'Unforgivable Sneer At

Fijian War Effort’

Letter to the Editor WHILE I appreciate the fact that the best treatment of views such as those expressed by J. Price (June “PIM”) is to ignore them, this particular cor respondent’s letter has achieved the dis tinction of infuriating me to the point of replying.

The allegation that Fijians are irres ponsible, lazy and will not work is untrue rubbish. Possibly they decline to work for certain plantation-owners. So most em phatically would I.

The letter suggests a curiously out-dated outlook, and I can see no reason why any Fijian in his own country should not pre fer to produce his own copra instead of working to keep Mr. Price’s plantation in profitable operation. Certainly neither the Fijians nor anybody else are under any obligation to the writer of such a letter, although he seems to assume that this is the case.

Mr. Price’s sneer at the Fijians’ part in the war is in the worst of bad taste. To me it is unforgivable, and I can only point out that its stupid irresponsibility is answered by the war history review on Page 95 of the June “PIM.”

My own experience of and association with Fijians is probably rather closer than that of Mr. Price. For every case of dis honesty and other failings he cares to produce from his apparently distressing records I will undertake to produce—from personal experience—a case of rigid honesty, absolute trustworthiness and a sense of loyalty wider than that of most Europeans or Asiatics.

Further, the average Fijian would scorn to show the selfishness, pettiness and intolerance so often reflected in the statements of other people.

I am, etc.

Fiji European.

Suva.