As The Isolated Trader

Sees It

(Old Trader Edwin Gold writes—not foi publication—a note from little Mangaia in the Cook Islands.) YOUR editorial note in July just aboul describes the state of cities to-day thousands of electrical appliances and no current, thousands of state pen sioners and no funds, thousands of peact treaties and no peace.

I was surprised at the optimistic tone oJ your remark that the Reds may be defi cient in sea power. Me no tinkfi I am afraid that we are due for som( infernally unpleasant annoyances here ir the isolated parts of the Pacific. Th< Muscovite may be better equipped thar is thought—there has been a Five Yean Plan since the war ended.

To me, the outlook is scaly in the ex treme. The preposterous situation of ai “allied” (what an anti-climax, if it even tuates!) Germany and Japan being in corporated in the UN, plus press praisi of “our gallant German forces” and ou “invincible Japanese resisters of the Re< tvranny,” will contrast very weirdly witl the writings of 1941-46.

I’ve no patience with this weathercocl inconsistency of history. We said in 1815 about Napoleon, all that was said late about Hitler; yet Bonaparte now figure as a noble hero in history. Doubtles Hirohito and Co., and the survivini members of the Nazi hierarchy, will be th Splendid Fellows of the coming struggle Well, I do not imagine blunt PIM wil drift with the stream in that mattei knowing what the foul little yellow mei did in Melanesia when they had th upper hand. The Russkies are eaua savages in war, and we may expect i full share of new horrors. It is witl cvnical amusement that I see cartoonis Minhinnick (“New Zealand Herald”) ge an OBE for clowning, while the man wh warned against Japan in the thirties, ani Russia in the forties, gets nothing whe: the honours list comes out. It’s a ma world, my masters. Things are rather tight just now. Th orange season is a failure, but two steam ers are coming this year. No mon’. n fun! If war comes they will be tighte still. .

With glum resolution we prepare agai; to be meatless, saltless, sugarless (in tw senses), in the dark regarding the Wa News and generally fed up to the gill with international folly.

Peace means so much to the sma islands, with their little bit of civilisation so valued and cherished upon shoe-strin funds. Allah said that reason prevails but it is almost too much to hope for.