavals a« those, which exist at present. Ireland, India and Egypt are in 'the throes of political strife, and in the rest of the Empire industrial turmoil is more or less rampant. The widespread outbreaks in .South Africa have practically developed into civil war, in which the death roll is growing daily, the one ray of satisfaction being that the Nationalists, whose extreme section helped to fan the trouble into a blaze, are ostensibly supporting the Government against the Laborites. Whether the arrest of Gandhi will lessen or increase the unrest in India has yet to be seen, but there can be no ignoring the fact that the problem is replete with gravity. The Dominions all have then industrial troubles, fortunately not such as to cause much anxiety, yet sufficient to necessitate much caution and the exercise of commonsense. In the face of world-wide turbulence and crime it is incumbent on statesmen, captains of industry, leading churchmen, and all well affected people to endeavor to the utmost to probe the wounds and sores so as to apply remedies that may gradually restore order, peace and prosperity. Disaffection of all kinds is a malady needing expert treatment to allay its virulence, eliminate the feveb before it destroys sanity, and bring about, a return to normality. Curiously enough, the onward march of civilisation has been marked by a stupendous growth of ill-directed energy, dominated by selfishness and a. total disregard for community welfare. The tendency is for each to be a. law unto himself. Instead of co-operation for mutual benefit there is a growing sense of individualism, and a dependence on brute force and animal instincts. This may illustrate the law of the survival of the fittest, but it. will certainly lead to national chaos and disaster if a remedy is not forth-

coming. We are passing through a time of tearing and rending, when the urgent need is for constructive genius and progressive co-operation. The situation at present is one of anxiety, but it must be faced with courage, determination and resource.