AHTER 1942 0910 Mackenzie King - Three Years o

The right honourable W.L. Mackenzie King, Prime Minister of Canada, whose subject is three years of war. Today Canada enters from the fourth year of war. Three years ago it was difficult for men and women anywhere to believe what was told them of the probable duration of the war.

Much less were they prepared to believe that Hitler's aim was world conquest. I doubted people whose countries have not been invaded, even yet appreciate the magnitude of the enemy's designs. Only those who themselves have been the victims of Nazi or Japanese deception, terrorism, and violence have begun to comprehend the real issue.

At the time of Britain's entry into the war, speaking of the attack upon Poland by the armed forces of Germany, I said in a nationwide broadcast, the fate of a single city, the preservation of the independence of a particular nation, are the occasion, not the real cause of the present conflict.

Referring to Hitler's methods and aim, I added, it is this reliance upon force, this lust for conquest, this determination to dominate throughout the world, which is the the real cause of the war that today threatens the freedom of mankind.

Those words may have seemed extravagant at the time they were used three years ago. I question however if today any intelligent person will dispute their truth, that the war today threatens the freedom of mankind is abundantly clear.

I should like to draw a distinction tonight, as I did three years ago, between the cause of the war and the real issue in the war. The cause, as I then said, was the lust for conquest, world domination.

The real issue, however, goes even deeper. More than world domination is involved. Domination need not be wholly evil. You have heard it said that the best type of ruler is a benevolent despot. To have the world controlled by benevolence, however absolute the control might not be a non-mixed blessing.