Wairarapa Times-Age TUESDAY JUNE 27, 1939. MR CHAMBERLAIN & GERMANY.

Wairarapa Times-Age, 27 June 1939, Page 4

Wairarapa Times-Age TUESDAY JUNE 27, 1939. MR CHAMBERLAIN & GERMANY.

MR CHAMBERLAIN has made a considerable advance towards realities since he went trustingly to Godesberg and Munich last year and was mesmerised or tricked into abandoning Czechoslovakia 1 o her fate. When he said, in a speech at Cardiff reported yesterday, that: “The real tragedy of the situation today seems to me to be that the future of Europe is being poisoned by the propagation of false and unfounded suspicions, he made it quite clear that he was indicting the present rulers of Germany. Even so, however, the British Prime Minister, as he is reported, dealt with his subject from a somewhat negative standpoint. He made rather too much of the ‘ unjust suspicions of others’’ entertained by Germany and too little ol tlie obviously evil purposes by which Herr Hitler and his associates are animated. Assertions that Britain is planning the encirclement of the totalitarian States, and is intent on crushing them by economic measures, constitute only a part, and perhaps not the most important part of the propaganda which the Axis Powers are spreading methodically and at great cost, in their own territories and in many other countries besides. This propaganda is designed in every way to exalt the dictatorships and defame the democracies. The root problem by which Britain and othei free countries are faced is not that of dispelling unjust suspicion, but rather that of coping with the Fascist doctrine that all life is a brute struggle and that in the end force alone counts in ordering itlie affairs of men and nations. If the German people ever regain their freedom, they may be willing enough to respond to an appeal like that made to them by Mr Chamberlain—that they should drop their unjust suspicion of others and show themselves sincerely ready to talk reason with reasonable people. For the time being, however, the people of Germany and the people of Italy are enslaved by despots who regard sincerity, reason and good faith in international dealings with complete contempt. Dr Goebbels, the popular mountebank of his party, no doubt gave accurate expression to the ideas of his masters when he said, in his reference to the British Prime Minister s latest speech, that “England stands as an idiot,” and that there is no force behind the threats of English Ministers. Britain’s essential task in dealing with Germany is not to dispel unjust suspicions, but to find an effective means of coping with a, dictatorship which uses deliberately the weapons of falsehood and calumny and recognises no other authority than that of force. Suspicions of Britain have little enough to do with the policy of stage by stage aggression in which Herr Hitler has already extended considerably the frontiers of the Reich and evidently hopes to extend them much further. The policy the Fuehrer has pursued and is pursuing is set forth in “Mein Kampf” and is very well summed up in the following passage from that book: —•. An intelligent victor will, whenever possible, present his demands to the vanquished in instalments. He can then be sure that a nation which has become characterless —and such is every one which voluntarily submits —will no longer find any sufficient reason in each of these detailed oppressions to take to arms once more. The more extortions thus cheerfully accepted, however, the more unjustified does it seem to people finally to set about defending themselves against some new, apparently isolated, although really constantly recurring oppression, especially if, taking everything together, so much more and greater misfortune has been borne silently and tolerantly without doing so. Obviously a man entertaining and acting upon these monstrous ideas is incapable of “talking reason with reasonable people” or of directing the affairs of the great nation over which meantime he exercises an unquestioned authority by standards of justice and good faith. Alleged suspicions of Britain and other democracies admittedly are regarded by Nazi propagandists as useful material, but the essential point to be grasped and position to be faced is that Germany, under Nazi rule, is committed to a deliberate and calculated policy of international brigandage—a policy in which each successful act of extortion, to use Hitler’s word, is regarded as paving the way for others. It is against that policy that the free nations of the world must make head if they wish to retain their freedom. It is not so much by the “false and unfounded suspicions” on which Mr Chamberlain enlarged at Cardiff, as by active and unscrupulous crime, not yet effectively checked, that the future of Europe is being poisoned. PRODUCTIVE EMPLOYMENT. j\_N encouraging example of the absorption 01. unskilled men into manufacturing industry was mentioned the other day by the Minister of Industries and Commerce (Mr Sullivan), when lie quoted an account given by a large industrial firm 01. an extension of manufacture carried out by a labour force consisting largely of unskilled men. A letter from a representative of the firm stated in part that:— “At present there are some 42 men fully employed wet or fine, and of these more than 80 per cent had never been engaged in a factory before. Our leading men have been most happy to impait the necessary information, and the men have been most eager to absorb the knowledge. On my recent visit to the factory I found all reports justified, good work being done and a perfect harmony existing.... I am now more than satisfied that tire policy of absorption can, with advantage, be encouraged in many directions yet to be developed.” No one can doubt that there is splendid scope in New Zealand for continued development on these lines by which individuals and the community at large alike will benefit. What has been accomplished in this instance undoiibiedlt is ca|)able of being repeated many limes oyer. Large numbers of men are engaged as unskilled labourers in undertakings that are either unproductive, or are productive only at a very distant view. At least a considerable proportion of these men undoubtedly are callable, given the opportunity, ol acquiring the measure of skill that would enable, them to play a Lilly effective part in productive industry. Methodical plans to that end are greatly needed, and it may be hoped that these will be shaped by the committee of departmental officials and represent at i\es of manufacturers which is at present investigating the whole situation relating to factory employment and the needs of secondary industry.” II dm 1 account is taken ol examples ol successful enterprise like that nieniioiicd above, the committee should be able to point the way to an important step forward in industrial organisation in the Dominion.