The Press SATURDAY, JANUARY 19, 1952. Churchill to Congress

Press, Volume LXXXVIII, Issue 26633, 19 January 1952, Page 6

The Press SATURDAY, JANUARY 19, 1952. Churchill to Congress

It will be surprising if Mr Churchill's address to Congress does not prove to have done a magnificent service [to all the causes which Britain the United States hold in common. American politicians feared—perhaps with good reason—the effect cf Mr Churchill’s oratory upon themselves even more than they feared [the effect of Mr Churchill’s persuasiveness upon their President in the recent intimate talks; and the cabled reports of the comments of Congressmen suggest that some of (them still feel very much on the defensive. They have some reason to be. Americans at the moment are passing through one of their recurrent periods of nostalgia for the “ good old days ” of security and isolation. They have accepted, partly for the most worthy of moral reasons and partly for reasons of self-interest, heavy responsibilities in world affairs. It is no more than • natural that they should find the burden onerous and look for ways of lightening it. If Mr Churchill has put some Congressmen on the defensive it is because he has shown them very clearly the futility of these backward glances. In his address the Prime Minister gave full credit to the Americans for their vast, sustained, and selfless efforts to restore and secure a war-shattered world; but at the same time he allowed them no escape from the logic of the present situation—the efforts can be discontinued or slackened only at the peril of America’s security as well as the security of America's allies. At this moment when the United States is asking for redoubled efforts from her partners for the [strengthening of the defences of the [west there is a need for someone i with the undoubted authority and [prestige of Mr Churchill to say that [there are limits beyond which the European countries cannot go without outside help. Mr Churchill’s logic may have been uncomfortable :for his hearers; but it was inescapable. The speed and weight of European rearmament for the com[mon defence of the west will be [directly related to the measure and [the speed of American aid. | It was an opportune moment, too, I for Mr Churchill to remind Ameriicans that Britain, by her efforts . during the war and since, has played [a decisive part in the preservation [of -western civilisation—at a cost which cannot yet be measured in [ full. Britain’s ability to-day to contribute to the common defence of the west is limited by the consequences of these efforts. Mr Churchill made it clear that Britain [will do her share up to that limit; anything above or beyond it will be physically possible Only by reason of help from outside. These things had to be said; and Mr Churchill said them in a way that left no room for misunderstanding. But the real value of Mr Churchill’s address lay in its clear exposition of the fundamental importance of the interests and principles which bind the two countries together and of the insignificance and transience of the things which seem at the moment to divide them. Here was a wise and needed reminder that no other association of nations can exert so profound an influence on the course of world events as the i union of the English-speaking peoples.