dated July 27, 1951: Jakarta view on peace with Japan

An official statement issued in Jakarta dated 26th July said Indonesia wanted ``fair and reasonable'' war reparations from Japan and would try to achieve ``a common standpoint with other friendly Asian nations'' in drawing up the peace settlement. Indonesia was already in touch with various Asian countries about Japanese reparations and would make her own suggestions to the United States before the final draft of the peace treaty was published on August 13. Whether Indonesia would later decide to participate in the San Francisco peace conference would depend on the form and contents of the draft. A Government spokesman said the United States had asked for a top-level delegation from Indonesia to attend the San Francisco conference, but it had not been decided whether it would be led by Foreign Minister Achmad Subaadjo.''

Lotus-eating in a welfare state

Excerpts from the main Editorial: ``A depressing impression is produced by a survey of `English Life and Leisure' undertaken by Mr. Seebohm Rowntree, well-known student of social life. In it are about two hundred case-histories of persons chosen at random who were persuaded to talk about themselves in interviews. Time- wasting in the use of leisure, a marked aversion to intellectual activity of any sort, dawdling about their work with the object of doing as little as possible for their wages - these are some of the charges on which the interviewees convicted themselves out of their own mouths. Commercialised gambling has spread because the rising standard of living is being exploited by a parasitical class which provides large-scale facilities to do so. As regards religion, the authors think that `people will never again seek from the churches the inspiration that they should obtain from them.

``To those who imagine that the welfare state points to the good life, the prospect revealed in the book is hardly cheering. Lord Beveridge, the great authority on social security, points out in a review of the book in The Spectator, that it is no use putting the blame for this state of affairs on `the community'.''

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