PREPARATION FOR WAR [To the Editor of THE SPECTATOR.]
SIR,—Is it not time that our country and its government did some clear thinking on the question of preparation for war ? Since the Great War it has been elear that any future war will be one that involves the whole nation. Loss of civilian life and property due to air raids is certain. And equally the whole life of the nation will require to be mobilised to wage War effectively. This cannot be done unless the spirit of the nation wholeheartedly supports the purpose for which war is waged. It was only because this was so that we were able to _carry the last war through to a successful issue. The weakness and failure of the League of Nations in the dispute with Italy depends on the fact that our country as a whole was not prepared to fight Italy in order to restrain her action in Abyssinia.
If the League had applied oil sanctions; and Italy had attacked Egypt, there would have been at the best a half- hearted response by the people of the United Kingdom. The cause of war must be one that meets with almost universal approval if war is to be waged successfully:. . '
Now what are the causes for which we may reckon that the country will give its entire support and fight to the last man ? First we may place the integrity and independence of our own shores ; secondly, that of other members of the British Com- monwealth ; thirdly, the defence of our colonies ; fourthly, the defence of the independence of neighbouring countries, such as Fratice, Belgium, and Holland ; and fifthly, resistance to a demand by Germany for a return of her colonies. Would we be ready to enter into war with Germany over this ? Would there be sufficient moral backing for us to be sure of victory in
this ease ?
The question of peace and war is not a party one. The government of the time should make it their business to find out what the country as a whole is willing to fight for, and then make military and naval preparations as complete as possible. But in regard to minor matters, or those in which national opinion is divided, let it be quite clear that we will not in any case be drawn into war.—Yours faithfully,
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