The "In-betweens"

Political Aspects of the Post-war Problems

QOME day; this war will be over. What then? No one believes that we shall go back to the bad old politico-economic system of 1918-1939. Then who is to create the new system, and how? An increasing number of people are asking QllCSllOyiS, The following is a striking extract from a private letter written by a young woman from New Guinea—she was on the Sepik Goldfield for a while—to the editor of the PIM. It was not written for publication; but it shows how the younger generation are thinking.

IF the next half of my life is to mean only further disillusionment—well what the dickens is the use? Think pack to the time when you had reached the stage I have to-day. Who stood the oetter chance of getting anywhere? Did you, with the set of circumstances you had to lick—or do I with the kind of future we have to face?

I think it is my generation that stands to lose most. Yours takes an attitude hke this: “What have I done that this should come upon me at this late date?” —and appears to get some sort of satis faction from it. The very young are frankly bored, or excited, but as they hadnt begun to find their feet, the after math of all this won’t be so tough on them. & But the poor darned in-between people who had just got themselves and their goal sorted out, and had begun to step forward to it, take it on the chin from all directions. It isn’t going to be so easy for them to pick up the pieces and fit them into a workable whole. Yet they are the class on whom this so-called new order or reconstruction is going to depend Well, let’s hope they make a better job of it for those flowing along than the last generation did for us. They couldn’t do much worse, that’s pretty certain. The hectic “twenties”, then the depression just as most of us were leaving school, no jobs, the dole, money-grabbing monop olies, wind-bag degenerate politicians!

It sure was a fine Peace. We must have another one some time!

It’s a never-ending source of amuse ment to me to gather people’s idea of what this “new order” is to be. Fifty per cent, still think in terms of the past; 49 per cent, feel that something different would be desirable, but they don’t know what; and one per cent, are pretty frantic about it.

I think that it is going to be wished on us, whether we want it or not; but anything lasting can only be born of a nation that has reached the bed-rock of misery—however else will it be possible to get everyone of one mind and with one thought?