Rewards and Services
HE British Government’s decision last week not to give money grants to the leaders of the armed forces wds courageous but just. It is not easy to break a tradition which half the population strongly approve and the other half do not greatly resent, and Mr. Attlee must be praised for his firmness. But it is possible to approve of what he has done and yet to have read it with sadness. If we could go on rewarding generals and admirals with a clear social conscience most of us would wish to do it; but we can’t. The position is roughly as Captain Upham put it the other day when he refused a free farm: neither victories nor honours ate won by individuals. They are won by all the men and women in the battle line and for miles behind it, and although it may be easy to say that one cOmbatant’s contribution is greater than another’s, it is not possible to say that the difference justifies riches for three or four generations in one case and service pay oftly for all the others. It is of course still true that generals, and especially admirals, may win or lose a war. History ‘will probably show that it was the orders given by Hitler which lost the war against Russia; and although losing is easier than winning, it is possible to imagine situations-not many certainly during the last six years in which victory would depend on the decision of one man. It would be outrageous to refuse a reward to that man if the only point at issue were how much we owed him-or even how much by comparison with some others. But there is no stage in a battle at which we can separate contributions and measure them: although armies have sometimes won battles without generals, or in spite of them, while generals have never won without armies, victory comes normally to good soldiers who are well led, and who all do their: full duty. Virtue in that case has to be its own reward without distinction of persons, and that is the hard decision Mr. Attlee has now announced.
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New Zealand Listener, Volume 13, Issue 333, 9 November 1945, Page 5
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363Rewards and Services New Zealand Listener, Volume 13, Issue 333, 9 November 1945, Page 5
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Copyright in the work University Entrance by Janet Frame (credited as J.F., 22 March 1946, page 18), is owned by the Janet Frame Literary Trust. The National Library has been granted permission to digitise this article and make it available online as part of this digitised version of the New Zealand Listener. You can search, browse, and print this article for research and personal study only. Permission must be obtained from the Janet Frame Literary Trust for any other use.
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