THE
HONGKONG TELEGRAPH.
MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 21,
1936.
10
ON THE BRINK
of the
PRECIPICE!
RAJPUTAN GREENOEM
Twenty
- five
years
ago
Europe was under the shadow of the Agadir crisis, arising from an in- cident in Morocco which set European interests in conflict. Twenty -two years ago Britain entered into the war that was to end war and make the world safe for democracy.
O
to-diny.
N August the fourth, 1914, people were return- ing from a happy Bank Holiday just as they are
Many of them were talking of the imminent danger of war, but few realised how closely they themselves were to be in- volved,
Such wars as they had had any experience of had been small colonial affairs, fought by regu- lar troops in distant lands.
The South African War had been on a larger scale, but even chat had not called forth all the energies of the nation.
If anyone had told them that in the course of a year or two Great Britain would have been fighting on the Continens with armies the size of France's armies they would have been incredulous.
If they had been told that the war would last four years, that nmost all the nations would be in- volved, that the man-power of Great Britain, would be conscrip- ted, and that this country would be brought near to defeat by the pressure of enemy submarines, they would have thought such suggestions the dreams of a mad- 31:11.
* No One Knew ★
Very tow of those holiday- makers had any idea as to the course of events that led up to the catastrophe. They knew naturally of the arms rivalry among the Grent Powers.
They had heard of incidents from time to time which had created great tension, but some-- how or other peace had been main- tained.
They did not see why the murder of an Austrian Archduke should be the spark to start n world confia-. gration.
They had but little appreciation of the underlying economic causes of war, of the Imperialist rivalries and tire struggle for markets.
It is a remarkable fact that in the three years prior to the War there were only two big debates on Foreign Polley in the House of Commons.
Political attention was concen-
SOUTHEND GLACTON
ONLY
by the Right Hon.
C.
R. ATTLEE
Leader of His Majesty's Opposition
in the House of Commons.
The trated on domestic issues, ordinary citizen lttle knew what entanglements had been created by the aloof aristocrats, who pre- sided in succession at the Foreign Omec.
Why is it necessary to recall
things to-day?
theso
Because events are shaping themselves in a way that is terribly similar to that of 1014.
Once again the nations are arm- Ing. Governments are telling their peoples that big armaments are needed for defence.
Quce again people are talking of the inevitability of war. Instead of asking, "Will there be war?" they ask, "When will there be war?" The gunpowder is being freely strewn about Europe.
Wasted Lives. *.
A spark muy easily set it alight. There is already a generation grown to manhood and woman- hood that knows of the last war only as a vague memory or an old man's tale, Let me recall again what happened in the last war.
The war that broke over the world in 1914 came near towards destroying European civilisation.
Recent calculations put the total number of people who lost their lives through that war, directly and Indirectly, as forty millions.
The British Empire alone lost
over a million dead, and over two million wounded.
Among those wounded were two thousand totally blinded, six thou- sand who lost their reason and four thousand who became epileptic.
The cost in money was terrific.
Wasted Money,
The war left Britain with a debt of over seven thousand million1 pounds, and as Lord Snowden pointed out when he was Chancel- lor of the Exchequer, " It taken the whole-time labour of two million workers, year in, year out, to pro- duce the means to pay the annual cost of our debt service." And that Is only for Great Britain.
The "Manchester Guardian" made a calculation in February, 1931, that it would have been pos- sible, with the war costs, to have. presented every family in Great Britain, the United States, Canada, Australia, Belgium, Germany and Russia with n £500 house stand- ing in a five-acre plot, and contain- ing £250 worth of furniture, and to provide for each group of 20,000 familles a hospital, schools and the salaries for teachers, murtes. doctors and professors.
I have said that the ordinary man in the street did not reallca what the last war would be ke
The experts were, equally at fault.
did not realize The generals
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The boys who welcomed war on August 4, 1914, may be, among the holidaymakers of August, 1936 (see picture or left). Have they learned the lesson of 1914-36
that there would be years of trench warfare, that gas and tanks would be new weapons, and that a further element, the air, would grow ever more and more important, until bý 1010 the fact that the elvillan copulation were now in the danger
one was fully established.
The Next War? *
What of the next war? Every- one should realise that if war breaks out again the result will be a destruction Infinitely more wide- spread and devastating than that of the last. The weapons of de- · struction that exist to-day are a hundred Umes more terrible.
The bombing plane, which was really only in its infancy in the last war, will dominate the situation. In place of contest between soi- diers on a battlefeld with. still Rome faint echo of romance, there will be the wholesale alaughter of men, women, children and animals by poison gas.
stend of fortifications and trench lies being levelled by high explosive, the greatest cities in the world will be destroyed by fire.
Civilisation, as we know it, will be wiped out.
I do not believe that there is any safety in building great navies. raising huge armics, or training pilots and producing thousands of neroplanes.
The bomber will always ret through.
Yet, in face of these dangers, we see the statesmen of the world suit playing their games of power poll- tles, as they did in the years before the great war.
Those who controlled the destin- tes of nations in the pre-war period! were not men who desired war.
They did not intend dellberately to lead their peoples to the slanghter, but they were ready to pursue policies and to take risks which were certain sooner or later to bring them to the position where they had to choose between wat
and the abandonment of the: designs,
When you come to weigh up the aims of these statesmen and com- pare them with the terrible lossna sustained in their pursuit, you see at once how smnti they are in com- parison.
They were te men walking on the edge of a precipice ready to run the risk of death or malming to ittle flower growing near secure the edge.
The same mentality is to be seen to-day. Our Conservatives would face a world war rather than face any diminution of national sove- reignty.
The Labour Party is trying to rouse the common people to a sense of their danger, for they will be the victims.
It is the ordinary, quiet people. Wh10
more nsk nothing
than the right to live in happiness with their families, who will be destroyed 1 war breaks out.
"
What is required is a new men- tally. A fresh start must be made.
*
Stop It!
*
I want to see a Conference held at which every representative of every nation shall have present be- fore him what war really means,
I am not sure that it would not be a good thing for them to sit for a time in gas masks amid a roar of con- explod bombs and the tinuous noise of acroplanes over- head.
Let them go and visit the homes of humble people and come together to discuss how to deal Bel- with the causes of war. ter s, instead of thinking of the enuses of war, let them take coun- cl how to lay the foundations of pence on a sure basic of social jus- tice.
There is time yet to save the work if only ordinary men and weren will rouse themselves to ariini..
ROUNDABOUT
by The Showman,
WELL, I hope you enjoyed your Holiday. And I hope you are back again in your usual places-my old friend "Inustrau" at her wasit tub, Doris at her typewriter, Mr. Bert Buttonsilek among his crates of fruit-all panting and eager for work.
You remember, as the millionaire said to the navvy, hard work never did anyone any harm.
growth of intelligence," he says "censes at the age of 14."
My own private, opinion is that this pronouncement comes as close to pure nonsense as anything outside the foreign policy of the "National" Government. But I must not be too captious,
Instead I will tell you a story which seems to show that the man of 40 has considerably less intelligence than baby of nine months. This man was
sery window, a sash-cord had broken and let the frame down on his neck. He called out, in agony, to the occu pant of a dimly seen cat.
Put it the other way. with the a cat-burglar and, in entering a nur navvy advising the millionaire, and it sounds just as convincing. More, it sounds really rather quaint and jolly. Battles Long Ago MENTION of Bert Buttonstick 1e- minds me of the article above. Twenty-two years ago when it all began...
Do you remember those songs, Bert?- "Marching, marching, marching, always asterisk marching...
We are Fred Karno's army. . . ." "Hold yer hand out, naughty boyi
Last night,
In the pale moonlight,
I SAW yer..."
Aud, Bert, do you remember Kelly's Eye, and Legs Eleven, and Olleketty- Click? These kids missed something. didn't they?
No wonder the Spaniards are trying to catch us up and prove themselves worthy of a place in Western Civilisa- tion.
Wonderful!..
"The film sior and the Maharajah - both seemed slightly embarrassed on being introduced, but shook hands with a smile,"
Just like you and me! Just like you and mel
.
Fourteen and Forty
THE man of 40, whose plight you and I noticed sympathetically some days ago, is in trouble again." This time a schoolmaster has been saying that the man of 40 has no more intelli- gence than the girl or boy of 14. “The
.
To-day's Thought- THE Rving are more im-
portant than the dead.
HERBERT BURGESS..
"You chly asi!" came the reply. "I can't walk yet!"
Doris Spooks Her Mind
A girl. has to linve a bit of glamour about her clothes, nowadays, that'a what Key, Glamour seems to be what they want; and so I got a holiday frock with two of the latest, fluted patent-leather pockets sewn on the akirt: and, of course, his sister, tho criticising one, had to be there when I wore it,
"Oh," she said, "so I see we've cut our shopping-bag in two and tacked them on," she said very sarcastic. "What next," I wonder
"Why," I said, "youll be doing the same, dear!"
How's that for a gentle answer? RASPBERRIES AND SCREAM" HAND an Invitation to raspberrich and cream and sherry at six o'clock has been known to lead to quite an amusing party."
Lady Angela Publicity gave one like that on Sunday. It led to all sorts of too provoking complications One of the gossip-writers. present mistook another for a gentleman, and was quito polite to him until he caught him cram ming his pockets full of raspberries.
They then started screaming and clapping each other's wrists; and wero separated only when Lady Angela poured a bottle of sherry over them.
Wags" Corner,
Farmer A "Which is right-a hen is sitting,' or 'n hen is getting '2"
Farmer B: "I don't know, an' I don't care. All I bother about 15-when sho cackles, is she laying or in she lying?,”
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