1 MARCH 1940, Page 15

The truth is that we Champions.of Peace and Order find

ourselves in an intolerable logical dilemma. It is all very well for the hundred per cent. warrior, even as it is all very well for the hundred per cent. pacifist. The former thinks only of the defeat of our enemies ; the latter judges every- thing according to whether it is likely either to prolong or shorten the war. Yet we Champions are always falling into logical absurdities. In order to preserve our Peace we have to make war ; in order to establish our Order we have to create disorder such as the world has seldom seen ; in fighting what we regard as the greatest of human evils we have to practise what we regard as the greatest of human evils ; in defending right, we have to commit wrong ; by preventing murder we indulge in it. There are moments when we are amused, or only slightly irritated, by our own inconsistency. But there are other moments when our logical discomfort becomes spiritual discomfort. What formula can we devise to ease these galling contradictions? * *