Wairarapa Times-Age FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 1, 1939. LEADERSHIP IN GERMANY.

Wairarapa Times-Age, 1 September 1939, Page 4

Wairarapa Times-Age FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 1, 1939. LEADERSHIP IN GERMANY.

AN announcement in Berlin that Herr Hitler has issued a decree forming a Ministerial' Council ol Defence, of which Marshal Goering is the head, may appear to be, at its face value, of rather threatening import. The council is stated to be designed to assure unified leadership an the administration and economy of the Reich “for the duration ol the present foreign political tension.” If that were the whole story, the constitution of the Council of Defence .might be regarded simply as rounding off German preparations for war. Other possibilities 01. considerable interest and perhaps of some promise are also raised, however.

With Marshal Goering at it,s head and including in its membership the Chief of the High Command. General von Keitel; the. Deputy-Leader of the Nazi Party, Herr Hess- the Chief of the Chancellery, Dr. Lammers; the Minister of the Interior, Dr. Frick, and the Minister of Commerce and President of the Reichsban|c, Dr. Funk, the Council of Defence presumably will, be a. body exercising a very considerable power and influence. Its constitution conceivably may mean that Herr Hitler’s days of undivided and unquestioned control over German policy are over. The creation of the Council of Defence follows upon reports apparently authentic and certainly plausible that, whatever the Fuehrer himself may think or may be inclined to do, other .members of the Nazi oligarchy are keenly alive to the extent to which European and world conditions have changed sinc’e, for example, September last. Mr. George Martel li wrote on this subject in the “Sydney Morning Herald” a few days ago:— It is known that Marshal Goering and several other prominent people have been strongly opposing the taking of any risk over Danzig. Marshal Goering was so alarmed at the prospect of a general war that he appealed to Mussolini to use his influence on Hitler. It is certain that the Italians do not want war, especially over Danzig. To what extent have these counsels of prudence been heeded? All that can be said at the moment is that Hitler is hesitating. > To the fact that Hitler has continued to hesitate, there is now to be added the creation of an administrative body which may be able to set limits to his authority. Allowance admittedly has to be made still for the possibility of a sudden catastrophe in which all counsels of prudence would ' be swept away. It is plain, however, that every day on which Hitler continues to hesitate weakens his power for harm, and ib is not less’ plain -that he has excellent reasons for’ hesitating to east the die for war. He has built up his standing and ■ reputation hitherto by bloodless conquests over weak or disarmed opponents, and by the threat rather than the exercise of . force. Nazi, propaganda has concentrated on building up the idea that Germany, as a nation armed to the teeth, is capable of winning a lightning victory over those who may venture to x ' stand in her path. An overwhelming weight of dispassionate opinion now holds that Germany has no prospects whatever of whirling a lightning victory and that she is badly placed and provided to enter upon an extended and protracted struggle. As one of her own military commanders said some time ago, it is possible to finish a war on ration cards, but not to start a war on them. Hitler is said to have been assured in comparatively recent times by his Foreign Minister, Herr - von Ribbentrop, that Britain would not go to war to prevent the return of Danzig to , the Reich and that Poland, abandoned by her allies, could be overwhelmed in a week or two. It has been made clear to the Fuehrer and other people in Germany that hopes of this kind are illusory and that Britain and France will use the whole of their resources in opposing any further extension of German aggression. No normally intelligent German can doubt that the disasters of European war would fall al least as heavily on. Germany as on any other nation. Time and events must show what is really implied in the constitution of the Council of Defence, but it is reasonable to hope that this development, with, others, is opening and leading the way to drastic changes in German policy—changes that are essential and must be 'far-reaching if there is to be any hope of laying new foundations of peace in Europe. With catastrophe still imminently threatened, every indication that counsels of prudence are beginning to make themselves heard in Germany is to be welcomed. SIR WILLIAM PERRY. ’J'RIBUTES paid to Sir William Perry in Wellington yesterday on the occasion of his retirement from the membership of the New Zealand Meat Producers’ Board will be endorsed nowhere more heartily than in the Wairarapa. A foundation member of the Meat Board, Sir William Perry served on it continuously, save for one brief break, as a representative of the producers, and was for a time its acting-chairman. This, in itself, is a notable record of service, but, as is pointed out in an illuminated address signed by every member of the board j and by every delegate to its electoral committee, Sir William Perry has rendered yeoman service to the sheep farmers of the Dominion also in various other ways, notably in his distinctive work in the improvement of the breeding of sheep. ! Taking a full and active part in the important and , valuable service rendered by the Meat Board in organising the ' shipment and marketing of produce, in raising standards of production, and in other ways, Sir William Perry has done much also, as president of the Royal Agricultural Society and in various other capacities, to promote and advance the welfare of the primary industries on which the Dominion greatly depends. He has placed, ungrudgingly at the disposal of his fellow-farmers the stores of Knowledge gained in the course of his lengthy experience as an enterprising and highly successful breeder of stud stock. His time and energies have been given freely to the furtherance of progressive developments of every kind, whether in the extension of research and spread of scientific knowledge or the promotion of new and profitable branches of production like the export of chilled beef. In his own district and throughout the Dominion Sir William Perry has done much lo help farmers to improve their workingstandards and build up the economic strength of their industry. While his retirement from the Meat Board must be taken to mean that he feels it necessary to circumscribe his activities ' to some extent it may be taken for granted that Sir William i Perry will abate nothing of his interest in the pursuits to which I his life has been devoted or of his constant desire to promote >' the. welfare of the membeits pf the -farming community.